User:StephanieTilton/Jill Konrath

Jill Konrath is a sales strategist in the highly competitive business-to-business marketplace. She's the author of two sales books, SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies. Both are focused on sales strategies that work with crazy-busy prospects. Her books have been widely reviewed by dozens of sales and business experts, ,. In 2008, Fortune magazine selected Selling to Big Companies as one of eight all time "must reads" for salespeople, along with How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William Ury, and The New Strategic Selling by by Robert B. Miller and Stephen E. Heiman. Currently Konrath is the CEO of Leapfrog Strategies, a St. Paul-based company. She speaks frequently at corporate events and conferences and she runs sales seminars around the world.

Background
Konrath graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1974 with a B.S. in Education and taught high school for four years. In 1978, she accepted a sales position with Xerox Corporation [] and was promoted into sales management in 1981. Two years later, she moved into computer sales at CPT where her sales performance earned her the international Rookie of the Year award.

In 1987, Konrath started Leapfrog Strategies, Inc., a sales training & consulting company specializing in new product launches. In 2003, she launched SellingtoBigCompanies.com, a website focused on helping small companies win big contracts. Her work in this area has been cited in Entrepreneur Magazine, Selling Power , The Business Journals , Sales & Marketing Management , Inc. , Speaker , and many other publications. In 2007, she created the Sales Shebang, an online resource for women in sales. In 2009, she launched GetBacktoWorkFaster.com, a website to help out-of-work professionals land new jobs.

Thought
According to Konrath, traditional sales methodologies no longer work with overwhelmed corporate decision makers who are expected to achieve more, in less time and with fewer resources. In order to capture and keep the attention of prospective customers, Konrath says that sellers must align with their business objectives, focus on key priorities, simplify the complex and become an invaluable personal resource to their clients. Additionally, she says that a company's "only sustainable competitive advantage is its sales force."

Publications
Konrath is the author of three books:   SNAP Selling: Speed Up Sales and Win More Business with Today's Frazzled Customers (Portfolio 2010) Selling to Big Companies Get Back to Work Faster: The Ultimate Job Seeker's Guide for Professionals 

Konrath is a contributing author to the following books:  Mastering the World of Selling: The Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales Top Dog Recession-Busting Sales Secrets Masters of Sales, a New York Times Bestseller Top Dog Sales Secrets 

Konrath has been cited in the following books: Why Johnny Can't Sell, by Michael Nick and Bob Kantin; Trust Your Gut by Lynn Robinson; Get Slightly Famous by Steven Van Yoder; Lead Generation for the Complex Sale by Brian Carroll; Get Clients Now! by C.J. Hayden; Buyer-Approved Selling by Michael Schell; SMART Calling by Art Sobczak; eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale by Ardath Albee ; Make What You Say Pay! by Anne Miller; and Stories that Sell by Casey Hibbard.

Konrath has also written the foreword sections for the following books: Smart Selling on the Phone and Online by Josiane Feigon ; 42 Rules for Growing Enterprise Revenue by Lilia Shirman; Dirty Little Secrets by Sharon Drew Morgen; eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale by Ardath Albee ; and Negotiation Rules by Jeanette Nyden.

TV/Radio/Online Video Interviews


It's Your Biz!, FOX2 TV Interview with Susan Solovic How to Get Back to Work Faster, ABC News Interview wih Tori Johnson I LostMyJob.com interview with Robert Shindell (7 Part Interview Series) Sales Rep Radio Interview, Cracking into Corporate Accounts <li>Link Into Sales: Interview with Miles Austin <li>High Velocity Blog, Radio Interview </ul>

Select Articles
<ul> <li>Multitude of Media References <li>RainToday Contributing Author, Articles archive <li>Management Consulting News, Advice for Selling to Big Companies <li>Eyes on Sales, Secrets of Top Sellers and What You Can Do to Be One <li>The Sideroad, How to Write a Strong Value Proposition <li>SalesVantage, Passing the "Tell Me More" Test </ul>

Category: Business speakers, American business writers, Public speakers, born in 1951, American bloggers, University of Minnesota alumni