Brandon Calley's Tumblr Blog!

As sales director of Reputation.com, based in Redwood City, California, Brandon Calley oversees the firm’s B2B (business-to-business) outbound sales. The company, founded in 2006 to assist individuals and businesses in controlling their presence and privacy on the Internet, has become the leader in online reputation management (ORM). In his position, Mr. Calley holds responsibility for sales management and coaching as well as SaaS (software as a service) functions. Since joining Reputation.com in 2011, he has built a new and sustainable revenue stream, using the skills gained in nearly a decade of filling increasingly responsible roles in the technology sector. A graduate of Oakland University in Michigan, where he earned a bachelor of science degree, Brandon Calley also completed the Stanford University Executive Program and the Executive Programme at Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in Great Britain. He began his career as an account executive at global technology corporation Ricoh Company, Ltd. In his next position, he acted as sales manager for Tell Vision Networks, a start-up management tool for gaining new clients. Subsequently, Mr. Calley joined Meltwater Group in San Francisco, where he served as managing director and as a consultant. In the former role, he managed four offices in the United States and one in London for the 1,000-employee firm. He also co-founded Meltwater Reach. As a consultant, he shared his expertise to assist in selling SaaS products. Outside of his professional pursuits, Brandon Calley supports several organizations that help the marginalized citizens of San Francisco, Chicago, and Detroit. He also aids Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area. In his leisure time, Mr. Calley follows Detroit sports, researches technology and ORM, and plays and listens to music. An avid reader, he particularly enjoys historical fiction and non-fiction.

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Brandon Calley: Top 3 Sales Tips

A sales director with Reputation.com, Brandon Calley was recognized as the Top Sales Executive in 2005, ranking #5 out of more than 500 in Global Sales. Every sales professional knows that the success of any sale starts with building the right relationship between the customer and the sales associate. Many sales professionals undergo training in their respective fields, learning sales techniques that cater to their company's goals. While sales closing techniques vary with the industries they serve, there are several tried-and-true methods that can help any sales professional conclude a sale.  Tip 1: Keep your mind on the end goal: Each sales cycle should lead you and your customer towards some kind of a partnership. Throughout pitching, conversing, negotiating, and explaining, keep your mind on moving the relationship between you and your customer in the direction that you want to go in. Staying focused on one direction will not only prevent you from confusing your customer, but also help you stick to your sales purpose.  Tip 2: Ask and suggest the next step: All sales cycles involve steps. After you and your customer have finished one step, ask the customer what he thinks the next step should be. If the customer is unsure, you may suggest steps. This method keeps the sale moving in your intended direction.  Tip 3: Give and remember to receive. When you give something to your customer, you are in a position to ask for something in return. For example, if your customer asks you for a sample, ask your customer to commit to the next step if she is satisfied with the sample.

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Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area Announces Date for 2013 Big Event

In addition to his support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area, Brandon Calley actively supports organizations that help the underserved in Chicago, Detroit, and San Francisco. Each year, Calley notes, groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters plan fundraisers and events that are fun as well as essential. Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area recently announced the date for its 2013 Big Event, which will be held at The Palace in San Francisco on April 12, 2013. The event will feature a live auction, three-course gourmet dinner, and wine tasting, and is themed “Up, Up, and Away!” Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area (BBBSBA) is encouraging all its members, including longtime supporters such as Brandon Calley, to attend in order to make this event a success. Since 1958, BBBSBA has matched adults and youth to create valuable mentoring relationships in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Francisco. As of 2010, BBBSBA has provided 1,100 matches and is working to accommodate the nearly 800 children on the organization’s waiting list.

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Brandon Calley: What a Sales Director Should Know About Tactics and Strategies

As an experienced sales professional, Brandon Calley currently serves as the Sales Director of Reputation.com. Since joining the popular networking site, Mr. Calley has utilized strategies and tactics to create a sustainable revenue stream from B2B (business-to-business) sales. Sales directors employ many professional tools to build effective sales plans for products or services. Chief among these tools are tactics and strategies; a well-developed plan combines the efforts of both to achieve maximum success. Sales strategies involve identifying one's market, then formulating the best method to approach that market through an understanding of audience, brand history, current competition, and other essential factors. Sales tactics follow strategies and include any action taken to execute the formulated marketing method. Examples of tactics include creating promotional materials and developing leads. Originality and creativity keep one's professional tools sharp in a changing industry. A successful sales director must be innovative in the use of tactics and strategies to ensure a sales plan that resonates best with one's market.                           

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Business-to-Business Sales Techniques, Part 1: The Basics, by Brandon Calley

As with any sales process, the business-to-business (B2B) sale begins with marketing of the product or service. However, when approaching a business, marketing efforts prove more effective when they directly mention the potential benefits of purchase. These benefits should appear early in any text-based advertisement and should include particular instances in which the product or service can be used.  When it is time to approach a potential client, the B2B sales professional must demonstrate an unfailing confidence in the product. This essential skill must be mastered before a professional can achieve sales success. Next, the salesperson must develop a method that begins by capturing the client's interest. This continues as the salesperson identifies a need the potential client may have. After this is accomplished, the next step is to demonstrate how the product or service would meet that particular need. This step may repeat multiple times, as the potential client continues through the decision-making process. Next: Part 2, Closing the Sale About the Author: As Sales Director for the online reputation management company Reputation.com, Brandon Calley has built a steady revenue stream based on business-to-business sales. He has also played a key role in coaching other company sales professionals. Mr. Calley's software-as-a-service (SaaS) experience includes five years as Managing Director for the Meltwater Group and several years in sales for Internet start-up company Tell Vision Networks.

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Brandon Calley’s Advice for Developing B2B Relationships

A Sales Director at Reputation.com, Brandon Calley has established a new revenue stream at the company by developing business-to-business (B2B) sales and relationships. As Brandon Calley explains, the most important factor in maintaining and developing B2B relationships remains trust. Businesses can build trust through several different means, but consistency must lie at the heart of the relationship. The businesses should only make promises that they can deliver on and should strive to deliver in a timely fashion. When businesses go out of their way to resolve a problem, they demonstrate dedication to maintaining the relationship.  One of the most important factors in building trust is open communication. Each business should clearly relay goals and objectives, especially in terms of the relationship between the businesses. On the other hand, each must also openly share information related to their problems to keep expectations realistic. Organizations should aim to make these behaviors the norm for their business dealings--not exceptions.

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SaaS Products and Their Benefits By Brandon Calley

Software as a Service (SaaS) products are software that clients rent, as opposed to buying and installing directly on their computers. Users are able to access the rented programs by connecting to the Internet using a web browser.  Using Saas software reduces the costs for all parties. Users do not pay large up-front fees, and vendors are only required to maintain one copy of the software online for use. SaaS products are typically easier to use because most people are familiar with Internet applications. It is also easier to update software because the user is not required to download patches to their individual computer. These applications can be accessed from any workstation with an Internet connection, allowing employees the option of working from home as opposed to requiring them in the office.  About the author: Brandon Calley is a sales professional with nearly ten years of experience working for Fortune 500 companies and start-ups. He graduated with a degree in marketing from Oakland University and completed executive programs at Oxford University and Stanford University. 

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Brandon Calley Discusses the Stanford Executive Education Program.

The Stanford Executive Program began in 1952 and is an executive management program sponsored by Stanford University’s School of Business. Members of the university’s faculty teach the program’s courses, which focus on business management. The Stanford Executive Program is designed for management executives who have 12 to 15 years of experience. Specific programs exist and cover specialized topics such as innovation, marketing, negotiation, and leadership. Each particular program has a different class size, term length, and tuition cost. About the author: Brandon Calley is a sales executive with more than ten years of experience working for large companies as well as start-ups. After graduating from Oakland University with a degree in marketing, Calley attended Oxford University’s Executive Program and the Stanford University Executive Program.

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Martin’s Profile of Successful Salespeople, by Brandon Calley

Successful salespeople need to construct and utilize proactive sales strategies that capture the attention of their clients, but according to professor and author Steve W. Martin, top salespeople also share a number of personality traits that engender trust within their clients and produce effective results for salespeople and their teams. For example, Martin has discovered through research and experience that most successful salespersons exhibit traits such as modesty, conscientiousness, and curiosity when dealing with their clients. Martin believes that these traits communicate that a salesperson is not attempting to make himself the focal point of a transaction but is instead showing an interest in the client and his product as well as a sense of responsibility toward the desired outcome of the transaction. Martin also suggests that successful salespeople do not become discouraged by losses or disappointments on the job but instead use the experiences as stepping stones to learn from and apply toward success in the future. About Brandon Calley As a longtime top sales executive with a variety of leading corporate firms, Brandon Calley has placed himself above the average salesperson by continually demonstrating the traits that lead one to success.

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