Articulus, Inc. - Who We Are

Articulus, Inc. has developed proven processes designed to help you and your sales team:

	Shorten your sales cycle: it will take less time for everyone when you understand your message and build your presentation from there.
	Make a connection: emotions play a bigger role than you may think when it comes to signing on the dotted line. Clarify your message and you will see an emotional response in your customers.
	Improve your bottom line: when you have a clear, concise selling proposition, your chances to connect with your customer and close a deal greatly increase and have a better likelihood of happening.

How well do your customers understand what you can do for them?
Perception is an individual's truth. In an effort to help sales teams that market complex technology and services, we created Articulus, Inc. to better equip them with Perception Management strategies.

Perception Management is the ability to emotionally involve your customer and create a preference for your products and services that can best solve their problem. Effective Perception Management will help your prospect understand what makes you and your company's product different, and why you can deliver the solution they need.

So, how does storytelling fit in to all of this?
People naturally connect to narratives. Intangible or conceptual ideas need concrete examples to bring them to life. Stories offer a valuable exchange of human experience that engages each of us on a basic level of understanding. When you can relate to your customer on his or her terms, you will make an important, lasting impression. Putting all of this inside a process builds a repeatable skill and method for your selling team.

	Dan Riehl Tom Peurach Brian O'Keefe

Dan Riehl
Dan started his career as an engineer working for a major energy service company. It was there that he discovered interpersonal skills were rewarded more than raw technical know-how. For the last 14 years, Dan has worked in the high-tech industry helping companies adopt new technologies. Through sales and marketing efforts at companies like IBM, Landmark Graphics, and Mechanical Dynamics, Inc., Dan developed skills that helped them deliver better messages to their customers, and ultimately won bigger deals.

"I learned early on that you really had to have a technical solution to a customer's problem, but that did not always mean you won the business. The perception that your solution can solve the problem and the perceived value of your offering affect the sale much more than the technology itself."

The methods he used and the experience he gained from implementing these concepts at those companies are the foundation for the Articulus Corporate Storytelling Workshop.

Tom Peurach
"Build it and they will come." This was Tom's motto after completing his master's degree in Computer Science in 1991. After all, if you have great technology people will buy it, right? Tom learned this wasn't true early on at a small government contractor, Cybernet Systems Corporation, where he experienced a fundamental life lesson: decisions are all about perception. To manage the customer's perception, he knew he had to concisely communicate his ideas in a language that others could understand. This was more easily said than done for a computer scientist with four patents.

He took this valuable lesson to Mechanical Dynamics (MDI) where he managed the relationship with the company's largest partners and elevated the associated revenues to record levels. Later as a marketing director at MDI, he was responsible for positioning products with the sales force and customers. Tom embraced the Corporate Storytelling methodology in 1998 and began coaching others on its use in 2000. Tom officially joined Articulus as an instructor in 2001.

Brian O'Keefe
Early on in his sales career, Brian learned that there was more to getting customers to make decisions than simply teaching them the product. Brian started his career as a teaching assistant while pursuing his MSME at the University of Michigan. Later he became a software instructor for Mechanical Dynamics, Inc. As an applications engineer and before eventually moving into sales at MSC.Software and ESI North America he had to refine his skills in communicating complex ideas.

"Early on, my sales cycle consisted of teaching, teaching, and more teaching. I figured the more features they understood, the more they would want to buy. I would demonstrate how to use the software and hope that they made a logical decision in my favor. Sometimes it worked, but it was a slow, inefficient sales cycle. I realized I was doing nothing to address their emotions."

After learning the Storyboard Process from Articulus, Inc., Brian's results began to change and his sales cycle was shortened. The Storyboard Process helped him get faster decisions and win more often. While at ESI North America, Brian saw his new licensing revenue increase 50% in two years and his services revenue increase by 200%. Brian has been coaching others on the use of the Storyboard Process since 2004. Now as a Corporate Storyteller, he works with sales professionals to better communicate their unique selling message.