skills assessment

1. TODD NATENBERG- SALES ASSESSMENT
1. How long have you been in sales?
18 years
2. What product/service have you sold?
a. MediaCAST- Digital content management , live streaming, encoders, desktop IP video conferencing, servers,
cloud solution, software and hardware that integrated content into iPads, Androids, Learning Management
Systems
b. Discovery- online curriculum
c. Telecommunications career- voice and data services, PBXs, internet, cable TV, phone solutions
d. Sales Training Consulting
e. Photocopiers and fax machines
3. Describe the sales process of your last position, from first contact through
implementation.
MediaCAST
1. Identify opportunity through cold call phone call, e-mail marketing, trade show, or internet
search
2. Establish contact with decision maker of CIO/Director of Technology/Superintendent to state
initial benefit to generate interest via phone
a. To reach decision maker physically, multiple tools used:
b. Empowering of “gatekeeper” (secretaries) to help with process
c. MediaCAST blog postings
d. LinkedIn posting of my attending trade shows
e. 1 voice mail detailing benefits and purpose of call.
“Hi Steve. Steve, my name is Todd Natenberg and I’m a Regional Manager with MediaCAST. You stopped
by our booth at trade show XYZ. I wanted to follow-up to see if we could help. 816-876-9184 is my
phone. To refresh your memory, MediaCAST increases access to your digital content by as a repository
for your existing media. We also offer live streaming, desktop IP video conferencing, and integrate
materials directly into your Learning Management System to improve efficiency. Again, Todd Natenberg,
with MediaCAST, from trade show XYZ. 816-876-9184. Wanted to see if we could help.”
3. Upon reaching that individual, schedule phone appointment to uncover needs through
consultative selling approach
4. Prior to phone appointment, send agenda (purpose/agenda/limit personal tool) confirming
appointment and outlining agenda for phone call
5. Conduct probing appointment to uncover needs through consultative selling approach
a. On probing appointment, CIO/Director of Technology/Library Media Specialist would all
attend to answer questions

2. b. After need established, follow-up presentation either via webinar or in-person visit to
site location in New York/Boston/Philadelphia/New England area, scheduled to
demonstrate benefits of MediaCAST as it addresses prospect needs
6. Outlook invite sent to all participants with appropriate e-mail signature
7. At webinar (utilizing either Go To Meeting or WebEx) or in-person meeting average 10 people
would attend- decision makers as noted above, plus various employees (teachers, instructional
technology, librarians)
a. Summary of past meetings reestablishing need for product spoken to group
b. “Anything changed since we last spoke?”
c. “Is that a good summary?”
d. “Would anyone like to add anything?”
e. Demonstration of product conducted to include:
i. Power Point Presentation
ii. Live demo site with internet connection to demonstrate power of MediaCAST
iii. Interactive discussion from the onset making sure we are addressing their needs
8. If meeting goes well, another meeting is scheduled to review proposal either in person or via
phone depending on availability of all parties
9. Outlook invite sent again to confirm meeting
10. Proposal includes following:
a. Executive summary
b. Restating of prospect needs, challenges and goals
c. Description of each product (1 pager)
d. References/testimonials
e. Pricing breakdown
f. Contract at end to sign
11. If over the phone, proposal is sent day of meeting electronically to review by me and my team
that same day to ensure meeting takes place and prospect doesn’t just “focus on price” and
never accept explanation of overall solution
12. Within 2 months- deal closes (based on proposal being presented)
*If decision is more than 2 months out- proposal is not presented until such time prospect has
verbally said they are serious about opportunity.
13. Of course, sometimes there are multiple steps in between the proposal and the close
a. Further value is established through articles helping institution being e-mailed by me
i. Articles would be discovery via internet (LinkedIn, trade magazines, etc).
b. Discussions of upcoming trade shows, etc.
4. What was the largest dollar item that you have sold?
$600,000 at Discovery – renewal contract for Kentucky Department of Education

3. $350,000 at MediaCAST- digital content management system to consortium of school districts
5. How many decision makers were involved in previous sales process?
CIO/Director of Technology/Business Manager/Superintendent
6. What was the hardest sale you had to make?
Vermont Department of Technology/Vermont K-12 school districts- 100 schools for $100K at Discovery
7. Why was it difficult?
This was a complex sale that involved working with multiple individuals in multiple departments in
multiple schools and multiple institutions. To earn this sale, I sold to all aspects of Vermont education:
1. The Education Technology Coordinator for the Vermont Department of Education
2. Superintendents at various school districts
3. CIO at various school districts
4. Director of Technology at various school district
5. Principal at various schools
To close this deal, it meant patience, persistence, having a strong hunger to help the students, and also
the necessity to be very coachable by all parties involved. While the Vermont Department of Education
did not formally pay for the $100,000 sale- it was only with their strong referral and blessing and
explaining to me the needs of each of the various schools and school districts that this deal came to
fruition.
8. What did you do to close that sale?
First I sold the value of Discovery to the VT Department of Education. While the Education Technology
Coordinator stated he would not pay for it, he said if I could sell some schools on my own, he would
allow me to use his name and testimonial endorsing Discovery. In addition- and more importantly- he
would send out newsletter to his entire database (every school district in VT!) telling them he wanted
them to buy Discovery.
This was an up to down back to up sale.
1. I sold Bill Redmond, this education technology coordinator on the value of Discovery.
He then coached me on how to approach the individual school districts in VT.
2. I then sold 3 school districts in Vermont representing a mere 5 schools. They paid for it
themselves.

4. 3. When Bill saw this, we met again and he was sold. He then sent out that e-mail with him as a
reference.
4. I then contacted each of the school districts on my own – with his blessing. After they had seen
the newsletter, they agreed to meet with me- and ultimately buy United Streaming.
The result was $100,000 for 100 schools. (See attached for details of Discovery sales campaign for this).
10. How did you generate leads?
MediaCAST and Discovery were both the same:
1. Cold call phone call based on internet search of ideal client
2. E-mail marketing to introduce product to those ideal clients as established through internal
conversations at my company as well as history of other top-notch clients
3. Trade shows attendance- both as exhibitor and just walking the aisles
4. In-person visits to individual school districts through air travel to conduct appointments.
“I’m calling from Discovery/MediaCAST. I will be in your area on this day….Can we meet?”
5. Internet searches (LinkedIn/Trade Publications talking about the specific clients or clients like
them)
6. Blog/e-mail newsletter to establish value.
9. What elements of sales support did you have in previous positions?
I always worked closely with my sales manager. In both of my education sales positions- neither
manager worked in my office. It was imperative that I was a self-starter who could work autonomously.
Likewise, I enjoyed their coaching and always spoke about various ways to improve my skill sets to
ultimately help the customers- and close more deals.
Sales managers/Sales executives would accompany on about 50% of calls- depending on where we were
in the sales process. This support was invaluable.
In terms of proposed solutions, it varied. Sometimes I would create proposal myself with various
templates and customization. Other times, they created it for me.
In all my educational sales positions, I managed a complex sales process that incorporated team selling-
even if the managers would not necessarily with me. My clients were not just the customer purchasing

5. the service. They also were my internal implementation group, my customer service team, and my
trainers who would ultimately teach the product to my clients to ensure they utilized the benefits.
This managing of the complex sales process internally was essential not just to close the initial deal and
get referrals, but also I was paid on renewals. At Discovery especially, it was critical that my team
delivered what I was selling- and that was my responsibility to ensure that happened.
My commission plan included getting paid on both hunting and renewals. The key for me was both
closing the deal and having those terrific long-term relationships, both internally and externally.
12. What was your previous marketing budget?
They exhibited at various trade shows in my territory.
They had an e-mail newsletter and blog.
The $ figure was N/A to my position.
14. How old was the company?
MediaCAST- 10 years
15. What was your sales cycle?
MediaCAST- 4 months to 1 year
Discovery – 3 months to 1 year
In education, the variance for the sales cycle was based mostly on when the opportunity was officially
uncovered. They only bought 2 times- end of fiscal year (June/July/August) depending on specific
district, December/January (end of calendar year or start of the new year)
Sales Applicant Questionnaire
Page 2
16. Did you negotiate the price?
Discovery- yes
MediaCAST- no

6. 17. Who approved the final price?
CEO
18. What did you like best about selling at company X?
I believed very strongly in the product and how it helped increase the education experience for children.
I was proud to work for MediaCAST – and Discovery for that matter. Customer always had great things
to say about the product and I really relished being a part of those companies.
Having both a business to business sales background- and an educational sales background, I’ve been on
both sides of the fence. While business to business sales has its place, for me, the opportunity to help
children is simply fantastic. In addition, I love working with educators. Sure, they can be difficult at time,
but knowing their high integrity and that they want to contribute to the well-being of children, I admire
and have a passion for associating with them.
18. What did you like least about selling at company X?
MediaCAST- to learn
While I enjoyed very much the autonomy of working on my own to sell in the Northeast, I pride myself
on being coachable. When opportunities presented themselves, I always wanted to learn the best way
to do things- if there was a best way. Again, I love contributing to a company – not just for myself- but
for others. However, I also do welcome that feedback to ensure I know where I stand in my successes.
As the enclosed letter of recommendation details, I was very successful at MediaCAST. I also know that
the reason my division closed had nothing to do with me- as indicated by this letter. Still, while I
established my own successes and business plan, it’s a shame I couldn’t do more to help others on my
team. Frankly, I had no idea that other departments weren’t doing as well. I do feel had the lines of
communications been more open- and that exchange of ideas- had taken place more (coaching me,
coaching others), the company would not have struggled as much.
19. How much revenue did you generate?
$570,000 in 6 months (January-July) plus I signed up 6 referral partners representing 100 salespeople.
20. How many tradeshows did you attend last year?

7. 5 trade shows
21. What was your territory?
Northeast- New York/PA/MA/CT/NJ/RI/NH/VT/DE/ME
22. What was your average deal (in dollars)?
$175,000
23. Was the purchase a lease (ongoing revenue) or a onetime purchase?
Discovery- 1/2/3/4 year contracts with renewals
MediaCAST- one-time purchase with renewals
23. Was there a service/support agreement that accompanied the purchase?
Yes
24. Were you commissioned on service/support agreements?
Yes
25. How did you present the service/support agreement?
Included in overall proposed solution (optional but highly recommended)
26. What was the percentage of closing on those to whom you presented your product?
30%- but the remaining opportunities were still pending when I left MediaCAST- so I don’t think that’s
an accurate number. The MediaCAST sale was certainly a long-term sale and so multiple presentations
were in order.
My largest sales- the $350,000 consortium of school districts had 2 webinars, an in-person
demonstration, and a group demonstration that involved other school districts not applicable to the
consortium.
27. How could this number have been higher?
Of course, there’s always room for improvement. However, I don’t think this number could have been
higher as I was very successful at MediaCAST. The only thing I could say is that some leads were passed
along to me prior to my presentation and were not as qualified as I would have liked them to be.

8. Perhaps I should have done additional questioning myself to ensure they were where we thought they
were in the sales process.
29. How many presentations did you do on a monthly basis?
20 presentations (combination webinars and on site visits)
Sales Applicant Questionnaire
Page 3
30. If I interviewed your previous manager, what would they tell me is your most polished part of
the sales process?
Quoting the enclosed letter of recommendation:
“You identified and signed up multiple reseller partners your first three months assisting in training,
identifying leads, and helping them on sales calls
- You learned our large suite of educationally-targeted technology products in a short amount of
time and you understand how to position them in the solution sale
- I think your persistence in tracking down leads and your follow-up throughout the sales process
was excellent.
“I think your persistence in tracking down leads and your follow-up throughout the sales process
was excellent.”
Dean Myers
President and Founder
31. How much did you travel in the previous employment?
1 trip every 3 weeks (3 day trips)
32. How was your commission processed?
Percentage of sales
33. What is your favorite closing question?
“So it looks like we’ve met all your needs- X,Y, and Z. So the only question I have is when do you
want this up and running? Great, all I need is a signature here.”
34. Can you travel 15 days per month?
Welcome it.

9. 35. Have you ever sold software?
Yes (see above)
36. Have you ever sold to Educational Institutions?
Yes (see above)
37. What is your personal view of public education?
There is nothing more essential to the future of the world. I live in public education. I volunteer as a
Youth Friend (in school big brother) in Kansas Public Schools, as well as Junior Achievement instructor.
I’m a former Big Brother with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Kansas. I’m on the Board of Directors of the
University of Missouri-Columbia, Alumni Board, Kansas City and my wife is an Associate Professor at
Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS.
My love for public education is why I have a passion for selling into it.
Prior to my sales career, 20 years ago, I was a newspaper reporter in Chicago covering public
education. I have a personal connection – having been on both sides of the aisle- that few have.
There’s nothing more important to the betterment of humanity.
38. What software or technology do you use on a daily basis?
Outlook/Salesforce/Webex/Go To Meeting/Smart Phone/iPad/Social Media
39. How would you sell something, if a potential client could get a free, though less quality,
similar product?
At MediaCAST it happened all the time, because one thing we did not do was sell free trials, which
our competitors did. The way we got around that was as such:
“Of course, I understand the value of free and having a trial. Other clients have felt the same way,
but what they have found out frankly is free does have limitations. It may sound cliché, but you do
get what you pay for. Not only that but with free, those resources of customer service and
customization that you said frankly were very important to you won’t be there. Remember, one of
the big things we do is take your existing content- all of it- to manage it. That’s why you are
speaking to us, for instance. We don’t limit what you can do. We don’t – like one of our
competitors- insist you use our content. You can use your own- whatever format you want: word,
excel, pdf’s, smart file, Promethean files, 3rd party subscriptions. It’s up to you.
40. In your previous sales experience, how many presentations would you have to make before a
decision could be made?
1.

10. We were selective on who we presented to. To be fair, that doesn’t mean a PO would be issued
after 1 presentation, but the presentation was done to the right parties who could decide how to
proceed.
41. How many of your presentations came as a result of attending a tradeshow?
25%
42. What was the training program like at company X?
Not much. I had to learn on my own through watching others, research on our website, intranet
and numerous, numerous questions to the owner. To teach myself, I wrote scripts for everything to
ensure my understanding. From Day 1, I wrote a personal business plan that included all the questions I
would need answered. The key to my success though was I did not wait for all the answers before I sold.
A big strength of mine is “I am comfortable being uncomfortable.”
43. How long, with company X, were you given to complete an initial sale?
Unlimited. It was my choice before I felt it was time to remove it from the pipeline.
44. What do you value more, time or money?
Time of course, because time is money. Educators buy products for two main reasons: enhance the
education experience and increase their organization’s efficiency. Another term for increasing efficiency
could easily be to save them time.
To succeed in sales- as I have- it’s vital to understand your customer. So if they value their time
more than their money, because they view it that way, then we should too. People buy from people
they like- and people like them. “
45. How did you determine if a potential client was a fit for product x?
Through thorough probing to uncover needs, goals, challenges, and yes, budget, too. By
understanding my product’s key strengths (MediaCAST and Discovery especially), I would know early on
based on my questions and research of the prospect whether we were a good fit.
The probing questions I asked were as much an effort to qualify a client as an opportunity as much
as disqualify a client for lack of an opportunity.
For instance, with MediaCAST, I would ask 2 vital open-ended questions:
1. “What is the key to your organization’s success in managing your digital content?”
If they answered this question with items like, “We don’t have much digital content. I don’t know if
I could even say we’re successful, because it’s not a priority,” that would be a disqualification potential. I
would probe further to examine for certain if I should move on, but on the surface, it would be red flags.

11. In the other situations, if they answered, “Well, that’s the issue. We have not been successful but
want to be,” or “We’ve been successful because we have so much different digital content that it’s so
vital to the teaching experience,” those would be great examples of where the MediaCAST product
would be a great benefit.
2. “What is your biggest challenge in managing your digital content?”
If they answered, “We just don’t have much digital content, so I’m not sure we have many challenges,”
then again that could perhaps mean they are not a potential fit for MediaCAST.
In the other situation, if they say, “Many challenges, but mostly our employees are all over the place
because everyone is doing their own thing with different formats and materials,” that would be a great
opportunity for us to help.
46. What questions did you ask to determine a fit?
(See question 45 answer).
47. How long did your presentation last generally?
Sales Applicant Questionnaire
Page 4
For the sake of this question, I will define presentation as after probing, after the needs have been
uncovered and it is my turn to demonstrate how my product will help. In that case, the presentation
would last about ½ an hour- and that involved much interaction with the prospect. While I would
demonstrate the product, trial closes were stated throughout the presentation and much interaction to
garner customer feedback.
With the ½ hour presentation, the typical appointment would last 1 hour- with the first half hour being
uncovering needs and probing in detail.
Typically, my appointments (including presentation) would last 1 hour. If they went longer, that was only
with the prospect’s permission. Every meeting I began started off this way,
“I have us slotted for an hour. Does that still work for you? If it goes longer, that’s only because you are
asking good questions. Is that fair?”
48. How long did it take you to find out whether a client was a potential fit for your product?
15 minutes, ½ an hour at most. And that included research prior to the actual live communication
(phone appointment or qualifying cold call where I reach the person I seek)
49. What did you do once you discovered they were not a fit?

12. “Let me be frank with you, (I’d say their first name), while I’m excited to help your organization, I’m
not sure we are a good fit for what you are looking for. That’s not to say we may not be at some point.
It’s just I wanted to be upfront. Most of the clients we work with already have an entire library of digital
content and often work with multiple formats and multiple materials. For those who don’t, and
compare us to individual content providers, that’s just not what we’re about. If your situation changes,
I’d love to help you. I just don’t want to waste your time or my time they are equally valuable.”
Their response often: “I appreciate that. Let’s keep in touch.”
My response: “Absolutely. Perhaps we could help each other another way. You know how hard jobs
are like both of ours. Who could you refer me to knowing that our ideal client is a larger district perhaps
with a large library of digital content in various formats, materials, and system? I appreciate it.”
50. Do you like people to like you?
Of course, everybody does. However, it’s much more important they respect me- and I respect
them. That’s when you really make a difference in a customer’s life.”
51. Pretend I am a potential client for your previous employer; sell me on why that product was
the best fit.
“Hi Steve. Steve, my name is Todd Natenberg and I’m a Regional Manager with MediaCAST. You stopped
by our booth at trade show XYZ. I wanted to follow-up to see if we could help. To refresh your memory,
MediaCAST increases access to your digital content by as a repository for your existing media. We also
offer live streaming, desktop IP video conferencing, and integrate materials directly into your Learning
Management System to improve efficiency.”
Prospect: “Tell me more.”
Me: “There are 3 main benefits of MediaCAST.
1. We increase your efficiency because we will take all of your digital content and put it into one
central library – a private website if you will. Within that website, you will be able to search for
all your content with keywords, categories or specific names. Each employee- and even student
of your district will get their own private username and password. Having this universal
federated search will save all educators time and allow you as the administrator to monitor
activity to see which materials are most effective.
2. Because MediaCAST is open architecture, there are no limits on the materials you can have in
your MediaCAST. We cover all the formats (windows media, flash, QuickTime, etc) and all the
type of documents (videos, whiteboard files, e-books, word, excel, etc). Some of our
competitors may limit the kind of 3rd party content you can offer. We don’t. What that means to
you is flexibility, easier to manage, and no limitations as you speak with the users. Because they
won’t be limited, it will enhance the overall education experience.
3. MediaCAST is more than digital content management. As you grow, we grow. We also offer
desktop IP video conferencing, a portal to stream events to parents of students or grandparents
who live in another state, and IP room control. If you have old DVDs that you want to digitize

13. we sell hardware encoders to put that material in digital format. By being your true one stop
shop, you can eliminate the need for multiple vendors that you now operate. Having one point
of contact and one system to integrate everything will improve your overall productivity.
52. Why should I buy that product from you)
(see above)
53. What kind of discount can you give me?
“Of course getting the best product at the best price is important to your decision. However, before
we get there, let me ask you a couple questions:
1. “Setting aside the price, does MediaCAST address those critical needs we reviewed?”
Prospect: “It does.”
2. “Now as you know when we first started this process, the investment in MediaCAST does vary
as there are multiple solutions: cloud versus local install, the core digital content management
versus added features, etc.
Let’s take a moment and discuss: Which are the most important items to you?”
Prospect: “Fair enough.”
3. “Now, as I put together this proposal, yes, do be aware the more services we offer, the greater
the discount. Last time we spoke, you mentioned you had a $100,000 budget. Is that still the
case?”
Prospect: “Yes, but if we can get close to that number and still meet those important items I just
outlined, that should help quite a bit.”
4. “Great, let’s create a proposal for you. Can we review next Friday at 2 p.m.?”
54. I cannot come up with the money right now, what kind of terms can you offer me?
“Can you help me out here? What kind of terms do you mean?”
Prospect: Can we get delivery now and pay for it in 6 months?
Todd: “I’m a little unclear. Does now mean have it up and running next month or in 6 months?”
Prospect: “Well, it’s June now, so we would want it up and running by September 1.”

14. Todd: “Sure. Well, the way our billing works this may take care of it in a nutshell. While you issue us
a PO now, the payment is not due until 30 days after the actually installation of the product, which
would take you to October 1? Does that help?”
Prospect: “It helps, but still not exactly where we’re at.”
Todd: “Fair enough. What we could do is let’s just do a cloud version of the solution now, which will
mean an annual fee of $30,000 rather than a $150,000 upfront. This even gives you a chance to try us
out for a reduced cost. Assuming you like it- and of course I’m sure you will- then we do a local install
where we put servers at your district office. The great news is you don’t lose anything, because the
$30,000 is credited toward the $150,000, which means you then have more than a year to pay the
$120,000, but get the entire benefit of MediaCAST. How does that sound?”
55. Why should we hire you?
I am an award-winning sales professional with proven record of exceeding annual, quarterly and monthly
targets to massively increase sales revenues through consistent implementation of a superior process.
My passion for educational sales means in short: I will make you money.
56. How would you deal with a “faulty” product?
What product isn’t faulty to some degree? I’ve worked with startups in telecommunications where
90% of customers were having problems and was still expected to continue to sell to new clients. I’ve
worked for companies in Chapter 11 bankruptcy with my job on the line and no customer references.
I’ve learned a long time ago 2 critical keys to success in sales:
“Control that which you can.”
“To succeed, you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”
Customers are realistic- despite what others will tell you. Things can and will go wrong. Of course,
we want the product to be delivered on time, on budget and working 100% from day one. However,
things happen. As the salesperson, the key is to address it professionally, calmly and respond to
customers concerns as best you can.
Using telecommunications as the example, when “faulty” products were out there, I never had a
problem with customers, because I addressed it head on. I set the proper expectations (not saying this
will not work, but saying that I as the salesperson would be involved every step of the way and will
respond to your needs). Too many times, I’ve been a buyer and the frustration does not come from the
cable TV not working, it’s that you don’t know what is going on. It’s simple:
“Under promise/over deliver.”
57. How would you deal with a competitor that is NOT truthful in their presentation?

15. “I can’t speak for my competition because I don’t work there, and I never bash competition, as I
respect the buying process. All I can tell you is what I know about my own product. What you are
describing to me about how they describe themselves is not what I thought to be true. However, to be
fair, I don’t work there and haven’t spoken to them in a while. That was not my understanding, but
again all I’d suggest is perhaps you get some clarification from them. Of course that’s up to you. What’s
most important for me though is let me further explain how we can help you with your needs.”
58. How long did it take you to prepare for your last presentation?
I’ll answer this 2 ways:
1. MediaCAST- 1/2 hour
That’s because I knew the product backwards and forwards. Preparation most recently referred simply
to reviewing my notes, the client needs, and my strategy for going into the meeting. In that capacity I
created my minimum and maximum goals.
2. Last presentation overall (a 1st presentation)
2 hours
1. 1 hour of physically scripting out what I would say including potential responses from the
prospect with objections
2. 1 hour of practicing the presentation, including a “role play” type scenario.
59. If you were prohibited from selling, what would you do for a career?
To be frank, I’ve never thought about it, because to me everything is selling. Whether I get
commissions, a straight salary or am even looking for a new opportunity, sales applies to every aspect in
our lives. The difference between a CEO, a consultant, an entrepreneur and a “salesperson” is nothing as
far as I’m concerned. It’s all about how others perceive you - and how you perceive yourself.
My two word definition of selling is this: helping others. That is one thing I know I will never be
prohibited from.