TGI and IGNITE Join Forces Creating a Strategic Partnership to Help SMBs Reach C-Suite Executives

Sept. 8, 2009 - PRLog -- The Gentry Initiative (TGI) and the IGNITE Advisory Group, two unique consulting firms specializing in improving C-level sales effectiveness for small-to medium-sized (SMB) businesses, today announced their strategic partnership in providing their complementary suite of services to help businesses reach senior-level decision makers at prospective clients and customers.  These complementary offerings are designed to enhance C-level executive access, drive top-line revenue, build better client loyalty, and deliver a measurable return on investment.

How do their services complement each other?  

While The Gentry Initiative focuses on delivering a suite of high impact, sales effectiveness workshops that help sales teams gain access, describe their value, and ultimately become perceived as trusted advisers to senior executives; the IGNITE Advisory Group helps SMBs create high-level sales opportunities by fostering non-threatening executive interactions with C level customers and prospects. Together they tackle the challenge of executive engagement from two perspectives; a sales team perspective tactically (TGI's approach), and from a marketing perspective strategically (IGNITE's approach).  Both companies serve a broad range of B2B clients in a variety of industries, including financial, health sciences, and consumer products, with an emphasis in the B2B high-tech industry.

"As salespeople work to differentiate themselves and seek to obtain, and maintain customers, they need to reach higher levels within their client organizations to remain competitive and build long-term relationships," said Mike Gentry, Founder and CEO of The Gentry Initiative (http://www.TGInow.com).  "To be most effective one must identify, engage and connect with the Relevant Executive™.  Sales professionals admit that nearly half of all opportunities are lost as a direct result of not winning the approval of the right decision-maker."

Eyal Danon, CEO of IGNITE Advisory Group (http://www.igniteag.com/) concurs.  “They [sales professionals] are typically mired at the mid-management level and can’t effectively bring in macro-level, big dollar deals.  Our new services are designed to bridge this gap and provide a platform for our customers to engage, influence and leverage top management at customer and prospect organizations in order to generate large opportunities and learn to think and speak like the customer.”

IGNITE offers a suite of services for the facilitation and management of customer advisory boards, user groups and executive events. The company serves a broad range of customers, with a specialization in the B2B high-tech industry. Clients include companies such as the Gerson Lehrman Group, NICE Systems , Sapines , Millbrook Inc., Sparta Systems, SoundBridge, and others.  Together with the offerings from TGI, they provide clients with a complete, integrated solution to executive engagement.  

"At TGI we are dedicated to helping your sales teams overcome the challenges of executive engagement and closing more deals at the executive level," notes Mr. Gentry.  "Our industry-leading workshops are designed to give top sales professionals a competitive edge in selling high-value products and services at the highest levels of client organizations. Our workshops are based on years of rigorous research and proven best practices.  While we have several new workshops to chose from, our three most popular are:

SellXL™ – a practical, high-energy, one-day workshop that helps professional salespeople better establish, maintain and leverage relationships at the executive level.

Sales Opportunity Snapshot™ (SOS) – a practical, and intensive, one-day workshop that helps professional salespeople better analyze and manage their current sales opportunities quickly and more effectively in order to achieve sales results more timely.  The next generation in Opportunity Management with a powerful, easy-to-use tool that salespeople tell us “allows them to continue to focus on selling."

SOS seamlessly links with Selling at the Executive Level (SellXL™) providing a powerful two-day combination of workshops covering opportunity management and selling to executives.  Finally, after learning how to identify and engage the Relevant Executive™, and  better analyze and manage their current sales opportunities, sales professionals can, and should, learn the value of Cultivating Client Loyalty (CCL™):  A highly valued one-day workshop that helps professional salespeople develop loyalty-based relationships with senior client executives.

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About The Gentry Initiative (TGI)

Positioned to meet the ever changing challenges of executive engagement and "Selling to the C-Suite." The Gentry Initiative (http://www.TGInow.com) is a consulting firm that is focused on delivering a suite of high impact, sales effectiveness workshops that help sales teams gain access, describe their value, and ultimately become perceived as trusted advisers to senior executives. Our Selling at the Executive Level workshops are attended by top sales professionals and executives at some of the world's most successful and prestigious organizations. These companies chose our workshops as a key element in their sales strategy. Some of our clients include Microsoft , IBM , Cisco Systems , Lenovo , Monster Worldwide , United Airlines  and The Coca Cola Company , just to name a few.