Denni Griffith Sales Champion Current position: Marketing Director Age: 35 Hometown: New York, NY

Denni Griffith - sales champion

Below is the result of our interview with Denni.

Sales Overview
How long have you been in sales? 14 years.

How did you get started? I fell into an entry level position on Wall Street.

What is the impact of sales on your life? It has been able to support and keep up with my crazy ego.

What do you like most about sales? Closing the deal.

What sales method do you follow? Miller Heiman

What is the name of your best sales manager ever? (so far!) My telecom SVP for 3 years.

What made this manager so good? He allowed all of his people to contribute their ideas, run with momentum, and adjust method to personal style for comfort. There was process without red sludge.

What made your worst manager so bad? He would apply operational SOP to what could/should have been an entreprenurial sales build.

How do you prepare for a big meeting? Practice, brush my teeth twice, and prepare a good set of notes to keep the meeting/presentation syllabus on track.

Selling Track Record
What is the most you ever sold in a year? Alone: $14 million. Team: $150 million.

What is the biggest order you ever booked? US$370,000 (Mailboxes, Etc.)

How long did it take to book your biggest order? 5 Months

Why did the customer buy from you? 2001.

What did you learn from the process? WHAT PROCESS? They were completely disorganized. It was a nutty sales cycle.

What is the biggest order you ever lost? US$202,000 (Pending - we might be able to save it.)

Why was the order lost? Lack of funding - SUPER DUPER high quote for services with a long development cycle. They want immediate results (and somewhat unreasonable expectations.)

What was learned from loss? It's hard to promise ONLY what you CAN deliver, but it's the way to do good business.

Private Life
What is in your library? Over 1000 books of all types including fiction, business, marketing, non-fiction, and poetry.

What are you reading now? I just finished "The Five People You Meet In Heaven".

What is your favorite movie? Scarface and Mary Poppins. Scarface - Anyone can "be made" as long as there is a good, consistent plan in place. Mary Poppins - I believe all women can do what she does except fly. I have a "magic carpet bag" for my kids.

Who is a role model to you? Ram Charan.

How do you relax? I haul on my dirt bike in the desert, read before I close my eyes each night, and get naked as often as pos

What 3 people would you like have to dinner? 1. My mom - she died in 2000. I miss her smile and sense of "bet the farm and smile through it". 2. Donald Trump - So I could ask how he managed to pay the electrical bill when he was in the red $2billion. and 3. Richard Branson - So I would have a chance to pitch why I would make the protege.

How do you start the day? With coffee and a pipeline project check-in with staff when I don't have an early meeting.

How do you end work each day? Synchronizing my PDA to my outlook and saying goodnight to my team.

Technology & Strategy
What smartphone - pda do you use? Yes.

What PIM/CRM do you use? EPICOR Clientele.

How do you stay organized? Good Tools - KIT / Clientele / PDA. People in the "right seat" on the bus. A whiteboard/warboard.

How do you prevent a slump? 1. Preventive Care - Exercise
2. Reactive Care - I close the door to my office and crank out the work I hate most. Makes for a good success story (motivating and uplifting).

Changes
How have markets/sales changed in 5 years? Ohhh yes indeed, in a variety of industries

What industry trends do you foresee? Silverlake will revolutionize the way we develop applications. It will be dynamic so that companies can create custom applications from commercial off the shelf programs.

How do you want to be described in a sentence? She is driven to help clients and friends create the visibility they must WANT to succeed in self or company promotion.

Alternative Universe
If you were not in sales, what would you do instead? Trying out for the Apprentice and running Kayaking trips in Belize.

Closing Question
How is it to be interviewed by the Sales Whisperer? It makes me feel like I will clearly get singled out at our next Sales meeting on Monday!