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DumbingThings Down Versus Radical Simplification

Partners in EXCELLENCE Blog -- Making A Difference

David Brock

20 May 2013 | 5:50 am

I’m a great advocate of Radical Simplification. Our worlds are too complex, we seem to keep piling things onto everything we’ve done in the past. New programs, new processes, new systems, new tools, new training. Layer upon layer accumulates, confusing sales people–what do I do? Which strategy should I follow, do I use this approach or another? It goes on and on…… Too often, however, in response to this complexity and all the “tools” that have been put in place to manage complexity, instead of simplification, we dumb things down. We make…
The Power of Trust in B2B Selling

Score More Sales

Lori Richardson

21 May 2013 | 6:27 am

Recently I posted about how leaving well-crafted voice mail messages for a prospective customer can be a way to build trust with someone who does not know you yet. This post elicited comments by a number of people including one of the world’s top thought leaders on trust-based selling, (and trust in business relationships), Charles Green. After talking back and forth with Charlie, who is a colleague of mine, he agreed to answer a few questions about how he got so immersed in the focus on trust and offered his thoughts on why trust is so critical in selling. Charles H. Green is the…
4 Reasons Dumbing it Down is the Smartest Way to Sell

Smart Selling Tools Blog

Nancy Nardin

14 May 2013 | 6:15 am

Almost a year to the date, I posted a blog called Dumbing it Down: 5 Secrets for Getting Smart People to Buy. It was one of our most popular posts breaking the 100 tweet barrier. That post, along with the one you’re reading now, is aimed at complex sales. The characteristics of a complex sale are typically wider and deeper business challenges that require longer sales-cycles and result in larger average deal sizes. Complex sales are to be contrasted with transactional sales where decisions are made in minutes or days rather than in months or longer. Buyers often need help understanding…
C-Level Selling for Closing Sales and Passing Legislation

C-Level, Relationship Selling Blog

Sam Manfer

12 May 2013 | 4:39 pm

Gaining support from C-levels and powerful legislators is the same challenge sales people and President Obama face for closing sales or getting bills passed through congress. Learn from this article the solutions to quickly move your sales or congressional initiatives to favorable conclusions.
Does “Dumbing it Down” Lead to A Sale?

Media Sales Today

Jessica Helinski

22 May 2013 | 1:39 pm

Do you think salespeople should “dumb it down” to get prospects to buy? Nancy Nardin, founder and president of Smart Selling Tools, think this is the way to go in some situations. On her blog, she addresses the complex sale, and she explains why dumbing things down really is the smartest way to woo a buyer.The post Does “Dumbing it Down” Lead to A Sale? appeared first on Media Sales Today.

Heavy Hitter Sales Blog
The Truth About 50+ Year Old Salespeople

Steve Martin

18 May 2013 | 12:36 pm

Over the last couple of months I’ve spoken to a number of experienced sales leaders and senior sales reps who were contemplating their next career move. Many feared their age might become an obstacle so I thought I would post this article. It's still hard times for salespeople and sales managers over 50 today. As companies have downsized, they find themselves five times more likely to be let go when compared to their younger counterparts. They also have a more difficult time finding new jobs because younger sales managers have five basic fears…
HOW TOP SALESPEOPLE USE LINKEDIN-Harvard Business Review

Steve Martin

27 Apr 2013 | 9:50 am

Harvard Business Review is arguably the most prestigious publication for business leaders and management thinkers. Here’s one of my recent Harvard Business Review articles titled “How Top Salespeople Use LinkedIn to Sell More.” I recently interviewed 54 top salespeople about how they use LinkedIn to research accounts, prospect for leads, and generate sales. All of the study participants sell technology-based products to the IT departments of mid to large size companies. The study included three types of salespeople: 33% were inside salespeople who sell exclusively…
Study Reveals Why B2B Salespeople Lose Deals

Steve Martin

7 Apr 2013 | 9:18 am

Harvard Business Review is arguably the most prestigious publication for business leaders and management thinkers. Here’s one of my recent Harvard Business Review articles titled “Ten Reasons Salespeople Lose Deals.” Over the past year I’ve had the opportunity to interview several hundred business-to-business salespeople about how they win-over prospective clients and the circumstances when they lose. These interviews were conducted with salespeople across a wide variety of industries including high technology, telecommunications, financial services, consulting, industrial equipment,…
Is Your Sales Organization Good or Great? Harvard Business Review Article

Steve Martin

19 Mar 2013 | 4:27 am

Harvard Business Review is arguably the most prestigious publication for business leaders and management thinkers. Here’s one of my recent Harvard Business Review articles titled “Is Your Sales Organization Good or Great.” What separates great from good sales organizations? After working with over two-hundred different companies the evidence suggests that the best business-to-business sales organizations share specific patterns of organizational structure and behavior. These similarities can be defined into the seven different attributes listed below. Conversely,…
20 GREAT COMPANIES TO SELL FOR IN 2013

Steve Martin

23 Feb 2013 | 2:29 pm

I’ve had the privilege to work with and study hundreds of companies and their sales organizations. Based upon my experience, here’s my list of the best companies to sell for in 2013. While it includes companies than range from start-ups to billions in sales, all of these businesses share three common qualities. They provide fantastic technology-based solutions, have great leadership teams, and offer high growth rate career opportunity environments! Nimble Storage www.nimblestorage.com – Nimble Storage is a revolutionary Silicon Valley flash-optimized storage company. It is the…

Score More Sales
The Power of Trust in B2B Selling

Lori Richardson

21 May 2013 | 6:27 am

Recently I posted about how leaving well-crafted voice mail messages for a prospective customer can be a way to build trust with someone who does not know you yet. This post elicited comments by a number of people including one of the world’s top thought leaders on trust-based selling, (and trust in business relationships), Charles Green. After talking back and forth with Charlie, who is a colleague of mine, he agreed to answer a few questions about how he got so immersed in the focus on trust and offered his thoughts on why trust is so critical in selling. Charles H. Green is the…
Inside Sales Power Tip 114 – Build Trust

Lori Richardson

20 May 2013 | 5:47 am

After being in sales for many years, I had an “Aha” moment. I don’t remember ever hearing about this idea in sales training (I’ve been through so many programs over my sales career) but I immediately knew it to be true when it registered in my head. I don’t even know where it came from. This idea has impacted me and hundreds of individual contributors making calls from that day forward whom I’ve had the pleasure to train and coach. It is about the idea of building trust. Some sellers call and call and don’t leave voice mail. They want to catch their…
Inside Sales Power Tip 113 – Energy

Lori Richardson

15 May 2013 | 6:19 am

Remote professional selling requires a certain level of energy and enthusiasm that conveys confidence in yourself, your company, and your services or products. It is a fine line between enough and not too much. Too much is when someone sounds hyped up on more caffeine than a human should be allowed. More than anywhere, I see this when I go into a coffee-house and the barista is talking too much, too loud, and obviously drinking way too much coffee. Sellers who push their product too hard, excusing this behavior as “passion” for their job or company are missing the point. Passion…
LinkedIn Celebrates 10 Years with Big Enhancements

Lori Richardson

10 May 2013 | 8:35 am

Click here to view the embedded video. They say time flies when you are having fun – especially in sales. LinkedIn sent out a great email to its members which included the video you see here. We included it because I’m crazy about LinkedIn as a sales tool, and because LinkedIn and I go way back – nine years, in fact. As member 29,426 in a peer group of 225 million +, you could say I saw great potential in LinkedIn way back when. I opened my LinkedIn account on October 3, 2003. What I liked about LinkedIn then is what I continue to like about it as a tool for those in…
Inside Sales Power Tip 112 – Challenge Yourself

Lori Richardson

8 May 2013 | 9:20 am

Going through the motions in a sales position is bad for you as a sales rep and it is not good for your company, either. One of the best things a company can do to get this message across is to have the company president or CEO stand in front of new sales reps (on-boarding training, perhaps?) and make this clear. When I ran CCBN University (the corporate learning arm of a rapidly growing tech company, which was sold to Thomson Retuers), I always looked forward to our president, Rob Adler kicking off new employee training. Rob, who is now President of FRT, used to come in and say this with…

Smart Selling Tools Blog
4 Reasons Dumbing it Down is the Smartest Way to Sell

Nancy Nardin

14 May 2013 | 6:15 am

Almost a year to the date, I posted a blog called Dumbing it Down: 5 Secrets for Getting Smart People to Buy. It was one of our most popular posts breaking the 100 tweet barrier. That post, along with the one you’re reading now, is aimed at complex sales. The characteristics of a complex sale are typically wider and deeper business challenges that require longer sales-cycles and result in larger average deal sizes. Complex sales are to be contrasted with transactional sales where decisions are made in minutes or days rather than in months or longer. Buyers often need help understanding…
The “Other” 5 Pledges to Radically Increase Revenue

Nancy Nardin

7 May 2013 | 6:30 am

In February, I posted the first of a 2-part Sales Leaders’ pledge. I’m creating this pledge as much for my benefit as I am for yours. You see like you, I’m not immune to the centrifugal force caused by the dizzying array of ailments that plague our profession. Determined as we all may be, it is rare to NOT fall short of the lofty goals we set for ourselves and our organizations. It’s not sales goals or quotas I’m referring to (although a CSO study revealed that 37% of reps did not hit their plan last year — so we are falling short on those as well.)…
Closing Opportunities: The One Factor You Can’t Afford to Ignore

Nancy Nardin

30 Apr 2013 | 5:30 am

There’s something watching our every move. It casts a dark, deceptive and often destructive shadow upon each and every salesperson as they go about their day. It threatens to wreak havoc in the most insidious and unexpected ways. It is the perfect ally to have on your side, but it often stands as a formidable and unforgiving adversary. It cannot be bought or owned, yet it is yours to use as you like. As you may have guessed, I’m talking about the most scarce resource of all – ‘time’. Obviously, if you had more time you could talk with more prospects or better prepare…
Why I’m Launching The Sales Productivity University

Nancy Nardin

23 Apr 2013 | 6:00 am

At Smart Selling Tools, our goal is to make it easy to find tools that will improve sales productivity. Plain and simple – except we know that for most sales leaders and business owners it’s in fact, very complex. That’s because you’re either running the business or the revenue engine, and you have little time (or patience) to catch up on the latest technology. Even if you are interested (which, come on, you know you are), there are so many sales tools – including more than a hundred CRM systems – that it’s enough to drive a smart person crazy. That’s why I’m excited to…
Key Take-aways from 3 Compelling Sessions at #DemandCon

Nancy Nardin

17 Apr 2013 | 8:47 am

I just returned from attending DemandCon in San Francisco. DemandCon’s purpose is to offer education and insight into the art of aligning and accelerating the sales and marketing funnel. Unfortunately, I was only able to attend the first of the two-day event. I say ‘unfortunately’ because it turned out to be a great networking opportunity. But most importantly, it proved to have a number of really great speakers along with relevant and interesting topics. In case you missed the event, I’ve jotted down my key take-aways from three of the most compelling sessions. Umberto Milletti,…

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Everyone Can Sell. Not Really. Top 10 Reasons Why Not

Dave Kurlan

22 May 2013 | 6:08 am

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave KurlanDan Pink, Author of To Sell is Human, has been getting a lot of well-deserved exposure. He wrote a terrific book and most who have read it, really like it. I don't have a problem with his book because read in its entirety, it makes sense. I do have an issue with the people who write about his book and take the concept, that everyone can sell, out of context. The context is that everyone can sell their ideas. Agreed. But out of context, it is suggested that everyone can be a salesperson. I strongly disagree.
Salespeople Must Stop Snorkeling and Start Scuba Diving

Dave Kurlan

15 May 2013 | 6:48 am

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave KurlanWe talk a lot about the importance of using a consultative approach instead of a transactional approach to better differentiate and sell value instead of price. When we explain consultative selling, we usually emphasize the importance of listening and questioning. When we further explain effective listening and questioning, it becomes much more difficult to describe in a paragraph or in the absence of a demonstration or role-play. Until today. Snorkeling, or moving along the surface of the ocean, is akin to poor questioning, moving from…
Impact of Sales Process versus Sales Coaching

Dave Kurlan

14 May 2013 | 10:18 am

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave KurlanWe are in the middle of the first day of our 2-day Sales Leadership Intensive. While most attendees admit that they must be more effective at coaching, many who said they have some kind of sales process in place didn't come to the same conclusion. So, why is it so obvious to sales leaders that they need to improve their coaching, but so elusive that they need to improve their sales process? Change occurs in direct proportion to the availability of immediate feedback. You get instant feedback from coaching. Your…
Top 10 Reasons Why Salespeople Let Price Drive the Sale

Dave Kurlan

10 May 2013 | 3:04 am

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave KurlanSelling value. What comes so easily to the top 6% and some of the top 26% is so very difficult for others. Most salespeople have little capability to effectively build value. Talking about what your company does better or differently or telling a prospect what your value proposition is does not build value. Instead, value comes from 3 things: Uncovering the compelling reason(s) to buy and buy from you, Understanding the impact, ripple effect and cost of those compelling reasons, and Positioning yourself and company as the…
Is the "Lack of Commitment to Sales Success" Finding Predictive?

Dave Kurlan

6 May 2013 | 8:26 pm

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave KurlanSo you have your sales force evaluated and in addition to learning why you are getting the results you are getting, and what you can do to significantly improve those results, you are suprised by some of the individual findings on some of your salespeople. One of the findings that generates the most push-back is Lack of Commitment to sales success. We could hear any of the following comments as push-back to this finding: our best salesperson, nobody tries harder, works longer hours than anyone, been here for years, landed our biggest customer,…

OpenView Labs
Content Marketing KPIs: 5 Metrics that Matter

Kevin Cain

22 May 2013 | 8:24 am

Tracking metrics like unique visitors, bounce rate, and conversion are critical to content marketing success. But choosing the right key performance indicators to measure can be a challenge. Slow down and focus on these five to start. Performance improvement expert H. James Harrington once said, “Measurement is the first step that leads to control and, eventually, to improvement.” For anyone trying to take their content marketing efforts to the next level, his words certainly ring true. For content marketers, key performance indicators (KPIs) provide deep insights into how our content…
A Fresh Take on Entrepreneur Networking

jminton

22 May 2013 | 6:30 am

Struggling to find a co-founder for your startup? CoFounders Lab has the answer to all your entrepreneur networking woes. Think it’s hard to find love in this crazy world? Try finding the perfect co-founder for your business idea. There might be less awkward small talk and confusion about how to split the bill, but there’s no less anxiety involved. But CoFounders Lab has come up with an interesting solution for entrepreneur networking, explains Elisha Hartwig in this post at Mashable. No matter your preferences or quirks in life, there’s a dating website to bring you together with a…
3 Secrets to Hiring the Best Inside Sales Reps

OpenView Guest

21 May 2013 | 7:30 am

Sure, the right training can work wonders, but the best way to build a top sales team is by hiring the best sales reps to begin with. Inside sales expert Mike Brooks shares three tips for sorting the best performers from the bunch. How do you separate the top potential performers from the rest? Ask any manager, VP, or business owner what one of the biggest challenges they face in making their revenue numbers and they’ll tell you it’s in identifying, hiring and retaining good sales reps. If you are familiar with my management philosophy, then you’ve heard me talk about the 80/20 rule in…
New Business Organizational Structures: Why It’s Time to Blow Up Convention

jminton

21 May 2013 | 6:30 am

It’s time to turn those innovation initiatives towards your org chart and create new business organizational structures. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of history can tip their hat to many of the truly groundbreaking developments of the Industrial Age. But even the staunchest history buff would agree that, while remarkable for their time, those innovations would be antiquated at best in today’s business landscape. So why do the vast majority of companies continue with an employee hierarchy that wouldn’t seem out of place in a museum? In this post at GigaOM Dave Kashen, founder of…
How Non-Traditional Marketing Can Put You On The Map

jminton

20 May 2013 | 9:30 am

By selling their app out of a VW Bus, the Divvy team proves that non-traditional marketing can give you an edge in a crowded market place. No matter where you turn, it seems someone is coming up with a truly great idea for an app or product. With a market that’s seemingly saturated with brilliance, how can you stand out? Well, as the team at Divvy has shown, a little quirkiness can go a long way. Sarah Perez explains how they are leveraging non-traditional marketing to build up some buzz in this post at TechCrunch. Divvy has a truly solid idea for their app, Perez points out. But they’re…

jillkonrath.com
[Video] 3 Doable Strategies to Increase Sales Productivity

22 May 2013 | 4:30 am

If you're like everyone else these days, you're overwhelmed with way too much to do and not nearly enough time to get it done. One of our biggest problems though is something we can control. Being online much of the day isn't good for us. We bounce from task to task. We take emails when they come in. We make calls, visit websites, read articles, and do email again. And, sometimes we even get sucked into doing other things -- perhaps like even watching this video right now. If you want to increase sales productivity and get much more done, here are a couple strategies to improve time…
How to Get 58% of Your Revenue Via LinkedIn Groups

20 May 2013 | 9:55 am

In today's article, Thomas von Ahn, founder of Viral Solutions, Inc. shares the LinkedIn strategies he and his partner (Christine Kelly) use to generate the majority of their business. They use LinkedIn Groups to consistently generate high quality leads from people who already view them as credible resources. In fact, in our 2013 Sales & LinkedIn Survey, we discovered that 50.7% of top sellers belonged to 30+ groups compared to only 11.5% of their counterparts. And take a look at their group activity. As you can see, top sellers are nearly twice as active in LinkedIn groups than everyone…
[Video] The Ultimate Sales Pitch

15 May 2013 | 4:30 am

What makes a good sales pitch? If you're selling to the corporate market, let me be frank with you. Nothing in the whole wide world makes a good sales pitch. Corporate decision makers despise pitches. Everyone who meets with them spouts out platitudes about how wonderful their companies are, how incredible their technology is or how passionate they are about customer service. Or, they babble on and on about their unique methodology and amazing credentials. When you have the opportunity to meet with a corporate decision maker, remember that a pitch is like the plague. They'll run from you as…
Top Seller LinkedIn Strategy: Monitor Customer Job Changes

10 May 2013 | 11:41 am

In Cracking the LinkedIn Sales Code, which highlights the results of our 2013 Sales & LinkedIn survey, we discovered that top sellers had significantly more LinkedIn connections with their customers than everyone else. That's a huge difference. And here’s an even starker contrast. If you look at the 55% of survey respondents who never generated an opportunity via LinkedIn, they’re only connected to 9.8% of their customers. Mmmm. Do you think being connected to customers might matter? One LinkedIn strategy that top sellers use is getting alerts when a customer or prospect…
[VIDEO] 5 Ways to Build Your LinkedIn Personal Brand With SlideShare

8 May 2013 | 4:15 am

If you haven’t used SlideShare on your LinkedIn profile yet, you’re missing a real opportunity to upgrade your online personal brand. What’s SlideShare? It’s a program that let’s you share PDF files, PowerPoint presentations and even videos with others. This turns your flat LinkedIn profile into a multi-media bonanza of great information that can showcase your company or personal expertise and value. Your prospects are checking you out online and you want to have the best possible LinkedIn personal brand. Here are 5 ways to build your LinkedIn profile using…

Web Tools and Strategies to Increase Sales - Fill the Funnel
LinkedIn Contacts Resources and Webinar Replay

Miles Austin

9 May 2013 | 8:13 am

Viveka and I want to say thank you for registering for this webinar and hope that we delivered the value and information that you had hoped for. As promised, we are making available the following links for your benefit: Webinar Replay: http://bit.ly/13iLsxf SlideDeck:http://slidesha.re/10s6YQM Additional Resource Listing: http://bit.ly/170Pm13 De-Dupe Resources and tools: www.nomoredupes.com www.duplicate-remover.com http://bit.ly/11TJzEq Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXXtM55ISSA You will be receiving information about our Advanced LinkedIn Webinar training in the next few days.
LinkedIn Contacts: The Next (R)evolution

Miles Austin

1 May 2013 | 6:21 am

There is quite a bit of buzz about a new feature of LinkedIn that most likely is not even available in your Profile as of yet. It is called LinkedIn Contacts and it is worth taking a strong interest in. Most informed sales pros get the social selling concept. They are embracing the strategies, tactics and tools that are driving new revenue and new customer acquisition. One of the primary challenges has become managing the activities and information flowing from various platforms and tools that are used in the selling process. There is a lot to manage if you are actively using available tools.
Alternative for Google Alerts

Miles Austin

26 Mar 2013 | 6:19 am

The demise of Google Reader has gotten all the attention over the last two weeks but for those in sales and marketing, another favorite web tool also appears to be on it last legs – Google Alerts. Users have relied on Google Alerts to notify them every time new information from search results appear on the web for specific keywords important to them. Updates for the popular program have all but stopped. Many active users are reporting that the frequency has dropped and some are even saying that they are not receiving Alerts at all. This created the observation that Google Alerts might…
LinkedIn Fans Experience New Look With A New Profile Update

Miles Austin

22 Mar 2013 | 8:21 am

LinkedIn is rolling out yet another round of changes to your Profile and interface. As usual, it is being rolled out over time, and I have no idea what criteria they use to do this. If you are reading this and notice that you are the recipient of this new change, I would love to talk with you to learn what you think of the changes. I have not been affected as of yet, so I am embedding a helpful video step-through from my good friend and LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day author Viveka von Rosen who found a client that has received the new layout. So, keep an eye out for this to hit your…
Do You Need a Paid LinkedIn Account?

Miles Austin

18 Mar 2013 | 6:18 am

Sales people and businesses who are serious about using their online presence to sell and make money don’t have sites that look like an amateur is behind them. They have invested in themselves and their online presence and continually use a critical eye to make sure it is presenting the desired image and information. They do not waste their time chasing shiny objects that add no value to their message or image. Several times a week a hear from someone who wants to add a new widget to their site, a new plugin that pops up, twirls and then shoots sparks to get the attention of the reader…

the funnelholic
Social Selling, mobile marketing, and qualified leads — This week on Twitter

Craig Rosenberg

23 May 2013 | 4:22 am

It’s been awhile since our last Tweet of the Week segment, lets call this “Tweets of the last couple weeks”. On to it! 7 out of 10 times at an account, the marketing client will say: “Sales will not follow up on my leads!”. Sometimes it’s communication or process that’s the problem. Truthfully, sometimes the problem has nothing to do with alignment and all that jive, the leads do actually suck. And actually, it is better for sales to cold call then follow up on these terrible leads. True RT @acquireb2b @heinzmarketing: 32% of #sdsummit attendees…
The biggest mistake marketers make is “spraying and praying”: Madlibs w/ @brandrelevance

Craig Rosenberg

22 May 2013 | 10:07 am

Today’s Madlibs is with Shannon Ryan. I have worked on and off with Shannon for years. She runs a marketing consultancy with a specialty in strategic consulting around events (live, virtual, etc.). I text, call, email her all the time with questions…in other words Shannon is one of my favorite resources. I hope you enjoy her Madlibs 1. The b2b buyer is:A human. They need emotional and rational appeal just as much the B2C buyer. 2. The biggest innovation in marketing is: Fusing insights to support the customer engagement model and using those insights to inform marketing…
Content: That tie that binds you and your @Linkedin connections

Craig Rosenberg

21 May 2013 | 4:29 am

The goal of this post is to be short but sweet. What you have here is a story of how compelling content is the “tie that binds” you to your Linkedin connections (formerly known as your Rolodex). Let me set the table: We are just starting out with our new business, Topo. The sales person and I are were going through our Linkedin connections to create a list of contacts to re-connect with. We were barely getting through the list when someone on our list shares my content. I post content multiple times a day to my Linkedin profile. I will get a comment or a +1 here and there. …
Don’t let the ‘cold calling is dead’ crew drag you down: Madlibs with @srichardv

Craig Rosenberg

20 May 2013 | 4:30 am

I say it time and time again: The best people to pick up prospecting tips from are the appointment setting guys. Steve Richard from Vorsight is one of those guys. I personally learn a lot from the tips and tactics they are willing to share. If you are in the business, you should too. Here are his Madlibs: The b2b buyer is overwhelmed and, as a result, more unaware of their needs than ever. How do you help someone realize they have a need that they didn’t know they had five minutes ago? The biggest innovation in sales is a deeper understanding of the buyer’s journey and how to…
Social Prospecting and Don Draper: A story about getting that hard-to-reach client

Craig Rosenberg

17 May 2013 | 4:35 am

I have a very simple rule for prospecting: If you want to know tactics and best practices for getting to hard-to-reach prospects, then listen to the guys who run appointment setting organizations or outbound call centers. They do this for a living at scale. I was putting together a preso for Sirius Decisions with Mike Damphousse from GreenLeads. He is the master at prospecting. He explained to me how they have changed their approach and then provided an A-MAZING example. The game is changing, even for the outbound masters Buyers just don’t pick up their phones very much anymore. I…

C-Level, Relationship Selling Blog
C-Level Selling for Closing Sales and Passing Legislation

Sam Manfer

12 May 2013 | 4:39 pm

Gaining support from C-levels and powerful legislators is the same challenge sales people and President Obama face for closing sales or getting bills passed through congress. Learn from this article the solutions to quickly move your sales or congressional initiatives to favorable conclusions.
C-Level Sales Training 1–Become a Selling Super Star

Sam Manfer

22 Aug 2012 | 5:35 pm

Become a super seller by changing your selling approach with subordinates. Get over the anxiety of getting to C-Level executives, and profit center leaders and use the subordinates to help you get there. This article and bonus tip will show the step to become a selling rock star.
C-Level Sales Training – It’s Not a Sale Until the C-Level Sings "Yes"

Sam Manfer

13 Jun 2012 | 5:30 pm

If you want to be a super seller, change your strategy. Focus on the C-suite, and profit center leaders. Don’t stick with subordinates, committees, or comptrollers. They can only recommend to the C-level leader. To guarantee success you and you alone have to win over the C-levels.
C-Level Selling - Large Account Plans Require Both Parties’ Participation

Sam Manfer

7 Mar 2012 | 2:01 pm

If you manage your large account plans the way your financial department manages your budgets, you’ll have great results. Learn how to build and manage large account plans in this article.
C-Level Selling Tips – Keep Competition Out of Your Key Accounts

Sam Manfer

20 Feb 2012 | 4:08 pm

The only way to keep competition out of your key accounts is to be perceived as the top benefit provider for that key account. Your competition wants those accounts and they will eventually penetrate unless those accounts fear losing the benefits you and only you can provide. This article will show how to make sure that happens

Caskey Sales Training - Sales Strategy - Leadership - Indianapolis
Now Here’s a Thank You Note

Bill Caskey

22 May 2013 | 3:05 am

Attention: All adults who still think it’s corny to write a thank you note. Here is a thank you note I just received from an intern candidate who didn’t get the job. I thought you’d like to see what a real thank you note sounds like. Remember, this kid is 19. _______________________________________ I just want to write to you and give you my formal thanks. Your recommendation of my name to xxxx is extremely flattering. You were very professional and respectful with our interview and phone and email conversations. I mainly appreciate that you took me seriously and that,…
Potpourri of Modern Sales Problems

Jillian Vanarsdall

20 May 2013 | 6:12 am

In this episode, Bryan and Bill address three sales issues from their clients: What do you do when the deal is going south? What happens when you’ve done everything you’re supposed to do and they STILL aren’t calling you back? What do you do when you’re in a rut and need motivation? Bill and Bryan each have specific clients who’ve had these three very things occur. Listen as they play off of each other when solving them. Also mentioned in this podcast: Join our LinkedIn Group A past podcast episode on How To Find Your Motivation Have a burning question for Bill…
Are You Building Your Tribe?

Jillian Vanarsdall

13 May 2013 | 2:00 am

As sales people today, we must be conscious to ‘think like marketers.’ One way to do that is considering the tribe we are building that will be suspects or prospects for our services in the future. The days of “marketing when we need the business” are over. We had better be top-of-mind when THEY have problems. Our guest expert today is Srinivas Rao, author of The Small Tribe Strategy. In this podcast, we ask him how he would go about building the tribe of prospects if he were in sales today. Also mentioned in this podcast: Srinivas Rao’s podcast called Blogcast…
When It’s Showtime, Will You Be Ready?

Bill Caskey

7 May 2013 | 3:15 am

“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” – Shakespeare, As You Like It. Last week, I was coaching a salesperson who was getting ready to give a talk in front of 20 VPs of Marketing, his target audience. I asked the question, “What are you going to present to them?” His answer was, “I’m just going to give them a little thumbnail of our company.” As he told me more about his presentation, I could see this was a recipe for failure. I was afraid that he was going to discount the company value by merely giving a…
Biggest Reasons Sales People Lose Business – From Harvard Business Review

Jillian Vanarsdall

6 May 2013 | 10:48 am

Recently, an article was published by Steve Martin on the Harvard Business Review website called the Ten Reasons Sales People Lose Deals. Bryan and Bill tear into the ten reasons and come up with solutions to three of them: What happens when you can’t get to the decision maker? What if you have a “nice to have” product that isn’t compelling for the prospect? How do you penetrate new accounts? Also, send us any thoughts you have about these three or the other seven at listener@advancedsellingpodcast.com Also mentioned in this podcast: Steve Martin’s article called…

turrisiassociates.com
5 Insider Steps to Increasing Sales and Gaining Market Share

Al Turrisi

22 May 2013 | 10:53 am

Sales Person Hiring Criteria: When you hire a sales person, the sales person must have strong Hunter,Qualifier and Closing Skills. The sales person must be highly money motivated with a strong desire to be successful, and have a presidential mind set. Sales Manager Hiring Criteria: When you hire a sales manager they must have strong coaching, mentoring, motivating and recruiting skills. Sales Process: To win more sales and market share you must have a strong clearly defined sales process that supports filling the sales pipeline with quality prospects that are consistent with your model of the…
Sales Tip- How to Recognize a Sales Super Star

Al Turrisi

3 Apr 2013 | 8:10 am

You need to be aware there are four levels of sales people you can hire to prospect, increase your sales, profits and market share. At the first lowest level the sales person is driven and directed by the sales manager. The sales person is driven by commission only and typically sells on price. There may also be an element of fear and worry if the sale is not made. The next level up is when the sales person doesn’t necessarily need to be managed by the sales manager, but is still driven by commission, selling on price, and their own desire for success. The third level at which the sales…
How to Increase Your Productivity by 35%

Al Turrisi

27 Feb 2013 | 2:33 am

The need for approval is one of the most common weaknesses in sales people. When you as a sales person have a need for approval from prospects you neutralize your ability to do or to say the right things. For example, legitimate tough questions are not asked. This results in business opportunities are not qualified to the degree they should. This lack of proper qualification fills the pipeline with too many unqualified prospects. Following up on too many unqualified prospect is a waste of you valuable resources. In my previous blog I discussed follow up as a way of improving the close ratio.
The Secret to Closing More Sales in One Easy Step

Al Turrisi

21 Feb 2013 | 3:53 am

Did you know that 48% of all sales people never follow up with a prospect and only 25% of all sales people make a second attempt to reach a prospect? This includes your competitors. Imagine your ability to increase your sales, market share and close ratio if this was corrected. Here is a statistic that is shocking, 12% of sales people make only three stops or contacts. By making an adjustment and holding your sales people accountable and tracking behavior you should increase the bottom line. When it comes to close ratios 2% of sales are made on the first call, 3% of closed business happens on…
Sales Tip-How to Shorten the Sales Cycle

Al Turrisi

13 Feb 2013 | 3:53 pm

At a business meeting I had the pleasure to meet a number of business owners and salespeople. When I left the meeting I had spoken to five people I had not known and learned about their businesses and what an ideal prospect opportunity was for each of them. A day after the meeting which was on a Monday, I realized I could use the services of one of the salespeople I had met. I called the sales person on Tuesday morning and left the following message. Al: “Hello John Doe we met at the Monday, business meeting I enjoyed getting to know you and learning about your business. As it turns…

The Collaborative Growth Blog
Are you Pitching & Chasing Unqualified Prospects?

Peter Caputa

22 May 2013 | 8:29 pm

The other day, I posted about how I've stayed true to a helpful sales philosophy. It's not about me selling something. It's about me figuring out whether I can help someone or not. Sometimes, helping them involves them buying my solution. Sometimes, it doesn't. Here's a bit more about my sales philosophy that I wrote in email to one of my sales reps: I imagine you know this, but I am a hard ass about qualifying (and disqualifying) prospects. The way I see it is that I think sales is all about helping people... who want and need my help. Therefore, I don't want to waste time trying to…
Transform Your Website (and More) With Inbound Marketing

Todd Hockenberry

16 May 2013 | 4:20 am

We've been HubSpot partners for over three years now and have on boarded over 40 customers as well as consulted with a few dozen others. But something happened today that has never happened to me before—I got a rousing round of applause from a client. We recently were retained to help a regulatory consulting company re-design their website and launch them on a full blown inbound marketing campaign. The owner knew she needed a new website and she knew she needed outside help to get it done. The company culture feared change, feared online marketing, feared competition, and had…
Measuring Marketing Return on Investment (ROI) in 5 Easy Steps

Shannon Fuldauer

14 May 2013 | 4:13 am

In the early days of website analytics, businesses measured page hits, site visits and unique visitors. And while most companies still do, these basic metrics fail to show how inbound marketing contributes to the organization’s bottom line. Because marketers are now being held accountable for proving return on investment (ROI) for their efforts, new ways to reach data-driven decisions must be developed. However, significant gaps between desire and execution still exist. The 2012 BRITE-NYAMA Marketing in Transition Study revealed several common challenges marketers face in the…
Keeping True to a Helpful Sales Philosophy

Peter Caputa

26 Apr 2013 | 1:50 pm

I was reading some of my old blog posts today and stumbled across this one called, "Networking Isn't About Favors." In it, I talked about my sales philosophy, [At some point in my sales process] most of my prospects ask me "how they can hire me". Meaning: they are already sold. It's just a matter of fitting the right solution to solve their lead generation problems. In order to do this, I interview them about their business, discover their goals and budget, and then make a budget and goal appropriate recommendation. Then they say "yes" or "no". Most of the ones that get that far, say "yes". I…
Tools and Tips to Make Blogging Easier

Jeff Coon

20 Apr 2013 | 5:01 am

By now, most marketers and business professionals understand the importance of blogging. Two of the biggest obstacles we've seen that prevent business owners from blogging more frequently are: lack of time and fear of writing. Here are a couple of simple strategies and tools that let companies tap into the collective expertise within their organization, which can help build a blogging team and create efficiencies in the blogging process. These are also great strategies to help prevent writer's block and burnout. Our first tip is to leverage an app called Dragon…

Sales and Sales Management Blog
No, the American Dream Isn’t Dead–Jaime’s Story

Paul McCord

13 May 2013 | 8:20 am

For the past several years I’ve heard a great, loud chorus composed of government personnel, activists, and everyday individuals singing about how the American Dream is no longer attainable, how life is stacked against those who aren’t born to luxury and wealth, how life for the vast majority is nothing but drudgery and endless victimhood and hopelessness. That may make for good theater and give political advantage for some, but it isn’t the reality of a great many men and women who have rejected the victim role and have worked hard to live their dream.These men and women are all around…
Mining Your Single Most Valuable Businss Building Asset

Paul McCord

10 May 2013 | 7:44 am

From a business generation perspective what is your most valuable asset?The telephone?Your computer?Your advertising budget?Maybe it’s your dedication to attending every networking opportunity in your area? The answer is none of the above. Your single most important business building asset is right at your fingertips—your existing client base. There is simply nothing more valuable and powerful to growing your business than the customers you already have. Taking the time and effort to keep in contact with past clients will grow your business through new direct sales to the client and…
Guest Article: “10 Sure-Fire Ways to Build Sales for Entrepreneurs,” by Lori Richardson

Paul McCord

22 Apr 2013 | 9:02 am

10 Sure-Fire Ways to Build Sales for Entrepreneurs by Lori Richardson Some entrepreneurs and small business owners (and their salespeople) are talking about the stock market. Others are strategizing on and successfully growing revenues. Which camp do you fall into? Here are ten sure-fire ways to grow revenues in your business. You don’t need to do them all to be successful, but you DO need to do a number of them. If your business is at a plateau and needs a jump start, put these sales strategies into place and then roll up your sleeves and work to make them happen. 1. Have a very clear…
Guest Article: “7 Sales Prospecting Ideas that Work,” by Mark Hunter

Paul McCord

16 Apr 2013 | 9:08 am

7 Sales Prospecting Ideas That Work by Mark Hunter The biggest item on the “to do” list of most salespeople is finding good sales leads. Here’s a list of 7 sales prospecting ideas you can use right now: 1. Give away prospects to others. You heard me — give away prospects. What I mean by this is help other salespeople develop leads. When you meet someone who might benefit from what another person sells, match them up. The more leads you help others with, the better you’ll feel about yourself and the more leads you too will get from others. 2. Have a “customer satisfaction” phone…
Fear and the Choice to Fail or Succeed

Paul McCord

11 Apr 2013 | 11:05 am

This past week I acquired a new coaching client. Nothing unusual about that–except this client, like many in the securities industry, finds himself in the position of having 120 days to develop a practice capable of sustaining his family—or he is out of the industry. He just finished his 13 weeks of training, passed his series 7 and 63 exams, and is now on a four-month do or die schedule. I have the opportunity to speak with thousands of sales people from dozens and dozens of industries. Depending on their industry, their “life support” (their initial guarantee, draw or…

Inside Sales Experts Blog
This is Water. This is Selling.

Matt Bertuzzi

16 May 2013 | 4:15 am

Have you seen the video built around David Foster Wallace's 2005 This is Water commencement address? It has been making the rounds and is currently at 4.5M views (nearly .3% of Gangnam Style fame). I was talking with a group of BDRs the other day and, for some reason, I kept thinking back to the video. The BDRs were sharing frustrations with the day-to-day challenges of their role. The list won't surprise you: Frequent rejection Gatekeepers Bogus contact info Calling in on customers because someone didn't update Salesforce.com Finally getting a live phone connect only to…
Inside Sales & the Exempt vs Non-exempt Mess

Trish Bertuzzi

3 May 2013 | 4:24 am

(NOTE: I am hoping to start a discussion around this issue, not offer legal advice) At least once a month, I have a conversation with a sales leader who is trying to understand the exempt v non-exempt status of their inside sales teams. I always tell them two things: There is logic and then there is the law – and in this case they are mutually exclusive This is a decision you have to make internally in partnership with HR and legal counsel If you are not aware of this ridiculous and outdated standard let me share some background. The question deals with the federal Fair Labor…
Outbound Prospecting: by the numbers [New research]

Matt Bertuzzi

4 Apr 2013 | 3:38 am

If your Outbound Prospectors target 1000 accounts this quarter, how many opportunities will they put into your Sales organization's pipeline? Ask me that questions three months ago and I would have said, "It depends." Today, I'm confident with a response of 32. Last December, Pete Gracey from AG Salesworks approached me with a crazy idea. His pitch was roughly, I have 35+ BDRs prospecting for three dozen technologies and generating mountains of Salesforce.com data. Any interest in digging into it and seeing what we find? My reply: Let's do this.------ So after 3 months of…
ABCs of Hiring Recent Grads for Sales

Matt Bertuzzi

21 Mar 2013 | 4:06 am

The other day, I was talking to a friend who leads a team of sales development reps (outbound prospectors). She was mentioning how tight the market is for reps with 1-2 years of experience. To paraphrase her predicament: I need reps who are senior enough that they can & will do the job. But who are junior enough to unlearn bad habits before they calcify. I asked, “Have you looked at hiring recent grads?” As it just so happens, we are in the thick of career fair season for many colleges & universities. She asked if I had any tips. My reply: nope So over the last few days…
3 Inside Sales Trends to Watch (Part 2)

Trish Bertuzzi

6 Mar 2013 | 4:10 am

Last week, I shared the first part in our series on trendspotting thus far in 2013. This week, Janet, Trish (yours truly), and Patrice share our perspectives on: ~60 days in, what's everyone seeing that is changing in 2013? ------- The 3, 5, 7-or-more Legged Buying Team Whether nostalgia or fact, selling used to be a lot simpler. Continuing the trend from 2012, buyers' decision making processes are more and more complicated. Today, there is nearly never a single decision maker. Not only do we have to convince the budget owner (we’ll save you money, time, hassle, etc.), but we…

ZoomInfo Blog
Getting started with Web analytics for recruiters

pvakili

14 May 2013 | 8:39 am

If you’re a recruiter who thinks Web analytics are solely the domain of the marketing or IT department, you’re missing a chance to spend your budget more wisely and improve your ads and your own website. A ZoomInsights article introduces recruiters to the world of Web analytics and the kinds of useful information that are available. The article discusses metrics available both from third-party job sites and your company’s own career site. For example, it covers how analytics can help you know where you might be losing potential candidates. Check it out!
How much Web form do you really need?

pvakili

14 May 2013 | 8:35 am

Still sending partial leads to your sales team – ones you’ve collected from your Web form with only an email address and maybe a name? Before you create a longer Web response form on your landing pages, check out our latest ZoomInsights article. What’s the best length for a Web form? Are there other ways to get the info you need? You might be surprised to learn that a long, cumbersome form is sometimes the best idea and that there are ways to collect just an email address and still send your sales team a total picture of the prospect. Find out more, on ZoomInsights.
Secret agent techniques for sales success

pvakili

14 May 2013 | 8:30 am

If you’re a sales rep who ever feels like you’re on a constant treadmill of unreturned voicemail, Factor 8’s Lauren Bailey says playing secret agent might help. No, she doesn’t suggest putting on a trench coat and surreptitiously snapping photos of your co-workers. But in a ZoomInsights article, Bailey does suggest taking a break from trying to get the decision maker on the phone and instead doing a little harmless espionage to build some intelligence about the target company. Bailey suggests calling anyone other than the decision maker and asking questions. And the last people you…
Social media and sales: It’s all about the relationship

pvakili

13 May 2013 | 8:00 am

Are you making sales connections through social media? More and more, clients expect to connect through social networks with the people they do business with, so now’s the time to polish up your social media prospecting. Our article on ZoomInsights offers valuable advice on ways to use social networks to generate sales. For example, several experts caution against trying to sell directly on social networks. They suggest using social channels instead as a tool to build relationships and establish yourself as a valuable community member. Learn how to use the various social networks in…
Recruiting video becoming a must-have

pvakili

10 May 2013 | 8:12 am

Corporate recruiting videos are becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity. Why? People have become too impatient to read. Studies show they’d much rather get the same information by watching video. Learn more about why recruiting video is so important in our ZoomInsights article on the topic. Various experts also share helpful information about what to include in a video, optimal video length and how to produce recruiting video on the cheap. If you haven’t created a recruiting video yet, reading our ZoomInsights article is a great way to start.

The Sales Leader
Planning to Succeed

Colleen Francis

22 May 2013 | 6:00 am

Often sales people fail because they don’t plan to succeed. Here’s a 4-step plan to use on sales calls that will help you get your foot in the door. Understanding the motivation for the buyer to meet with you What’s the maximum, or best case scenario Planning for your minimum Move forward
We Get Fan Mail!

Colleen Francis

21 May 2013 | 6:37 am

This came to us via Live chat today. Chris: Hi there, this is Chris from Colleen’s office… How can I help you today? Visitor: Well Chris I’m more or less here to provide comment on Stand Up and Stand Out! 12 Ways to Get Your Prospects to Call You Back… Chris: OK! Visitor: I was searching online today and found the article, and used number 5 “ask if you’re OK” Visitor: I used it on two prospects who I haven’t been able to reach for weeks. AND IT WORKED AWESOME! Chris: That’s fantastic. That is great to hear! Visitor: Within 10 minutes I got a response…
Going on a Technology Diet

Colleen Francis

20 May 2013 | 6:00 am

There is no technology solution that has ever proven to close as many deals as a face to face meeting with a buyer. Sadly, often effectiveness is confused with efficiency and the end result is poor sales. If you want to see your sales grow, try loosing the technology and replace it with in-person meetings.
2 Critical Elements of Success and 2 Jokesters!

Colleen Francis

17 May 2013 | 7:05 am

Chris and arrived back in Ottawa from Miami for the summer and the first order of business (after unpacking) was to get to the Harley Dealer and spring our bikes from storage. It was such a beautiful Friday afternoon and the shop was buzzing. You can tell from the antics of the service crew behind me that they were having fun and loving every minute of serving their customers! Loving the work you do is one critical element for being an excellent seller. Another is not being afraid of managing your numbers, in other words your sales pipeline, rigorously and objectively. In this week’s…
Sales Quiz – Accurate Sales Pipelines

Colleen Francis

16 May 2013 | 6:00 am

What is the one thing you can do right now to improve you sales pipeline accuracy? Take the quiz and find out! And for more strategies based on this quiz, check out this article

Marketo Marketing Blog
Be Where Your Prospects Are: Your Business Needs Complete Marketing

Fergus Gloster

22 May 2013 | 6:30 am

Author: Fergus GlosterI am often asked in one-on-one conversations and group discussions whether Marketers should concentrate their resources on a single unique strategy, or spread their effort across many campaigns. Apart from the obvious argument that the “CMO should not put all their eggs in one basket”, there are real benefits to exploiting all options when developing marketing plans to deliver the demand generation needs of the business. There is a natural tendency for people to believe that the latest and greatest technology idea or trend will provide a simple and affordable…
Beyond Lead Generation: How to Use Content for Sales Enablement, Lead Nurturing and Retention

Caroline Watts

21 May 2013 | 6:15 am

Author: Caroline WattsMany marketers consider content to be primarily used for top-of-funnel lead generation techniques. While it’s absolutely true that content can help you drive the right traffic to your site and introduce your business to prospective customers, it’s also effective at later stages of the funnel. By thinking of strategic ways you can incorporate your great thought leadership in other aspects of your marketing, you can extend the life of content and get much more use out of each piece. Content can help your sales teams engage more deeply with their prospects, can…
Dr. Marketo’s Cabinet of Curiosity

Dayna Rothman

20 May 2013 | 6:30 am

Author: Dayna RothmanAt Marketo, we’re all about the science of marketing. Everyone thinks of marketing automation as a new field. But few people know about our rich heritage as marketing automation pioneers – a story that stretches back to the experiments of Dr. Gustav Marketo. More than any single individual, Dr. Marketo advanced the science of marketing through the use of mechanical, electrical and galvanic technologies. His revenue-generation machines (some of which are still in working order today) were considered a marvel of Victorian engineering and a considerable aid to the early…
One Small Step for Marketo, One Giant Leap for the Marketing Nation

Phil Fernandez

17 May 2013 | 9:05 am

Author: Phil FernandezToday Marketo began trading as a public company on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “MKTO”. You can read about it and see some pictures here. This milestone certainly marks an exciting moment in time for the company, but it also highlights exciting times for marketers everywhere. Large-scale trends, such as increasingly self-directed consumers and broad and instant availability of information online, are changing the role and responsibilities of the marketing department in most organizations around the world. In today’s data-centric, multi-channel…
The Benefits of Embracing Real-Time Marketing on Social Channels and Beyond

Julio Viskovich

16 May 2013 | 6:30 am

Author: Julio ViskovichReal-time marketing is a process that enables marketers to capitalize on real-time events and deliver a relevant message to the right person at the right time. Ideas must be developed in minutes rather than days or weeks. And messaging centers around real-time feedback from customers or around current events that happen. The benefit of this type of marketing, is that you can capitalize on trending topics that your followers can relate to. Real-Time Marketing in the Dark Take Oreo’s “you can still dunk in the dark” real-time campaign for example. Within mere…

S. Anthony Iannarino
Every Interaction Matters

S. Anthony Iannarino

22 May 2013 | 7:22 pm

Every Interaction Matters is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino Every interaction with your clients (and dream clients) counts. It all matters. That first cold call matters. It matters that you sound like someone who creates value for their clients. Having ideas matters … a lot! It matters how you treat the gatekeepers. It matters how you persist after your request for time is rejected. Are you treating your prospecting interactions like they matters. Your first sales call matters. That interaction is a what your will determine whether or not you are someone worth spending…
You Are a Commission Only Salesperson

S. Anthony Iannarino

21 May 2013 | 7:20 pm

You Are a Commission Only Salesperson is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino I just spoke to a group of people learning to master the digital channels. I opened by asking for a show of hands as to who in the room worked as a commission only salesperson? Not a single hand was raised. I’m certain they thought I was in the wrong room. So I asked for a show of hands from people who believed that the results that they produce in business and life are the direct result of their ability to sell themselves and their ideas, their ability to influence and persuade others. Every person…
A Yes Is More Difficult Than a No

S. Anthony Iannarino

20 May 2013 | 7:20 pm

A Yes Is More Difficult Than a No is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino Getting a “yes” is more difficult than getting a ‘no.” You have to work very hard for a “yes.” You have to work very hard to understand your dream client’s needs. This is easier said than done, and it almost always requires that you start building that understanding in advance of an opportunity. Sometimes a “no” is easier than upsetting the status quo; it looks risky. Are you collaborating with your dream client in a way that indicates to them that you are deeply connected to their needs?
Making 179 Degree Changes

S. Anthony Iannarino

19 May 2013 | 2:34 pm

Making 179 Degree Changes is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino Ever wonder what you get when you sign up for my Sunday newsletter? It’s rare that I ever use a newsletter for a blog post, but because 15 people emailed me to ask me for a link, I decided to post here. If you like it, sign up. A young person I know was explaining to me the changes that he wanted to make in his life. At one point in the conversation he got excited and said, “I am going to make a 360 degree change in my life.” I appreciated the sentiment, and I struggled not to laugh. I…
Three Imperatives for Revenue Growth

S. Anthony Iannarino

18 May 2013 | 3:54 pm

Three Imperatives for Revenue Growth is a post from: The Sales Blog | S. Anthony Iannarino You want revenue growth? You want to make your goals? Here are your three imperatives. Create Enough Opportunities To improve your revenue numbers and reach your goals, you need to generate opportunities. You might be able to acquire enough opportunities within your existing client accounts, but it isn’t likely. Opportunity acquisition is your very first problem and it should be your first priority each week. You create new opportunities by prospecting. If you want growth, you have to dedicate time to…

Sales Sales Management Expertise
Yoga for Athletes, Part 2

Tony Cole

7 May 2013 | 7:37 am

A guest blog by Bob Wehrmeyer 2013 Wehr Publishing. All Rights Reserved Let me admit right up front that I am a yoga coward. I like yoga. I do yoga. I believe in yoga, but I am a yoga coward. I am a yoga coward because I can’t always admit that I practice yoga, especially to other athletes. It's hard to tell the guy in the weight room or shooting baskets you can’t stay because you’re running to save a spot in yoga class. For this reason, I don’t own a yoga mat, I dress like a gym rat, and I generally snake my way through the fitness center to the yoga life power lounge. Yes, there is…
4 Killer Sales Management Questions

Tony Cole

29 Apr 2013 | 11:32 am

I just returned from a conference that I attend annually. The conference is sponsored by Objective Management Group, a company that produces the #1 Sales Assessment tool IN THE WORLD. I am proud to say that, as part of our overall approach to providing critical sales and sales management solutions, we have represented this resource for 18 of the 20 years that we have been in business. During each of these annual conferences, Dave Kurlan, the subject matter expert and genius behind OMG, provides great insights on how to more effectively find, contact and assist business owners in…
Pay Attention To What Drives Sales

Tony Cole

17 Apr 2013 | 8:23 am

Sales don't just "happen". At least, not in my business nor in the companies that I have the opportunity to work with. Over the last 20 years of partnering with sales organizations from coast to coast, from large metropolitan areas to small cities, sales have to be generated not merely collected. Sales have drivers, leading indicators and activities that, when executed at the right amount and the right way, will generate sales results. Question: If you want to predict how your sales results will look in the next 3 to 6 months, what would you look at today?
Coco the Sales Dog

Tony Cole

5 Apr 2013 | 8:06 am

Whenever I do a workshop or a keynote (link for video clip of following discussion )for group that is about selling, I almost always talk about one of the 9 Keys To Successful Selling - the key of persistence. And I generally make my point by asking the audience a question and having the following dialog: How many of you here today have a dog? Have you ever had a dog? Know someone with a dog? Good, that covers everyone. You ( I pick someone from the audience), what kind of dog do you have? Is it big or small? How long have you had it? Is it an active…
Don't Be "Fooled" By Sales Force Automation Sales Projections

Tony Cole

1 Apr 2013 | 8:06 am

Every firm we work with here at Anthony Cole Training Group uses some sort of sales pipeline application. These applications, which range from simple excel spread sheets (SalesForce.com) to internally designed database systems, are used with the hope of assessing sales productivity and/or predicting future sales. Recently, while working with an international insurance firm, I was told that their tool had initially been very usefull and effective. However, the company had then made the "sales CRM tool" into a "finance reporting application". When that happened, the simplicity…

Fill the Funnel
LinkedIn Contacts Resources and Webinar Replay

Miles Austin

9 May 2013 | 8:13 am

Viveka and I want to say thank you for registering for this webinar and hope that we delivered the value and information that you had hoped for. As promised, we are making available the following links for your benefit: Webinar Replay: http://bit.ly/13iLsxf SlideDeck:http://slidesha.re/10s6YQM Additional Resource Listing: http://bit.ly/170Pm13 De-Dupe Resources and tools: www.nomoredupes.com www.duplicate-remover.com http://bit.ly/11TJzEq Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXXtM55ISSA You will be receiving information about our Advanced LinkedIn Webinar training in the next few days.
LinkedIn Contacts: The Next (R)evolution

Miles Austin

1 May 2013 | 6:21 am

There is quite a bit of buzz about a new feature of LinkedIn that most likely is not even available in your Profile as of yet. It is called LinkedIn Contacts and it is worth taking a strong interest in. Most informed sales pros get the social selling concept. They are embracing the strategies, tactics and tools that are driving new revenue and new customer acquisition. One of the primary challenges has become managing the activities and information flowing from various platforms and tools that are used in the selling process. There is a lot to manage if you are actively using available tools.
Alternative for Google Alerts

Miles Austin

26 Mar 2013 | 6:19 am

The demise of Google Reader has gotten all the attention over the last two weeks but for those in sales and marketing, another favorite web tool also appears to be on it last legs – Google Alerts. Users have relied on Google Alerts to notify them every time new information from search results appear on the web for specific keywords important to them. Updates for the popular program have all but stopped. Many active users are reporting that the frequency has dropped and some are even saying that they are not receiving Alerts at all. This created the observation that Google Alerts might…
LinkedIn Fans Experience New Look With A New Profile Update

Miles Austin

22 Mar 2013 | 8:21 am

LinkedIn is rolling out yet another round of changes to your Profile and interface. As usual, it is being rolled out over time, and I have no idea what criteria they use to do this. If you are reading this and notice that you are the recipient of this new change, I would love to talk with you to learn what you think of the changes. I have not been affected as of yet, so I am embedding a helpful video step-through from my good friend and LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day author Viveka von Rosen who found a client that has received the new layout. So, keep an eye out for this to hit your…
Do You Need a Paid LinkedIn Account?

Miles Austin

18 Mar 2013 | 6:18 am

Sales people and businesses who are serious about using their online presence to sell and make money don’t have sites that look like an amateur is behind them. They have invested in themselves and their online presence and continually use a critical eye to make sure it is presenting the desired image and information. They do not waste their time chasing shiny objects that add no value to their message or image. Several times a week a hear from someone who wants to add a new widget to their site, a new plugin that pops up, twirls and then shoots sparks to get the attention of the reader…

Social Media Podcast for Social Business by Shane Gibson Speaker and Author
Why Companies Fail at Generating Social Media ROI

Shane Gibson

20 May 2013 | 1:39 pm

Social Media ROI (Return on Investment), is supposedly a hard thing to prove or measure. The problem isn’t the value of social media, or in many cases our approach to getting results – it’s about commitment – a good old fashion work ethic and focus on the longterm. Today’s social business podcast discusses the dilema and the needed shift in consciousness required of leaders to win in the social media space. Social Media ROI takes time and most people – even really smart people in leadership positions (who come from a different era) have a tough time…
Marketing Events Using Social Media #Podcast and #InfoGraphic

Shane Gibson

11 May 2013 | 2:08 pm

Marketing events using social media and amplifying events using social media are two powerful ways to maximize our online and off-line marketing results. In our book Sociable! Stephen Jagger and I talk about the importance of using social media to get off of the internet and build relationships. At Socialized Communications we have developed an entire system and process to do this effectively. We have mapped out the key steps in this social media infographic and podcast to help you succeed at event marketing using social media. If you have some success in applying the steps and principles…
Influence Marketing Book Interview with Danny Brown

Shane Gibson

11 May 2013 | 12:54 pm

This week I had the great opportunity to interview Danny Brown on his new book co-authored with Sam Fiorella called Influence Marketing. Danny in my opinion is a Thought Leaders’ Though Leader – an awesome no BS resource for what really works in social media marketing. The book launched yesterday globally and you can get it on Amazon in hardcover or Kindle format. According to HubSpot Danny Brown’s blog (DannyBrown.me) is the #1 Marketing Blog on the planet. Danny and I have been Tweeting and emailing each other for almost four years and we finally got to connect and do this…
This Week’s Top Tweeted Guerrilla and Ambient Marketing Pictures

Shane Gibson

25 Apr 2013 | 9:43 am

Guerrilla Marketing as Jay Levinson and I discussed in our book Guerrilla Social Media is defined as achieving conventional marketing goals by unconventional means. Ambient marketing is a spin-off of Guerrilla Marketing – you may spend the same dollars but it involves morphing the media and blending the environment and community blurring the lines between ad and viewer making them active participants in in the marketing activity. A couple of these photos may offend… but remember guerrilla marketing focuses on human emotions and depends upon them to take action. [View the story "8…
Become a Certified Sales Professional Langara College Online Course

Shane Gibson

3 Jan 2013 | 6:07 pm

I wanted to personally introduce you to a program that can immediately help you boost your company revenues and personal career. It’s said that nothing happens until someone sells something. We teach a lot of companies how to use social media to build brand, community and drive leads to that business… but someone still needs to know how to sell to turn that into revenues. Working with Langara College, international speaker Bill Gibson of Knowledge Brokers (South Africa) and our team here at Socialized we have put together the ultimate sales training program for new sales…

Keith Rosen
Managers Don’t Know What Their People Are Doing

Keith Rosen

18 May 2013 | 9:52 pm

Managers worldwide struggle to find the time and resources necessary to properly observe their people. Learn why this is a crucial mistake and how to avoid it. I recently delivered a webinar in partnership with Salesforce.com and Work.com that focused on key concepts from my book Coaching Salespeople Into Sales Champions. It was an exciting and fast-paced conversation. We answered as many questions from attendees as we could, but still had to wrap things up leaving dozens of questions unanswered. One question was almost identical to a question I hear almost everywhere I go. Due to it being…
[Video] Selling is a Language – Coach the Language

Keith Rosen

16 May 2013 | 1:53 pm

Your A Players are clearly more effective communicators than your C Players. So if selling is a language, why aren’t we coaching our salespeople’s language and message? Get notified each time a new 60-Second Sales Coach video is released. Complete transcript taken from a live Q & A session in Phoenix. Would anyone here disagree that selling is a language? In other words, your A players are clearly more effective communicators than your C players. Is there anyone here who would disagree with that? So selling is a language, right? Then why aren’t we coaching their…
Why Should I Talk to You?

Keith Rosen

11 May 2013 | 8:45 am

Do you know exactly what to say to a prospect or customer that captures their attention so succinctly and effectively that they want to talk with you and are actually asking for more? If you are being honest with yourself, the answer is probably “No.” If that is the case, then how can you expect to uncover more prospects let alone convert these prospects into customers? How can you cold call or prospect effortlessly? How can you deliver a stimulating, thought provoking and valuable presentation? If you are attempting to prospect without sharing the right reasons as to why a prospect needs…
[Video] Data Managers vs. People Managers

Keith Rosen

8 May 2013 | 10:08 pm

If you’re trying to assess your people and uncover the real gap or coaching opportunity based on data, reports and spreadsheets, your extinction is imminent. Learn the secret to successfully evolving as a manager by shifting from a spreadsheet jockey to an authentic people manager. Get notified each time a new 60-Second Sales Coach video is released. Complete transcript taken from a live Q & A session in Phoenix. So the big miss that I see with managers, regardless of how experienced or intelligent they are, is that they’re so result driven. They’re missing sight on the real…
How to Beat Your Real Competition…Yourself

Keith Rosen

4 May 2013 | 9:23 pm

At some point, I hear from practically every person I’ve ever worked with about the competition in their market. Companies spend so much time trying to outsell, outwit and out price their competition without realizing who their greatest competitor truly is. As such, they focus all of their energy on trying to beat out the wrong competitor. Consider this. You have no external competition. No, I haven’t fully lost my mind as of yet, so just try this on for a moment. I’m certainly not disputing the fact that there are other companies selling similar products that you are. What…

Get Clients: How to Attract and Win More Professional Service Clients
Why you should NEVER subscribe someone to your newsletter without asking

Ian Brodie

15 May 2013 | 6:43 am

Let me tell you a cautionary tale. A year or so ago I was contacted by a marketing consultant who’d found me via the web. We swapped emails. Bumped into each other at an event. And eventually he asked if I’d like to meet for a coffee as he had a few questions he’d like to ask my advice on. We met up. I liked the guy – genuinely nice fellow with lots of experience. He asked me a bunch of questions about a new market he was trying to move into and I gave him some ideas to try. In the meantime he signed up for my newsletter and joined a webinar I ran. All good so far. But…
What Sales Winners Do Differently

Ian Brodie

9 May 2013 | 4:01 pm

I got really annoyed at a book last year. Stupid really. The book was The Challenger Sale and there’s a lot of good stuff in it. It echoes a lot of the things I’ve been saying about how our clients are changing and how that impacts the way we need to market and sell (Check out The Top 3 Reasons You Lose Sales for example). But here’s what annoyed me… The book took an “everything has changed so everything that’s ever been said about sales before is wrong” stance. Worse still, they proceeded to mis-characterise things like consultative and relationship…
5 Surprising Sales Lessons From A Startup Service Business

Ian Brodie

6 May 2013 | 4:24 am

Today’s post is from Dr Ganesh Rao, founder of TreatmentSaver.com a comparison website for medical and optical treatments. One side of the business is the online site for consumers. But the other side is very much a service business: Ganesh and his business partner provide a service to clinics to help them get more clients (via the site). And they have to market and sell that service just like any other service business. Ganesh has written this article to share his experiences as a professional who’d never had to sell before, suddenly thrust into a world where if you don’t…
Converting More of Your Web Visitors to Clients

Ian Brodie

25 Apr 2013 | 1:58 am

Today’s blog post is by Peter Sandeen. Peter’s an expert on “website conversion” for small businesses and professionals and one of the featured experts in my 21 Resources for Improving Website Conversions mega-post. Peter’s kindly written a follow up article on the key strategies for turning website visitors into clients… You get visitors to your website, but only a few of them ever turn to clients. Worst case: none of them are the kind of people you’d want to work with. You’ve probably tried changing your home page and maybe even hired a web designer…
Clarity Trumps Persuasion

Ian Brodie

19 Apr 2013 | 5:46 pm

“Clarity Trumps Persuasion” It’s a phrase much beloved of marketing and conversion expert Dr Flint McGlaughlin of MarketingExperiments.com. And it’s really been brought home to me recently as I’ve been reviewing a number of websites from consultants, coaches and professional speakers. One of the things I see so often is sites that jump too fast to persuading. Here’s what I mean by that… Put yourself in the mind of a potential client visiting your site. Not one who’s already 90% made up their mind, but one who’s researching who to hire.

Edgy Conversations with Dan Waldschmidt!
Each Day Is A Second Chance.

Dan Waldschmidt

22 May 2013 | 6:10 am

Do you ever feel like the day won and you lost? That your busyness got the best of you. That what you thought you wanted for you you didn’t spend any time working on. Today passed and you aren’t a better person. Today came and went and nothing changed for you. You feel like a loser. Like you failed. And you aren’t sure if it’s ever going to change. You aren’t sure if you can grow your sales, if your marketing will ever start connecting, and if you business is going to start leading your industry. And those are the easy problems. It’s your personal…
You Can Do Everything Or Anything.

Dan Waldschmidt

21 May 2013 | 6:27 am

But not both at the same time . Every day you will hear a good idea about how to make more money, how to get back in shape a little more quickly, or some ideas on how to invest for greater success. In one day you’ll hear a great idea — maybe two. In a week even more. In a month quite a few more. Over a year you will hear hundreds of amazing ideas from credible people. Ideas that you think are worth pursuing. Ideas that are good. Just remember that you only have so much of “you”. And you can use all of that up spending a little bit on a lot of ideas or you can choose…
Why “Getting It Out There” Marketing Is Making Your Business Stupid.

Dan Waldschmidt

20 May 2013 | 6:33 am

You don’t just have to “get it out there”. Sometimes that decision impacts your ability to be successful for the rest of your life. Over the last few years a dangerous culture has arisen in content creation where imperfection is accepted as collateral damage for immediacy. Whether you are creating a YouTube video with just a webcam on your laptop or whipping together e-learning material that is nothing more than of few words on a hastily designed power point, you have heard from a wide range of experts that you just need to “get it out there”. Seth Godin…
Why Giving People What They Want Is A Bad Business Strategy.

Dan Waldschmidt

15 May 2013 | 6:12 am

Sometimes everybody around you is wrong. Frightfully, horrifically mistaken. That’s important to remember. One of the things business experts tell you when you are considering changes to your sales strategy is the idea that you need to “listen to your marketplace”. That you need to take your idea and run it by the people around you to get some feedback. These same experts will remind you that you need to “give your industry what they want”. Telling you that giving your industry what they want you will grow your company more quickly than anyone around…
The Scary Truth Behind Why NOT Cold Calling Isn’t Making You A Super Star.

Dan Waldschmidt

14 May 2013 | 6:22 am

Cold calling gets a bad rap. Over the past few years, as technology has exploded onto the sales scene, experts are quick to tell you that “cold calling is ineffective and a waste of your time”. You’re told that instead of cold calling you need to ask for referrals, mine information from social channels, and use drip email marketing to nurture relationships until they are ready to buy something from you. You’ve been told that the last thing you should be doing is picking up the phone and talking to somebody you don’t know. No matter what business you are in, some…

Dealmaker365 Blog
12 Elements of a Great Sales Playbook

Donal Daly

12 May 2013 | 9:59 am

The implementation of a sales playbook can be one of the most impactful initiatives for any sales organization. There are two reasons for this tremendous ROI. First, by following some simple guidelines, it can be a remarkably easy initiative to implement, and second, research shows that this results in 33% additional revenue. We have done hundreds of Sales Playbook deployments with Dealmaker Smart Sales Playbook. Here are the 12 Elements of a great sales playbook that you should use to guide your implementation. 1. Repeatable Winning Sales Processes The key word here is ‘repeatable’. When…
Sales Playbooks & CRMs – The Perfect Tango

Donal Daly

29 Apr 2013 | 8:12 am

I was speaking recently at a conference on Sales 2.0 tools. During the coffee break after my session I ended up in a conversation about sales enablement and sales playbooks. The conversation got derailed for a while as one particularly active participant wanted to debate the role of mobile and cloud technologies in the future of sales professionals. Seriously? I am not sure I understand how anyone would feel the need to ask that question. In my opinion mobile and cloud are as certain a part of our future as death and taxes – but maybe that’s just me. Anyway, I am getting…
Gartner: Cool Vendors in CRM Sales

Donal Daly

28 Apr 2013 | 2:55 am

Gartner just released their 2013 Cool Vendors in CRM Sales report and are selling it on their site for $495. You can get it here for free. According to Gartner, the 2013 Cool Vendors in CRM Sales offer new technologies that improve sales performance and effectiveness. They use mobile, social, big data analytics and the cloud to help salespeople improve their selling skills and find new prospects. We are delighted to be included in the list of just three companies that made it through Gartners diligence. Key Findings Cloud applications combined with mobile devices (smartphones and tablets)…
20 Facts about Sales Performance

Donal Daly

5 Apr 2013 | 11:16 am

At The TAS Group, we just recently completed a global study of sales performance. The full report will probably be available by late April. If you want a copy email me ddaly (at) the tasgroup (dot) com. The statistics are pretty revealing – so I thought I would share them with you now. 33% of sales people made quota in the last reporting period Only 52% of sales people say they can access the key players for a sale 39% of sales professionals say they are not able to effectively uncover customer problems, and 35% struggle with designing customer focused solutions 59% of sales close…
8 Steps to Effective Sales Methodology Implementation

Donal Daly

31 Mar 2013 | 5:40 am

There is good news and there is bad news. The good news is that a sales methodology can dramatically increase the sales effectiveness of your entire sales organization, significantly increasing your sales revenue. The bad news is that not all sales methodology solutions are implemented well. There are few distinct topics in the world of the Sales VP that raise such polarized views as the effectiveness of sales methodologies. Sometimes the very phrase ‘Sales Methodology’ is enough to make Sales VPs reach for the Pepto-Bismol. On other occasions, sales leaders can point to successful…

SymVolli Blog RSS Feed
A Sound Footing for Business

8 May 2013 | 2:03 am

I was reading an article on NYTimes.com called “Salesforce Wants to Remake Marketing — and Itself” and I found the following comments made by Marc Benioff of salesforce.com fascinating. “All of us have to become connected companies, changing fundamentally how we sell our products to customers,” said Marc Benioff, the founder and chief executive of Salesforce.com. Trends like social networking and mobility, he says, “are the future of computing.” He added, “Everyone has to move to being a connected, customer-oriented company.” “There isn’t a business customer I see who…
How to Maximise Sales Effectiveness

24 Apr 2013 | 5:38 am

Before we can improve the sales effectiveness of the sales person and the sales team we must be able to clearly define it. To do that, we have two answer to key questions: How do your clients perceive you when you are selling to them? Is it a straight forward transactional relationship whether it be as a preferred supplier or one of many, or as a partner that advises the client on a regular basis how to get more out of the products and services you have sold to them, or a strategic partner that advises the client on broader issues that are indirectly effected by the products and services…
How to Justify a CRM system

17 Apr 2013 | 3:18 am

‘If it doesn't add value to the business by helping bring in sales, do I really need it? I can do what I need using Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel. If you are using your CRM system as an administrative tool, then the above could be true. Here are four reasons that a business needs a CRM system. Identifying where you get business from. Develop a profile from all the companies that have bought from you so that you can interrogate the CRM database to find similar companies to approach. The profile could take into account such factors as market sector, size, location, products/services…
Establishing Effective Contact With The Prospect

10 Apr 2013 | 5:28 am

One of the key things that has to be right is the delivery of any message. It has to be in line with needs of the person or persons that you are dealing with. It will be of no use in promoting a revolutionary system to an IT manager of a company who has strict procedures, runs a system on established technology in a manner, which will make him feel that he is taking a risk and losing control. In this case it might be necessary to highlight that there is minimal risk, through test and benchmarks that have been carried out, and that there will be greater visibility of what is happening…
Organisational Needs of the Customer

3 Apr 2013 | 9:28 am

In B2B sales, needs fall into two categories, organisational and personal needs. Organisational Needs A clear understanding of the company’s objectives must be gained and this must be translated to organisational needs. Organisational needs fall into three categories. Financial How the company is maintaining or improving its financial results, e.g. improving the margin on each sale, keeping costs under control, improving overall profitability. Efficiency How the company performs in its various activities, e.g. the ability to meet delivery schedules on major contracts, the ability to…

Jonathan Farrington's Blog
There is an Upside to the Down

Jonathan Farrington

22 May 2013 | 3:53 pm

Let’s face it, no matter how unique your products and services and no matter how superb your sales track record, selling in today’s tumultuous times is still more challenging than ever. There can be no doubt about that: • Prospective clients are increasingly cautious and hesitant about buying. • Sales cycles are definitely getting longer and longer plus there are fewer buyers overall. • Even existing, satisfied buyers are foregoing new purchases and making do with existing resources. But rather than focus on the downside of a down economy, what if you consider the…
A Few Things You Need to Understand About Negotiation

Jonathan Farrington

22 May 2013 | 1:06 am

A skilled negotiator will create high levels of rapport and be sensitive and empathetic to the people they are negotiating with, yet can still be hard on the issues. The ability to separate the people from the issues, and recognize that negotiations are often fraught with emotional intensity, can help sharpen the focus on the interests of the other party to better balance perceptions. If the negotiation doesn’t appear to be going anywhere and your prospect is behaving like a bully, you might feel angry and frustrated. You may already have considered simply agreeing to their demands.
Is It Time to Get Real About Social Selling?

Jonathan Farrington

21 May 2013 | 3:37 am

Today’s article was inspired by my colleague Barb Giamanco’s recent post What Sales Leaders Really Need to Know About Social Selling What I found particularly – and I might add refreshingly – honest about Barb’s commentary was her forthright assertion that social selling is NOT the be all and end all. It is not a replacement for the way we have always sold, and in isolation, it will not increase our success. Barb writes : “Contrary to what you may hear, social selling isn’t a NEW idea. I can say that because I’ve been using the term in my writing and speaking since early…
What Will Distinguish The Top Sales Professionals of Tomorrow?

Jonathan Farrington

20 May 2013 | 1:50 am

It is common knowledge that even today in most industries, a very high percentage of training budgets are spent on “product knowledge” workshops and training sessions. This is understandable to a degree, particularly in the more technical sectors, but what about all the other types of “knowledge”? That statement is guaranteed to produce a lot of blank faces, and considerable head scratching! But, if we are highly motivated, and we have received ongoing skills training, and we are using the very best process tools, and we are totally au fait with the benefits of social selling…
JF’s Big Weekend Shout Out ….

Jonathan Farrington

18 May 2013 | 1:43 am

There is so much happening over the next couple of weeks that I thought I should provide you with a heads up so that you don’t miss any of the action. In date order …. We are delivering Modules 5 and 6 of the Top Sales Academy Sales Management Level next week. On Tuesday May 21st, Nancy Nardin is presenting “The Key to Explosive Revenue Growth: Measuring Sales Productivity vs. Quota Attainment” “Quota is the heart-beat of every organization because: It’s the revenue number management relies on for business planning purposes It’s how Sales Managers and…

TeleSmart Communications
Make Sure Your Tools Bring the Action – NOW!

Josiane Feigon

9 May 2013 | 4:17 pm

Help! I’ve been held hostage for the past 16 months by this beastly tool. I’ll give you a hint — starts with an H I’m the first one to say that having a high Tool IQ is the way to go. But what happens when the tool controls YOU? I’m your typical Customer 2.0 who knows enough to be dangerous and is independent enough to be in control. I also buy into the dream that things will all be perfectly integrated once I get to the end of the rainbow. So when a tool promises everything but doesn’t deliver, it’s time to cut the cord. Now I feel complete freedom…
Some Millennial College Humor

Josiane Feigon

4 May 2013 | 8:15 pm

As inside sales continues to staff up with the Millennial wonder children, are you ready to get a good laugh out of their college humor? But it seems they could still use a bit of etiquette. which is why I enjoyed reading The Emily Posts of the Digital Age, you must check out the following: Gym Etiquette- ladies don’t just hang out at the elliptical Cell Phones in Church- the fines are getting steep Manners and You- watch this in case you want to change up your relationship status Tomorrow is the Rihanna concert and I’m the only adult out there that wants to go. Millennials…
What are inside sales teams and managers whining about these days?

Josiane Feigon

3 May 2013 | 5:13 pm

I found the newly released 2013 Inside Sales Top Challenges nationwide survey very interesting, especially because it surveyed both the managers and individual contributors — about 850 of them — about their five biggest challenges. And guess what? Their answers reflect what I wrote in my upcoming book, Smart Sales Manager. Perfect timing! Here’s a snapshot of their answers: Top 5 Challenges Facing Inside Sales Leaders Recruiting and finding top talent Skills development, training, or coaching Tools and technologies Lead quantity and quality Rewards and recognition…
Do you want more stars or backup singers on your sales team?

Josiane Feigon

1 May 2013 | 4:59 pm

The San Francisco International Film Festival is happening, and one of my favorites so far is a documentary called Twenty Feet from Stardom. It’s about the lives of backup singers, their amazing talent, and how their contributions have put artists such as Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springstein, Sting, Sheryl Crow, David Bowie, Patti Austin, and many more on the map. Click here to view the embedded video. Many backup singers have talent that surpasses the stars, but they choose not to be in the spotlight. One is Lisa Fisher, a talented force of nature, who has sung backup with the Stones since…
Hiring Twins: Double the motivation?

Josiane Feigon

25 Apr 2013 | 11:28 am

Do you have a set of twins lurking in your inside sales organization? If you want to double the amount of productivity on your team, it might make sense to hire twins . . . especially if you hire two superheroes. If you do have twins on your team, it’s important to understand the intimate bond they share. (Here are some pros and cons of being a twin.) People are fascinated by identical twins: In test scores, twins usually test the same way and may even experience the exact same decline in test scores from one year to the next. In sports, the twin basketball players Markieff and…

Sales Loudmouth
Unlocking the Future

19 May 2013 | 9:57 pm

Chuck's office is located in an industrial park just north of Marine Corp Air Station (MCAS) Miramar. Previously Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, the base is best known as the former home of the TOPGUN training school and the inspiration for the movie of the same name starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis. As I pulled into an impossibly small parking spot, a pair of F/A-18 Hornets streaked overhead. I watched them rip across the sky and as the roar of their engines subsided, I heard ...
Discovery Day

6 May 2013 | 10:48 pm

"I spoke to John and he is willing to fly you out to Cali, get you a meeting with Gary and provide you a car so you can go visit Chuck in San Diego. When do you want to go?" Gregg asks. "Next week," I reply. "Okay, Angela will call you and set it all up. I'll talk to you when you get back." And with that exchange, the wheels were in motion for me to become a Money Mailer franchisee. Not that I really ...
Like a Phoenix?

1 May 2013 | 10:52 pm

I blink into the blue sky and try to recall how I got here. First, I need to figure out what time it is because it feels like 1991. I have just made a sales call on European Wax. The young lady at the counter told me that Jim was the one I needed to speak with but Jim, who also owns Massage Envy a couple of doors down, is not in and I should feel free to leave a card and any other collateral and if Jim is interested he'll call me. That's ...
Demons Fill You with Fear

1 Apr 2013 | 1:03 pm

He is lying on the bed. Bone tired from mountain biking, sleep still eludes him. Beside him, but miles apart, the wife whose success has eclipsed his own, sleeps soundly. Uncomfortable in his own skin; uncomfortable in his own bed. The demons seem very close at night when the noise of the day subsides and he can hear their eternal message. Failure. The day unfolds before him and he prepares ...
The American Spirit: Risk-taking

28 Jan 2013 | 8:33 pm

"Sometimes, when we reach for the stars, we fall short. But we must pick ourselves up again and press on despite the pain." - Ronald Reagan Twenty-seven years ago, space launches had become so consistently predictable that television networks no longer carried them live. This was even true of the Challenger launch on January 28, 1986 whose mission included carrying ...

EyesOnSales.com
What do you do EVERY DAY to build attraction and brand?

editor@eyesonsales.com

22 May 2013 | 7:00 am

PERSONAL REALITY: You wake up, shower, shave (M), put on makeup (F), brush your teeth, and comb/fix your hair (if you have any). Every day like clockwork. Those are personal habits. Rarely (if ever) missed. What about business habits? Personal, business habits? BUSINESS REALITY: Do you have the same consistency in your daily business habits? And I wonder how many of your daily habits take the long-term view. Or are you just trying to make sales to make quota? Big mistake. I want to talk about one element of your personal business habits: Your personal outreach, your daily outreach, that…
Sales Meetings: When is Best?

editor@eyesonsales.com

21 May 2013 | 11:26 am

Sales Question: "When is the best time to have a regularly scheduled team meeting?" Answer: Depends on what your definition of "team meeting" is as well as what are you attempting to accomplish with a sales meeting. One of the fastest ways to kill sales motivation is to have a pointless meeting that drains your inside sales teams energy and enthusiasm. Sales Team Meetings Should Have Goals / Objectives Best meetings I've been to are the ones where we are working on perfecting a specific sales skill. So rather than listen to the manager try and come up with a new way to say the same old thing…
The 6 Keys To Being Awesome At Everything

editor@eyesonsales.com

17 May 2013 | 6:54 am

For more than two decades, researcher Anders Ericsson has been making the case that it’s not inherited talent which determines how good we become at something, but rather how hard we’re willing to work — something he calls “deliberate practice.” Numerous researchers now agree that 10,000 hours of such practice as the minimum necessary to achieve expertise in any complex domain. There is something wonderfully empowering about this. It suggests we have remarkable capacity to influence our own outcomes. But that’s also daunting. One of Ericsson’s central…
Market Strategies to Make Your Sales Soar

editor@eyesonsales.com

16 May 2013 | 7:00 am

Getting the attention of prospects is an age-old challenge. With contacts busier than ever before, you can’t rely just on cold calling or email. Rather, it's essential to take a multifaceted approach to get through to them. If you’ve combined cold calling and email, likely you’ve seen your prospecting results improve. But they may not be getting you all the prospects you need. While this is a great first step, you need more. Sales superstars are always looking for the next big thing that will differentiate them from their competition and keep them on top. First it was using…
People don't know what they have. It’s better than money.

editor@eyesonsales.com

15 May 2013 | 7:00 am

I'm sure you've heard the expression, “Count your blessings.” I wonder how you interpret that. I wonder how you count them. I wonder how you take advantage of them. My biggest wonder is how grateful are you for your blessings. HERE’S AN IDEA: Re-look at your blessings from a different perspective. Are they blessings or are they assets? Are they blessings or are they attributes? Are they blessings or are they gifts that you can share with others? GOOD NEWS: There are no right answers to those questions. BETTER NEWS: You have to determine the answers for yourself. …

The Accidental Negotiator
Negotiators Need To Make Sure They Don’t Break The Law Of Unintended Consequences

Dr. Jim Anderson

17 May 2013 | 2:00 am

Unintended consequences can surprise even the most experienced negotiatorImage Credit So you think that you are hot stuff do you Mr. / Ms. Negotiator? Well, guess what – you still have to live in a place where the law of unintended consequences rules the land. What this means is that all too often, a negotiation can result in consequences that you never saw coming… What Are Unintended Consequences? Perhaps a better way to start this discussion is to take just a moment and talk about what intended consequences are. When we use our negotiation styles and negotiating techniques to negotiate…
To Prepare For The Future, You Need To Learn To Delight Your Customer

Dr. Jim Anderson

10 May 2013 | 2:00 am

Surprise the other side of the table with a gift Image Credit Just exactly what will it take to make your next negotiation a success? Sorry about this, but it’s not going to be the negotiation styles or negotiating techniques that you use. If we keep in mind the cardinal rule of negotiating that each negotiation is just a single step along a path with the other side of the table, we need to ensure that this negotiation leads to a successful next negotiation. How are we going to make this happen? The Power Of Delight The key to making the other side of the negotiating table leave the…
It’s Closing Time: How To Wrap Up A Negotiation

Dr. Jim Anderson

3 May 2013 | 2:00 am

You need to be able to tell the other side when the negotiation is overImage Credit No negotiation has ever been designed to go on and on forever. However, sometimes it sure seems like the negotiation that we are involved in will never end. That’s why one of the skills that every negotiator needs to have is the ability to get the other side of the table to start to wrap things up. The trick is knowing what closing technique to use and when to use it. 3 Ways To Close A Negotiation Just knowing that you want to get the other side to start to move to wrap up a negotiation is not enough –…
Hey Negotiator, Did Someone Say “Audit”?

Dr. Jim Anderson

1 May 2013 | 2:00 am

An audit is an important part of any negotiationImage Credit I was wondering, could you take just a moment and remind me why we go to the effort of participating in a negotiation? Yeah, yeah – I know that one of the reasons is so that we can reach a deal with the other side. However, I don’t think that that is the only reason that we do it – we’re actually expecting the other side to do what they’ve promised to do! The Power Of Auditing Just exactly what happens when a negotiation is over and done with and we’ve all put away our negotiation styles and negotiating…
How Negotiators Prepare To Handle The “Deal Killers”

Dr. Jim Anderson

26 Apr 2013 | 2:00 am

You never know when a deal killer is going to surface during a negotiation…Image Credit During a negotiation there comes a time when you believe that you can see beyond the negotiation styles and negotiating techniques and start to see the end of the negotiation. Both sides of the table have been going back and forth for a while and it’s starting to look like you are going to be able to come to an agreement. A deal is at hand! This is about the time that the deal killer shows up and that just might make this deal never happen. What Is A Deal Killer? So just exactly what is a deal…

Inside Sales Telesales Tips Blog
4 questions to ask to avoid making a terrible quota-bearing sales job choice

Geoff Alexander

13 May 2013 | 8:02 am

Francisco, a terrific veteran rep who took my inside sales training class a few years ago, is one month into his brand new quota-bearing inside sales job, and already he regrets taking it. “How could I have avoided this? I thought I’d asked everything in the interview!” He told me the story, and I’ll admit it, his dilemma was a new one on me, too. Here’s his story, and following that, some ideas to help ensure that it doesn’t happen to you, too. Francisco accepted a job with a company selling a software solution, and its recently-introduced SaaS iteration. His team was tasked with…
Get your PO faster by using these 8 Tips on determining the Decision and Approval process

Geoff Alexander

8 Apr 2013 | 9:02 am

“We need to do a better job of identifying the decision process and developing org charts to support it,” I was told by a VP of Sales at a well-regarded high technology company recently. That’s an important element to qualifying prospect accounts, and something we cover in our inside sales training courses. If you can identify with this VP’s concerns, here are 8 tips that you can put to use today to fix the problem and get your orders in faster: 1) Understand that there’s a difference between the Decision process and the Approval process. The Decision team arrives determines…
Review your dead proposals: you might be surprised!

Geoff Alexander

19 Feb 2013 | 8:02 am

Presidents’ Day is like a lot of other holidays for me, a great time to clean up my desk, go through old stacks, and dust a few hidden spots. The phone won’t ring, so I can actually get it done. There were a couple of ancient proposals on my desk that hadn’t come to fruition, too. I always archive my old “no-go” proposals in my database, so I decided to go through them all, and see what ever happened to the people who’d asked for the proposals in the first place. Let me tell you about them. These people were all pretty good folks, but they just couldn’t get funding…
Keeping KPIs real: countering unrealistic telephone performance indicators

Geoff Alexander

11 Feb 2013 | 8:02 am

In last week’s mailbag, I received a note from Eva that indicates a common dilemma, prompted by my post on Daily Call Metrics. Sound familiar to you? Read on: Hi Geoff, I was interviewed for an inside sales manager position where the CEO stated that the inside sales reps were required to complete 120 calls per day. I don't know about much yet about selling their product line, but allowing 3.5 minutes per prospect per day seems ludicrous. I personally over-achieved my sales goals exponentially every year in inside sales and never made anywhere near 120 calls per day. Proper preparation…
My Top 5 best-read blog posts of 2012

Geoff Alexander

7 Jan 2013 | 8:02 am

Each year at this time, I like to review what most interests the readers of my inside sales blog. While we have a lengthy subscription list (thanks for joining us, and do invite your colleagues to do the same), we get readers from tons of internet searches, which drives the lion’s share of our reader statistics. So what did people want to read about last year? Inside sales tactics and inside sales jobs and hiring posts headed up the list. Here were the top 5. If you missed any of them, just click. Here are 2012’s Top 5: 1) 5 Most common Price…

retaildoc.com
5 Retail Sales Mistakes That Cost You Business

Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

21 May 2013 | 7:08 am

Having written the book on retail sales, I am often asked what are the biggest mistakes retailers and their employees make. Before I get to those, I want to make sure you understand that while everyone thinks increasing sales and attracting new business comes from marketing, that’s only part of the solution. Why? Because your marketing really just gets them to the door, how you actually convert those new shoppers to buyers in your brick and mortar location is all that matters. And that’s where so many retailers fall down. Hard… They fall down on the experience a customer…
Top 10 Reasons Luxury Brands Should Avoid Retail Sales Training

Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

14 May 2013 | 6:20 am

Retail sales training may not be the best route to success for high-end, luxury brands. Some brand managers would argue that their luxury brand salespeople enjoy a different dynamic, one that is not subject to the fundamentals of retail selling. Here are 10 reasons: Everyone is Already Familiar with the Brand – With a well-recognized name, you don’t need to have your sales staff push the product; the product will just sell itself. You can dispense with salespeople altogether putting an emphasis on kiosks and iPads so customers can find what they need on their own. No Need to…
Retail Jobs:10 Things You Need To Know To Get And Keep

Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

13 May 2013 | 5:26 am

Whether they’re looking for a retail sales job for the summer, a second job, or a new career, many people turn to jobs in retail while they look for other opportunities. Retail can be the best job for anyone – from college-age to past retirement – to develop their people skills. If you choose a job in retail, you have to be willing to be what the employer wants. In my day, you didn’t have to know anything to be hired or to stay in retail. It didn’t matter then, but it certainly matters now. Why? It’s still true that retailers recognize that some employees may be…
Retailers: Meditation Provides You A Key To More Sales

Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

10 May 2013 | 4:58 am

I used to pride myself on how busy I was when I worked retail. Four Cokes, a couple of iced teas, and a couple of sugary snacks kept me pumping sales. I was the bomb. I kept this up for most of my professional life, whether I was speaking in front of thousands of retailers, counseling a franchisee, or doing a business makeover – activity meant productivity. And then one day… I was driving home. There was a large SUV in front of me stopped for no apparent reason. I waited. It seemed as if the driver was talking to someone on the curb. In a hurry to get home, I was about to angrily floor…
Why Retailers Should Support The Marketplace Fairness Act

Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

7 May 2013 | 6:21 am

This post is the result of a retailer note on the Retail Doc Facebook page: “I’m having a difficult time understanding where your support for this is coming from and what that belief is rooted in. I respect you in so many ways…I just don’t get it.” The Marketplace Fairness Act has just been approved by the U.S. Senate by a 69-27 vote and is on it’s way to the House of Representatives where the debate is bound to get ugly. In the circus atmosphere of a polarized Congress, where you are either a savior of the people or the devil himself, I expect a lot of sermons from both…

Drew Stevens
Dr. Drew’s Monday Motivation – The Need for Customer Service

Drew

19 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

Monday Momentum This weeks thought to consider. During the weekend I visited several stores to obtain a watch to monitor my heart rate and pace. Believe it or not it took five retail establishments to obtain the watch I wanted, not because of taste and style but customer service. I was bewildered by the apathy of employees and managers. Many could care last while the last person remained with me for over an hour explaining benefits and conducting demonstrations. I tire of organizations that are careless and apathetic to overall customer service. As Peter Drucker once said,<sic>…
Mediocrity and Excuses

Drew

17 May 2013 | 6:30 am

Those that seek shortcuts for anything and conduct little work always intrigue me. To express my point, those that never signal when changing lanes, those that fail to conduct research but opine subjectivity and those that look for those “10 minute workouts” because they abhor exercise. Life is about choices – not excuses. Those that make excuses create a “victim mentality”. It is society, the environment, and competition – anything but them. Let’s face it, excuses create mediocrity and inertia; action gets results. The question is do you enjoy being inert sitting in…
Running a Practice Just Got Easier

Drew

16 May 2013 | 5:36 am

View web version Running Your Chiropractic Practice Just Became Easier Renowned Practice Management Expert Explains How Chiropractors Can Be Successful From Day One by Managing Their Practice and Their Brand Effectively Phoenix, MD (May 15, 2013)– Today, chiropractors face a brutal business environment in which to operate their practice, with challenges like marketing, patient retention, staff management and insurance industry pressures dragging down profits daily. But if they take advantage of the tips and strategies available in Patient Acceleration: Helping Chiropractors Maximize…
Dr. Drew’s Monday Motivation on Creating Results

Drew

13 May 2013 | 10:29 am

Monday Momentum This weeks thought to consider. I have several clients that are in collections. They have decided not to pay due to results. Coaches help to drive results, they provide pathways and decrease obstacles but physical labor is required from the client. There are many out there that claim to be victims because others have not taught, directed and encouraged appropriately. The most discouraging ideal about coaching is “wasted talent.” Wasted talent is those that have the physical attributes to compete but create inertia because they fail to take action, risk movement. They…
Happy Mothers Day

Drew

12 May 2013 | 8:46 am

A happy shout out to all those moms who give so much to their families. A pause for those mom’s who have passed and have provided wisdom, encouragement and uncompromising love and congrats to those new mom’s to be! ©2013. Drew Stevens. All rights reserved. Tweet

Paul Castain's Sales Playbook
Your Dream Is Scarier Than Joe’s

Paul Castain

23 May 2013 | 3:45 am

I was taking a drive to my favorite campground (and lending some really bad background vocals to a song on the radio) when it happened . . . Some dude in a really nice Corvette convertible passes me. The guy is happy as can be (as well he should be for being able to pass my [...]
“Send Me Your Information” Stall or Opportunity?

Paul Castain

21 May 2013 | 5:55 am

Most sales reps consider the old “Send me your information” line as a stall or perhaps a substitute for “I’m really not interested”. I know many of you will push back for various reasons. Here are a few of them with my thoughts. “Why should I go through the effort when I don’t even know they’re serious? If [...]
11 Ways To Maximize Your LinkedIn Experience

Paul Castain

15 May 2013 | 4:34 am

1) Invitation Templates . . . don’t use them! You’re better than that! Nothing says “I couldn’t be bothered taking 10 seconds to write you a personal message” more than those boring templates. Want to stand out? Don’t do what everyone else is doing. 2) Avoid “IDK’s” “IDK” stands for “I don’t know” When someone hits that, in [...]
Leveraging LinkedIn Groups As A Social Selling Tool

Paul Castain

12 May 2013 | 5:22 pm

Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right click and save) Everyone and their mother (they actually bring their mother with them) tells you to join LinkedIn and get involved. They tell you that its a great opportunity to build your brand and ultimately increase sales but . . . If you’re like me you’re really appreciate it if [...]
A Close Call With My Son

Paul Castain

10 May 2013 | 10:17 am

I was rushing to get things done so I could have lunch with my son when I received a phone call that no parent wants to get. My son was involved in an accident. Nobody was hurt and only minor scratches on both cars. He was lucky but I couldn’t help but think things could have turned out [...]

SalesPractice Sales Training
Can you sell ice cubes to Eskimos?

18 May 2013 | 11:37 am

Source: SALESPRACTICE.COM - The hypothetical "Eskimo" might believe without a shadow of a doubt that he/she has no want or need for "ice cubes". Through the perspective of "water is water" [...] http://www.salespractice.com/forums/t-552.html
Highest Earning Potenial Sales Job

18 May 2013 | 11:37 am

Source: SALESPRACTICE.COM - I am young, and still learning. What do you think is the highest paying potential sales job? I don't really know if I want to go to college. [...] http://www.salespractice.com/forums/t-5372.html
Indifference or Rejection?

18 May 2013 | 11:37 am

Source: SALESPRACTICE.COM - In my opinion Rejection equates to an offering (i.e.; vendor - solution) being perceived as unsuitable. I can see how some might confuse Indifference with Rejection [...] http://www.salespractice.com/forums/t-11676.html
Any advice for when people say they need to think about it?

18 May 2013 | 11:37 am

Source: SALESPRACTICE.COM - If a prospective buyer says he/she needs to "think about it" that does not mean he/she is not seriously interested. Personally, I would probe deeper [...] http://www.salespractice.com/forums/t-2346.html
David Sandler Striplining

18 May 2013 | 11:37 am

Source: SALESPRACTICE.COM - Very few texts on selling cover striplining but its an important inclusion in the training programs and books on selling and negotiation, by the late David Sandler [...] http://www.salespractice.com/forums/t-558.html

Powerful Sales Techniques for Introverts and Extroverts by Alen Mayer
Cold Calling for Introverts: Words to Avoid

the_alen

21 May 2013 | 7:55 am

If you’re just getting started in the sales process, or if you’re updating your sales procedures in the hopes of getting better results, chances are your cold calling scripts will be getting at least some of the attention. If so, you may just be wondering what to avoid when cold calling, and in this article, we look at a few words that are definitely not sales friendly! If you’re ready to learn more about what to avoid when cold calling, in terms of your sales ‘vocabulary’ read on! Maybe When you’re cold calling, your best chance of success is to be self…
How to Use Persuasion Techniques in Sales

the_alen

13 May 2013 | 6:49 am

Sales and marketing professionals are faced with the challenge of convincing or persuading customers to buy or to use their products or services. The art of persuasion is actually a science and anybody can be successful in convincing others to do something as long as they use the right techniques.You need to utilize the following persuasion techniques: The art or reciprocity – When someone does something or gives something to that person, then it is natural that the person feels obliged to return the favour. In business, it is also the same. It is advisable that the sales person be…
Persuasion and Manipulation in Sales

the_alen

6 May 2013 | 7:18 am

Both persuasion and manipulation are methods of convincing people to do something, react favorably to your ideas or change their thinking to match yours. They are based on some principles of human action and interaction. Though the two are similar to some extent, they follow different styles and their results are usually different. Salesperson’s job is to persuade people, however careless adoption of persuasion techniques may lead to the concept of manipulation. Salespeople should understand the two concepts and try to avoid using manipulation to make sales. Here are some of the…
Effective Persuasion Techniques

the_alen

30 Apr 2013 | 6:26 am

Everyone is susceptible to being persuaded; persuasion is a process whose objective is to change a person’s attitude and/or behavior towards an idea, event, person or an object. An understanding of various effective persuasion techniques will not only help sales people to make sales and meet their targets but it will also allow them to have an edge over competitors in the market. Here are some of the best effective persuasion techniques to use in the field. Establish a common ground Many people buy products from the people they like, therefore a salesperson should establish rapport with…
Use EEE™ Representational System to Manage Your Sales Team

the_alen

22 Apr 2013 | 7:52 am

You cannot not communicate. Communication differentiates us from animals. We exchange meaning and respond to each other through dialogue. The most important process in any interaction is rapport. Rapport is responsiveness – you don’t have to ‘like’ the other person; it is something we do with another person. Remember that rapport is a process, not a thing. Without rapport, two people cannot trust each other and probably won’t even hear each other correctly. As manager, if you don’t have rapport with your team, you won’t get the outcome you want. Good communication stems from…

Your Sales Management Guru
Leadership and Teamwork – Pull the Oars …

kenthoreson

20 May 2013 | 5:16 am

Leadership and Teamwork – Pull the Oars … Count the Beats Another guest blog today, from Patti Grimm. Great message on working together for everyone’s benefit. Analogies and stories are powerful ways to communicate a message which people remember. A lot of business writers, professors and business consultants use a number of different analogies to illustrate the value and power of working in High Performance Teams in order to deliver sustainable business results. The most common analogies today center around “Getting Everyone on the Bus” or “Getting Everyone on the…
Important Grammar in Business Presentations

kenthoreson

14 May 2013 | 9:51 am

Just How Important Is Proper Grammar When it Comes to Business Presentations? Ken; We have a guest blog this week, a topic that is absolutely key in emails, presentations and meetings. Hope you enjoy! It takes more than just good speaking skills to give a top-notch business presentation. Good writing speaks volumes about the person and company behind the presentation. No matter how strong the content being presented, if it’s littered with grammatical or spelling errors, it will come off as amateurish and unprofessional. Your presentation is the blueprint to the work you’ll be doing if…
Programs to Increase Your Professionalism

kenthoreson

6 May 2013 | 4:39 pm

Programs to Increase Your Professionalism This week I thought I would use this forum to let my readers know of Two Sales Leadership training programs in May that you should plan to attend. The first is Friday May 10thBuilding Predictable Revenue: Sales Management Systems The second is May 28th, 1pm EST: Creating Sales Compensation Plans for High Performance This is one of 10 Sales Management Training programs from Top Sales Management: read below Building Predictable Revenue: Sales Management Systems, Forecasting and Building a Self-Managed Sales Force Friday, May 10, 2013 12:00pm…
Old Ways of Doing Business, No Longer Work

kenthoreson

28 Apr 2013 | 11:37 am

Old Ways of Doing Business No Longer Work I am honored to have this week’s blog prepared by Jonathan Farrington, he is a globally recognized business coach, mentor, author and sales thought leader. He is the Senior Partner of Jonathan Farrington & Associates, and CEO of Top Sales World, based in London & Paris. I believe that most of us accept that the old ways of doing business no longer work: the increasingly intense competitive challenges of the world economy, post the recent financial meltdown, challenge everyone, everywhere to adapt in order to prosper under new rules.
Earn Your Success, Pay the Price

kenthoreson

21 Apr 2013 | 2:17 pm

Earn Your Success Pay the Price A good friend of mine always told me that you “earned success” and you had to accept the fact that their normally was price to pay for that success. When I work with my client’s sales teams I always inquire about their goals, actions and commitments to achieving their objectives-and what doesn’t surprises me anymore is this lack of fully understanding of the “price to pay”. I am not suggesting that our lives are so consumed with achieving success that all other facets of life are out of balance. Those of you who have taken my “Personal…

Meeting to Win's Blog
100 Sales Team Meeting Ideas: #9 – Boardroom Ettiquette

Jill

15 May 2013 | 10:13 am

I was watching a morning news show a few weeks ago and they had a special guest on discussing boardroom ettiquette. When I first went into sales, I had the privilege of going through a homegrown company training program called Professional Selling. This course covered everything from what color socks to wear to how to shake hands to what fork to use with what course. For a recent college grad, this course was an unbelieveable gift. Much has changed since those days. Now there are new challenges such as business casual dress codes and smartphones. There are more ways to offend than…
100 Reasons to Hold Sales Team Meetings: #5 – Prepare for Selling Seasons

Jill

8 Apr 2013 | 8:53 am

In every industry and business in general there are “selling seasons”. In between Spring Break, holidays and summer vacations are great opportunities to gain some sales momentum. If you have regularly scheduled sales team meetings, you and your team can get a jump on these selling opportunities and plan for them accordingly. As a team you can gain a competitive advantage by planning and executing together. You have 7 weeks until Memorial Day vacations kick in for decision makers. At your next meeting, put a plan in place for taking advantage of the current selling season.
100 Sales Team Meeting Ideas: #8 – Tools of the Trade

Jill

25 Mar 2013 | 3:00 am

Thank you for joining me as we make our way through 100 Sales Team Meeting Ideas. Here’s #8 – Tools of the Trade During your next sales team meeting, ask each salesperson to share one tool they use to help them be more productive, win more business and or work more effectively. This tool could be in any category – technology, marketing, print, etc. Give them each 2 minutes to share information about the tool, how they use it and what results they contribute to the tool. This is a great way for the team to learn about new tools AND a way to practice presentation…
100 Sales Team Meeting Ideas: #7 – Get Fresh Eyes on Stale Accounts

Jill

18 Mar 2013 | 4:00 am

Thank you for visiting Meeting to Win as we march toward 100 Sales Team Meeting Ideas. Sign up for a free monthly topic, too. Click HERE to join hundreds of sales managers who have committed to leading entertaining and productive sales team meetings. #7 – Get Fresh Eyes on Stale Accounts When the team is doing well, it gives the whole group momentum. It’s fun to be part of a winning team and the attitude and success can be contagious. For an upcoming meeting, get the group together and get fresh eyes on one or more stale accounts. Ask a couple of salespeople to be…
100 Reasons to Hold Sales Team Meetings: #4 – Share Coaching Duties with Team

Jill

15 Mar 2013 | 10:22 am

Thank you for joining us as we share 100 Reasons for Holding Sales Team Meetings. Meeting to Win offers sales team meeting topics, troubleshooters and ideas. See the options HERE. 100 Reasons to Hold Sales Team Meetings: #4 – Share Coaching Duties with Team One of the best things you can do for your sales team is get out of the way. Sales Managers often want to have all the answers or, at least, feel like they should. During sales team meetings, there is a great opportunity to share coaching duties with a group of experienced salespeople who just might have better answers. …

Free Sales & Marketing Magazines and Downloads from alltop.tradepub.com
1-to-1 Customer Service Best Practice #3: Take Your Contact Center Routing Out of the Queue

22 May 2013 | 12:00 am

With a true skills-based routing approach, combinations of skills and skill levels defined in agent profiles can be leveraged to match a customer request with the best resource. Register now for this webinar on Wednesday June 5, 2013 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific. Free yourself from the limitations of legacy/ACD queue based routing. Learn the skills-based routing approach for:Finding the BEST available agent / associate with the right skill profile and not the longest available agentImproving operational efficiencyDelivering exceptional customer service and boosting agent satisfactionRequest…
Q1 2013 B2B Social Insights Report: Marketing Executives on Twitter

20 May 2013 | 1:50 pm

Despite all the technology available, your ability to reach, engage, and influence marketing executives at leading brands and agencies is still limited. While buyer personas, surveys, and search marketing data can get you in the ballpark, we believe social media insights are now a “must-have” for understanding senior marketers in a way that becomes truly actionable. With this in mind, Leadtail developed the B2B Social Insights Report: Marketing Executives on Twitter to provide social media insights into the patterns and behaviors of marketing decision makers. Using…
Forbes.com: Real ROI with Social Infrastructure

20 May 2013 | 12:00 am

In this case study you will discover the challenge and success of creating a full social infrastructure on Forbes.com to show real results such as boosting registrations and engagement with content.Request Free!
On the Move: Great Productivity Solutions for the Mobile Sales Team

20 May 2013 | 12:00 am

Selling will be a mobile discipline. It's imperative to craft a plan for making mobility standard and keeping information secure.Request Free!
Sales: Maximize Profitability, Improve Performance, and Deliver Customer Value

20 May 2013 | 12:00 am

Learn why your sales team's success depends upon its ability to acquire and grow profitable customer relationships and how the SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application can help by empowering it with the tools and information necessary to plan and analyze sales execution throughout the entire sales cycle.Request Free!

Salesjournal
The Ultimate Sales Compensation Question

KathleenSteffey

23 May 2013 | 3:00 am

By Gary S. Hart “Should sales reps be paid even more than you?” My friend, Kenneth Manesse Sr. asked this question in response to Inc.’s article. “4 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Sales.” Before sharing two perspectives with you, … Continue reading →
How to encourage customers to invite you to close the sale

KathleenSteffey

22 May 2013 | 5:55 am

BY MICHAEL BOYETTE What’s your goal in any sales presentation? Isn’t it getting the customer to “invite” you to close the sale? Getting that coveted invitation is about gaining your customer’s full participation toward a shared objective, says consultant and sales … Continue reading →
3 REASONS WHY BETTER SALES SKILLS AREN’T HELPING YOU SELL MORE.

KathleenSteffey

21 May 2013 | 3:00 am

By Dan Waldschmidt Knowing more doesn’t make you more. Let’s face it, your obsession with learning every new sales tactic isn’t getting you that far. If you are like just about everyone else in business, it’s something you’ve been thinking about for … Continue reading →
Know Your Customer to Increase Sales Effectiveness

KathleenSteffey

20 May 2013 | 3:00 am

The more you know about your customer, the more successful you will when attempting to increase your sales. Here is a summary from the sales coaches at Launch Pad Solutions with some of the areas where having information will help … Continue reading →
Making Mistakes At Work

KathleenSteffey

17 May 2013 | 3:00 am

On a scale of 1-10, how efficient do you believe you are at work? Could you use some help? Let’s be honest: there is a lot of “work” at work. Most of us are so busy trying to complete the … Continue reading →

Peak Sales Recruiting | Sales Recruiter
The Most Important Profession in the World: Sales

PEAKSALES

5 May 2013 | 11:00 pm

We have said it many times. The world’s second oldest profession has changed more in the last fifteen years than it has through all of time. Dan Pink’s latest book, To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, covers this evolution and if you love selling as much as we do, you will love this book. First of all Pink is not a salesperson, so you don’t get the typical rah-rah, salesmanship that you would naturally expect to find in a sales book written by a sales person. Pink is a business and management author that has extensively studied motivation and…
10 Ways to Expand Your Sales Candidate Flow (VP of Sales/CEO – Sales Recruiting Cheat Sheet Series – Topic 1)

PEAKSALES

24 Apr 2013 | 2:39 am

One of the biggest challenges faced by hiring managers and sales leaders looking to hire is how to get exposure to top sales talent. Creating more candidate flow won’t necessary get the right person to show up at your door, but the more people you are exposed to certainly increases the chances that you will find someone that can help your sales team be more successful. Post Ads – there are many job boards that can raise the awareness about your open position and don’t forget Craigslist as a source of talent for certain types of positions. Linked-in – probably the largest resume…
Kick-a$$ Recruiting Strategy – Cheat Sheet VP of Sales

PEAKSALES

22 Apr 2013 | 2:35 am

In the weeks to come we are going to address the various questions that a VP of Sales or CEO are faced with as they are looking at developing a kick-a$$, bullet-proof sales recruiting process. These strategies will apply whether you are a VP Sales/CEO of a enterprise or a small company. The topics we will ask and address are as follows: Creating a large candidate pool Developing pre-defined success criteria Defining an effective interview process (who does what & when) Conduct effective sales interviews Using tools and exercises to help you assess the suitability of candidates…
The Three Minute Sales Interview

PEAKSALES

20 Apr 2013 | 2:32 am

We wrote about the One Minute Sales Interview and we wanted to follow on with what to do when you have a little more, but not much more, time. Let’s say you are called in to interview a sales candidate and have little time to prepare. What can you ask to get a sense of whether this person is someone with whom you would want to spend more time? As we mentioned in the One Minute Sales Interview, the simplest way to get a sense of what a sales person is all about is to ask them that exact question. A strong sales person will be self aware, succinct and will naturally promote themselves.
The One Minute Sales Interview (Requires 25 Seconds to Read)

PEAKSALES

19 Apr 2013 | 8:21 am

We know what ABC stands for in sales, but what about ABR? …Always Be Recruiting. It is a mantra of successful sales leaders. Always be on the lookout for great talent. Whether you are at a networking event or a social event, you will run into people that could help your sales team. So how do you know who is someone that might be able to help you? The simplest way is to ask them to speak about themselves (as in “tell me about yourself” or “what are you all about”). A good sales person will be self aware, succinct and will naturally promote themself without sounding like a cheese…

Sharon Drew Morgen
Buying Patterns, Buy Cycle, Buying Decisions

Sharon Drew Morgen

12 May 2013 | 6:24 am

As sales professionals, I’m sure you recognize that the sales model is merely a solution placement model: it ignores the behind-the-scenes human issues that buyers must address and decide on prior to buying, leaving sales people outside the meat of the decisions during the largest portion of the buying decision path. I realized the flaw in the model as an entrepreneur of a tech company in London. As a successful sales person during the 70s, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to start up a tech company in London in 1983. My personal situation drove my discovery. At…
Who’s in the meeting – and who’s not?

Sharon Drew Morgen

7 May 2013 | 6:00 am

So many sales folks are targeting ‘appointments’ these days. I wonder if you know who actually is in attendance. And who isn’t but should be. As you enter your meeting, do you know what percent of the entire Buying Decision Team is there? what weight your contact has on the full Buying Decision Team? if everyone who will touch the solution has added their buying criteria to the ’needs’ discussion? who is NOT at the meeting… because they haven’t yet been brought onto the Buying Decision Team? because they are at war with someone in the room but is…
Selling doesn’t cause buying

Sharon Drew Morgen

5 May 2013 | 7:00 am

When you think about your numbers (closing percentages, total calls, etc.), and consider the objections, the price issues, the delayed sales cycles, the excuses, and those who just, well, disappear, don’t you realize these same problems have been cropping up, um, forever? And that whatever you seem to be doing to ‘correct’ the issue doesn’t seem to work? And you still expect different results? Do you realize you’d rather suffer with the long sales cycle rather than actually enter the buyer’s journey much earlier and help them navigate through their…
A buying decision is a change management problem

Sharon Drew Morgen

23 Apr 2013 | 8:28 am

The sales model focuses on needs assessment and solution placement. A buying decision is a change management activity. They are two different activities, done at two different – and opposite – points along the buying decision journey. Sales models to not have the capability to facilitate the buyer’s behind-the-scenes issues and activities to ensure they get the necessary buy-in to bring in an outside solution. They do not, really, facilitate the private buying decision path buyers travel. But they should, because in the gap between the selling and the buying is where the change…
Sales is a Flawed Model

Sharon Drew Morgen

10 Apr 2013 | 6:16 am

Do you know why you don’t close all the sales you deserve to close? Do you know, on your first prospecting call, who will buy? Do you know where buyers go when they say ‘I’ll call you back?” Do you know what takes buyers so long to buy when it seems so obvious to everyone – including them? You don’t know the answers to these questions. Because the sales model is geared for solution placement. Of course you give good service, ask all the right questions, understand the need and how it fits with your solution. But the sales model is not set up to manage the personal, human,…

A Sales Guy | Sales Advice | Sales Coaching
How Long Are You Gonna Give em? [How to Get Rid of Bad Hires?]

Keenan

21 May 2013 | 4:21 pm

How long are you going to give your new hire to get it? When it comes to new hires, it’s a question few of us entertain. Why would we? Our kick ass new hire is an “A” player and they are gonna crush it. Who wants to be negative at such a transformational moment. The new SVP Sales, Sales Director, Sales Manager or Account Executive is going to kill it, why do we need to talk about them failing? But what if they don’t crush it? What happens if your new all-star sucks? What happens if they aren’t an A player at all and you’ve been duped? How long are you…
The 5 Key Components of a Healthy Sales Organization — No, It’s Not The Pipeline [Note to CEO's and VP Sales]

Keenan

20 May 2013 | 6:20 pm

Sales is hard. I say it all the time. In particular, running, leading and building sales teams is hard. But, just because it’s hard doesn’t mean we have to struggle. There are only five things that affect your ability to make your number and understanding what they are and how you fair in each of them is the difference between success and failure. As a sales leader, if you are diligent in understand these four areas; people, process, strategy, product and the market you’re doing OK. Too often we get caught up in too many things that don’t make a difference. Or, if we…
Sunday Morning Blog – Tim Ohai Chaos Inside My Head

Keenan

19 May 2013 | 9:10 am

Tim is a conversational writer, you know what I mean. He writes like he talks. You feel like your having a conversation with him when you read his blog. I like conversational writers. Reading their stuff is easy, engaging and fluid. Chaos Inside my Head is an easy, capitvating read that captures your attention and makes it easy to absorb the messages. Tim is a great story teller who weaves fantastic metaphors, stories and anecdotes into his posts that drive the points home. Chaos in my Head is a good title. His posts tend to take on a chaotic, ranting style that makes you…
Success Saturdays – Failure Sucks, So Let’s Stop Bull Shitting Ourselves

Keenan

18 May 2013 | 2:25 pm

The only way to succeed is through failure. Too often this is a platitude, something we say to make ourselves feel better when things aren’t going well. But, the truth is failure sucks. Failure hurts and I don’t know about you but, I don’t like it. It hurts so much, most of us just avoid doing things so we don’t have to fail. We avoid trying to be successful in order NOT to fail. We play not to lose. not to play to win. Rather than platitudes and ass kissing phrases to make us feel better about failure and pretending it doesn’t hurt, we’re better…
WITCE Wednesdays – Inventory Velocity

Keenan

15 May 2013 | 4:49 pm

I’m gonna take a break from economic indicators this week. I had a desire to touch on a company specific topic that will affect many of the people in this community who sell a product. This week’s WITCE Wednesday is going to be on inventory velocity. Inventory velocity is the speed or rate at which inventory is cycled with a given period for each item. Another term I’m going to add to this post is inventory turns. Inventory turns is the rate at which inventory turns in total. Inventory velocity measures the rate at a product level, where inventory turn measures at a…

Sales Motivation and Sales Training
Can You Handle a Short Sales Cycle?

TheSalesHunter

23 May 2013 | 2:07 am

Every salesperson would like to think they can handle and would relish in a short sales-cycle, but here’s the problem — most salespeople can’t handle it. The sales cycle is shortening because of one thing, and that is the amount of information available on the internet. What this means is prospecting does not have the same merit for customers as it used to. Before the internet became as big it is today, customers would have to engage with a salesperson to find out information, regardless of where they were in the buying cycle. This meant a good prospecting salesperson…
Round Your Price Up, Not Down

TheSalesHunter

21 May 2013 | 11:55 pm

Your customer won’t notice as much as you think. Surprisingly, most customers don’t know or remember your price as much as you realize. If that’s the case, then why would you think rounding your price up is going to cost a lot of business? It’s not, so go ahead and do it. Look at it this way. The additional profit you’re going to make might seem small, but it adds up quickly. If you’re in a typical industry and if by rounding your price up you increase your profit by 3%, then you could afford to lose 1 out of every 32 customers without damaging your…
Are You a Pricing Coward?

TheSalesHunter

21 May 2013 | 3:42 am

Nobody wants to be called a “pricing coward,” but that is exactly what many salespeople are. They talk tough with regard to price and holding firm with the customer, but the second there is even the slightest hesitation on the part of the customer, the salesperson throws out a discount. Being a pricing coward is a real problem for one simple reason: You give up a lot of profit that simply does not have to be given away. The tendency to give a discount to close a deal is due to one simple thing. The salesperson doesn’t have a clue what else to do. Sell based on the benefits…
4 Reasons Why Mondays Matter to Salespeople

TheSalesHunter

20 May 2013 | 2:27 am

First reason is how you start Monday is a good indicator as to how the entire week is going to go. If you allow Monday to slide by and not make it productive, then most likely you’re going to let the entire week slide by. Second reason is Mondays are the best day of the week to firm up appointments for the week. Use Mondays as your time to schedule any additional appointments you need to make it a full week and to confirm with people you will be meeting with. Reviewing the calendar on Monday is something most people do, so if you’re trying to get time on the calendars of busy…
Slow Sales? Training May or May Not Be the Solution.

TheSalesHunter

16 May 2013 | 8:56 am

Is your company and/or sales team in a bit of a sales slump? I know it may surprise you to hear me say this, but sales training is not always the solution. Unfortunately, training is often pegged as the solution for everything. Obviously, I do often see where organizations could benefit greatly from training. Sometimes, sales training is exactly what is needed! But not always. So, how do you decide? Well, before any training can be affective, you first need to explore these questions regarding the sales slump: Is the poor performance based on poor attitude or lack of skill? Is the poor…

Partners in EXCELLENCE Blog -- Making A Difference
Who Cares About Big Data, Where Are The Big Questions?

David Brock

22 May 2013 | 3:17 pm

This morning, I’m sitting in a series of presentations extolling the value of big data. I get it–kind of. I get that more data has been created in the past 2 years than in the history of mankind. I get that data is everywhere, we can know so much about so many different things. I get there are very powerful tools, enabling us to gather disparate types of data from thousands of sources, slicing and dicing it in ways previously unimaginable. I think if I hear one more statistic, hear any more testimonials about the power of big data, I’ll throw up. I wonder though,…
Sales Operations, Serving Sales People—An Interview With Tony Walker

David Brock

20 May 2013 | 11:45 pm

Over the next several months, I’ll be interviewing a number of Sales Operations and Sales Enablement executives. I believe these roles are critical in understanding and driving sales performance. Field sales managers focus on their teams. They want to maximize the performance of each person on the team and of the team, as a whole. They focus on the numbers–is the team performing at a level to achieve their numbers? Sales Operations and Sales Enablement executives view the organization through a different lens. They have the opportunity to look at the sales organization as…
DumbingThings Down Versus Radical Simplification

David Brock

20 May 2013 | 5:50 am

I’m a great advocate of Radical Simplification. Our worlds are too complex, we seem to keep piling things onto everything we’ve done in the past. New programs, new processes, new systems, new tools, new training. Layer upon layer accumulates, confusing sales people–what do I do? Which strategy should I follow, do I use this approach or another? It goes on and on…… Too often, however, in response to this complexity and all the “tools” that have been put in place to manage complexity, instead of simplification, we dumb things down. We make…
Buying Is A High Risk Job!

David Brock

18 May 2013 | 3:53 pm

In my post, “Solving Our Problems,” Tim Foster reminded me of something the folks at The TAS Group say, “The impact on the customer of a bad buying decision is usually greater than the impact of the lost sale to the sales person.” It’s something few of us think about, but we need to remind ourselves everyday. The risk to the customer in making a bad buying decision can be very high. The risks far exceed what they pay for the product and the revenue we might get. To the customer it might mean: A project failure. The customer is buying our product to…
Solving Our Problems

David Brock

16 May 2013 | 11:43 am

I’ve been having trouble with a sales person. He’s someone I’ve done business with a few times before. It started a few months ago. He sold my wife her last car. He knows her lease is coming to an end in July. A few months ago, he politely called me (wonder why he didn’t call my wife) asking our intentions at the end of the lease. I told him, “She loves the car, she’ll probably buy the current model at the end of her current lease. Why don’t you ask her?” He politely asked, “Would you make sure to call me when you want to get…

Sneeze It
Writing a Great Email Subject Line

David Steel

13 May 2013 | 5:45 am

If you’re using email to market your products and services, it’s important to know how to write an email subject line that will hold your reader’s attention. Today’s email marketer has to juggle quite a few responsibilities, including managing mailing lists, creating marketing campaigns, and composing high quality sales copy for emails that will be received by current and potential customers. Content is always king, but it’s just as essential to write a buzzworthy line in the subject of your email to optimize results. So how do you go about writing compelling subject lines that your…
6 Tips for Twitter Engagement

David Steel

4 May 2013 | 5:45 am

It seems like every business and every person out there has their own Twitter account these days. However, few of them are seeing real success from their presence on Twitter. They just put up an account and then throw their hands in the air wondering why nothing is happening. The key, therefore, is in learning to increase user engagement onTwitter. So how do you go about doing that? Take a look at these easy tips and ideas for how to boost your Twitter Engagement. • Get active – If you send out one Tweet per week, don’t be surprised that you don’t have any…
SEO Is Not Dead

David Steel

7 Feb 2013 | 11:45 am

Since the onset of Penguin and the climactic changes taking place in the online world, we’ve heard it said repeatedly, in the voice of gloom and doom, that SEO is dead. In fact, SEO today is more important than ever before. With so much riding on the correct layout of your pages, your navigation and your overall search engine visibility, SEO is an important part of our website plan. SEO is not the same as once it was, that much is true. The ability to build links and to have them count as the vote that they were at one time in a search is simply no longer an option. Your best option, as…
How to Maximize Customer Service on Twitter

David Steel

21 Jan 2013 | 6:45 am

Twitter is by far the most up-and-coming customer service channel for brands who want to provide near real-time support, as well as show the Twitterverse that they are a customer-centric brand. However, like other customer service channels, it is important to monitor performance in terms of response time and satisfaction rate. WaveMetrix has looked at some of the best practices from brands that are successfully providing support on Twitter, to help other brands understand where to start and how to go about it. The first step is to make sure you have a brand-centric Twitter account (handle)…
Five Reasons to Consider Guest Blogging

David Steel

7 Jan 2013 | 6:06 pm

There are many reasons why people blog, but for businesses it’s mostly to increase revenue and gain credibility while reaching new customers. One way to do this is to lend your expertise to other sites as a guest blogger. Now, you may question the benefits of guest blogging and wonder, “Why help somebody else get new content on their sites when I can be focusing on getting fresh content on my own sites?” Well, that’s a valid question worth exploring so here are a few reasons why you should consider guest blogging: Increase Quality Traffic To Your Site – If you put out quality work…

Media Sales Today
Does “Dumbing it Down” Lead to A Sale?

Jessica Helinski

22 May 2013 | 1:39 pm

Do you think salespeople should “dumb it down” to get prospects to buy? Nancy Nardin, founder and president of Smart Selling Tools, think this is the way to go in some situations. On her blog, she addresses the complex sale, and she explains why dumbing things down really is the smartest way to woo a buyer.The post Does “Dumbing it Down” Lead to A Sale? appeared first on Media Sales Today.
Top Opportunities/Challenges Ahead for Medical Labs

Kathy Crosett

22 May 2013 | 10:26 am

AdMall recently updated their Local Account Intelligence report for Medical Labs. The following are the predicted Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:The post Top Opportunities/Challenges Ahead for Medical Labs appeared first on Media Sales Today.
Media Companies Lure Marketers with New Digital Entertainment Packages

Kathy Crosett

22 May 2013 | 8:16 am

Now that marketers have stampeded to online marketing, they have to worry about whether consumers will see their messages. Consumers are spending more time than ever before online but there is also more intense competition for their attention. Some media providers are upping the ante and investing more money in quality online entertainment to get consumers to visit their sites.The post Media Companies Lure Marketers with New Digital Entertainment Packages appeared first on Media Sales Today.
Listen Up for the Key to Socially Targeted Ads

Courtney Huckabay Stone

22 May 2013 | 2:00 am

Marketers hoping to capitalize on the vast amounts of data consumers post publicly online are increasingly wanting to use social media to inform their online targeting efforts. Are you helping your marketers accomplish this? Socially targeted ads are relevant and contextual, and they’re able to carry over from mobile to desktop. Much of targeting this way involves LISTENING. (Or, technically, reading.) You need to make sure your advertisers are actually paying attention to the comments their customers are posting.The post Listen Up for the Key to Socially Targeted Ads appeared first on…
Top Opportunities/Challenges Ahead for Athletic Footwear/Apparel Stores

Jessica Helinski

21 May 2013 | 1:54 pm

AdMall recently updated their Local Account Intelligence report for Athletic Footwear/Apparel Stores. The following are the predicted Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:The post Top Opportunities/Challenges Ahead for Athletic Footwear/Apparel Stores appeared first on Media Sales Today.

Star Results » Blog
The Power of Handwritten Recognition

Steven Rosen

20 May 2013 | 12:48 pm

The best way to recognize great performance is by sending a hand written motivational card. I believe there are two things that motivate most sales reps. 1. Is the ability to do the job they paid to and 2. Being recognized for a job well done. With email and text messages it is very easy to bang off a quick note. Personalized hand written notes are a rarity? If you want to differentiate yourself as a manager hand writing personalized recognition cards is very motivating. If you want to be a STAR sales manager make sure you have a variety of motivational cards at your disposal. Make sending…
How to Drive More Sales Every Quarter

Steven Rosen

15 May 2013 | 6:17 am

Effective Quarterly Business Reviews Drive Sales Performance Both business acumen and business planning are becoming a much more integral skill for sales reps and sales managers. Company’s business planning processes require sales reps to build annual business plans. To have an effective business planning process it is important that companies build in proper follow up and follow through to ensure execution and establish accountability to the business planning process. Quarterly business reviews consists of a formal review meeting between a front line sales manager and one of his/her sales…
How Focus will Make you Successful

Steven Rosen

29 Apr 2013 | 4:57 pm

Do you have a secret formula for success? I wanted to talk to you about how you can be successful in any job do. I was fortunate to have been promoted into seven different roles over a five-year period, moving from a sales rep to a VP of Sales for three divisions. The problem was that I had no idea what I was doing in each of those successive new roles. I will however share with you what I did to continue to get promoted. My secret to success in each role was to figure out the 2 or 3 key things would drive sales performance and making sure my team did those 2-3 things not just adequately,…
Setting your Goals on Success

Steven Rosen

21 Apr 2013 | 4:37 pm

Welcome back. One of my old colleagues used to say that “The road to success for a sales manager is paved with potholes”. Today I would like to share with you the tips that have helped me become successful in my career. Tip #19 from Chapter 3 of 52 Sales Management Tips – The Sales Manager Success Guide is: Success is Achieving the Goals You Set for Yourself We all strive for success. Yet many people feel that they are not successful because someone has a bigger house, fancier car or more money. I believe success is measured in setting and achieving the goals you set for yourself.
Top Sales Management/Leadership Academy

Steven Rosen

21 Apr 2013 | 4:30 pm

Here is what we know… At least 80% of sales managers fail within eighteen months of being promoted (Source: Chally). Making that transition, from self-supporting super sales star to “executive shepherd”, is daunting. We understand exactly how the sales leader’s role has evolved and continues to change. So, what’s the answer? Sales managers basically have two choices: They can wait around for the economy to pick up – and hope that their company will re-commence their education – or they can take matters into their own hands and work with the mantra “If it’s to be, then it’s…

Sales Training: An Independent Perspective. Dave Stein's Blog.
What Sales Trainers Can Do to Prevent Age Discrimination Against Themselves

Dave Stein

6 May 2013 | 8:19 am

Recently I’ve had more than a few discussions with sales trainers and sales training buyers about age. The more I see trainers include phrases like, “More than 35 years experience in sales, sales management…” in their LinkedIn profiles and in the “About Us” sections of their websites, the more conscious I’ve become of this issue. Here’s an important point: Hiring a sales trainer, just because they are young, to train your B2B sales team is as much of a mistake as hiring someone with decades of experience—but little of it relevant to…
Still Using Powerpoint? Try Whiteboard Selling. Now.

Dave Stein

29 Apr 2013 | 12:04 pm

It’s unusual for me to publish two posts in a row covering new books about selling, but this is a special situation. Near the end of 2011, I had the opportunity to spend an hour with Corey Sommers on the phone for the first time. At the time, he and his partner, David Jenkins, were the two principals at WhiteBoard Selling, a small, niche, sales enablement provider. I say “were” because Whiteboard Selling was acquired by Corporate Visions last year. I called it a very smart move at the time and I still believe that to be true. Back to the briefing. As an analyst firm, we…
A Very Different, Very Powerful Book About Selling

Dave Stein

22 Apr 2013 | 8:29 am

Update: April 25, 2013. If you read this book and see a strong comparison to the Challenger Sale model, let me know. I should point out that the original version of this book was written long before The Challenger Sale was written. Original blog post begins: It’s always an honor to be mentioned in a new book, or to be asked to provide an endorsement. In this case, the author asked me to write the forward. Here is the forward to Tony Hughes’s The Joshua Principle (Revised Edition – 2013): Six months or so ago, Tom Snyder [a colleague and sales performance improvement…
LIMRA and the Hoopis Performance Network’s Trustworthy Selling

Dave Stein

10 Apr 2013 | 7:16 am

ESR recently completed our evaluation of the Trustworthy Selling program, which was introduced 18 months ago by the Hoopis Performance Network and LIMRA. This collaboration gave birth to a high-quality, high-value selling program for the financial services industry. I recently had the opportunity to speak with: Delores Freitag, AVP of talent development at LIMRA Joey Davenport, CLU, CLF, who is a Principal & Chief Development Officer for the Hoopis Performance Network in Chicago, IL. George Ludwig, a 30-year veteran consultant, speaker, and trainer, and author of PowerSelling. Harry…
Franklin Covey’s Acquisition of NinetyFive 5

Dave Stein

18 Mar 2013 | 7:03 am

Last week Franklin Covey announced the acquisition of sales performance improvement provider NinetyFive 5. This thrusts Franklin Covey’s Sales Performance Practice right into the category of a Tier One provider in the sales training and sales enablement space. Haven’t heard of NinetyFive 5? That’s not an accident. Stealth was a critical component of the growth plan designed by co-founders Randy Illig, Craig Christensen, and Mahan Khalsa. They shared with ESR just a year ago what they had accomplished up to that point. We were impressed. They are among the industry leaders in…

Renbor Sales Solutions Inc. » Blog
Sales Leaders – Manage Your 50% Minority

Tibor Shanto

22 May 2013 | 12:33 am

by Tibor Shanto – tibor.shanto@sellbetter.ca In the past I have written about the propensity of sales leaders to accept and live with the Pareto Principle, the 80/20 rule. For example, 20% of your reps deliver 80% of your revenues, I know one team with 9 reps, where 2 sellers are responsible for 71% of the revenue. At one time, in the Shanto Principle I asked the question what if organizations could move the dial to 70/30, what would the impact be? Companies continue to struggle with this reality, in many instances the 80/20 looks more like this: 20% – Top of the pack,…
You Do It Now – They Can Talk Later – Sales eXchange 201

Tibor Shanto

20 May 2013 | 12:33 am

By Tibor Shantotibor.shanto@sellbetter.ca Last Wednesday May 15th, I had the opportunity to be on the Charles Adler show. We look at the potential fallacies in long term predictions, this on the heels of a piece I did for the Globe and Mail Report on Small Business, regarding the need for execution in sales, not long term predications, and the fact that in BC, the elections did produce a majority government, but not by the party everyone was “predicting” would form the government. Have a short listen, then let us know how you’ve found action and results to be of more value than…
It Doesn’t End With the Sale: Managing Customer Relationships

Tibor Shanto

17 May 2013 | 12:33 am

The Pipeline Guest Post – Megan Totka Customers are the lifeblood of any business, and attracting new customers while strengthening your relationships with existing ones is a constant challenge. The best way to do so, however, is a matter that often leaves your sales and marketing staff at odds. Your sales force is focused primarily on closing the deal and landing new customers, while your marketing department wants to nurture customer relationships before and after the sale. No matter what your role at your company, however, it’s to your benefit to continue to nurture customer…
Stop making sales predictions and start executing

Tibor Shanto

16 May 2013 | 12:33 am

by Tibor Shanto – tibor.shanto@sellbetter.ca As some of you may be aware, I have a monthly column on the Globe and Mail’s, usually the third Tuesday of each month. These pieces are unique from what I usually post here on The Pipeline. I will post links to these posts as I think they will be of interest to regular readers of this blog. As always, I invite you to share and comment on the articles on the Globe and Mail site, here, or both. Enjoy: Stop making sales predictions and start executing What’s in Your Pipeline? Tibor Shanto
Conditions Are Not Objections (#video)

Tibor Shanto

15 May 2013 | 12:33 am

By Tibor Shantotibor.shanto@sellbetter.ca In the heat of a sale, it is sometimes easy to confuse a condition to the sale with an objection. The key is to understand what you are really dealing with, and respond accordingly. Done right, it could solidify the sale and the resulting relationship with the buyer. Take a look, then download the Objection Handling Handbook, and let me know your thought. What’s in Your Pipeline? Tibor Shanto

Talking Media Sales
What’s Your Mindset?

Mike Brunel

13 May 2013 | 7:18 pm

“Sales Are Contingent Upon The Attitude Of The Salesperson, Not The Attitude Of The Prospect” I get to hear good stories from all over the world as to how sales people are making a difference to people’s lives. In many situations businesses worldwide are feeling (according to them) the pressure of not getting their numbers, the market is tough, it is not like it used to be, people are simply not buying like they used to, the excuses seem to go on and on. I want to debunk that, it simply is not true. I know that if you offer value, and are committed to your customers, they will buy off…
How To Avoid Hiring Turkeys

Josh Easby

8 May 2013 | 5:00 pm

The strangest question I’ve ever heard at a job interview was: “How long does it take for a turkey to lay an egg?” The first time I heard it I probably looked as nonplussed as the person being interviewed. I was sitting in on an interview being held by one of our least experienced sales managers who was known for his ability to think laterally. But turkeys? As soon as the interview was over, I asked why he had included such an apparently obscure question. How would it help him know whether the interviewee would make an outstanding media salesperson? “Easy,” he explained. “In the…
Interrogate the Numbers

Doug Watson

6 May 2013 | 5:00 pm

About 10 years ago REM released a greatest hits album titled “Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage”. I have always been a fan of their music and that album title is a nice segue into what I’d like to share with you today. A long time ago I was working at hot little rock ‘n roll radio privately owned radio station. Our competition was the state-owned station that had been around a lot longer than our 12 years or so and they dominated the ratings. Well that was the view of our sales team and it had got the better of them. I looked at the ratings and said we’ve got 70% of…
Ten Tips for Setting Appointments Over the Phone

Stephen Pead

2 May 2013 | 4:02 am

Getting an appointment over the phone can be one of the hardest and most daunting things a media sales person has to do. Here are 10 tips to help smooth the process. Be absolutely clear on WHY you are making the call. What will happen? Which questions will you ask? How will you want the prospect to feel? Smile, relax and be yourself. Be polite (no matter what) and always be professional. Gain interest from your prospect by being interesting. Scripts help Listen, really listen. Many sales people are so focussed on what they are about to say they miss vital information, feedback and buying…
Looking Everywhere But At Them

Mike Brunel

22 Apr 2013 | 5:00 pm

Have you ever been guilty of talking with someone and looking not at them, but everywhere else? Has it happened to you? Have you experienced this yourself? If you are able to concentrate solely on the person you are talking to, it gives you incredible power, and subconsciously the talker can actually feel your attention on them, and know that you are actively listening. In my sales seminars I teach eye contact (when appropriately from a culture perspective) using games and exercises. It gives the participants real skills to use in a selling situation. One exercise we do when teaching…

The Fast Growth Blog
The Fastest Test to Determine If You’re A Peddler

Doug Davidoff

9 May 2013 | 6:57 am

Ever since I wrote my post about Pests, Peddlers and Demand Creators, the most common question I’m asked is, “How can you tell if you’re being a Peddler or Commoditizer?” Here’s the simplest and fastest way to determine if you’re peddling: Look at how you approach your prospects and customers early in the sales cycle. Consider the questions you ask, the material you share and the possible presentations you make. Now answer this question: Who learns about the prospect/customer’s company? If the answer is you (or your sales rep) you’re a peddler. If the answer is the…
The 3 Questions to Break Free From Your Competition

Doug Davidoff

21 Mar 2013 | 12:30 pm

I’ve written about the curse of knowledge before. An important sales implication of the curse is that selling organizations become increasingly committed to the belief that it’s the expertise and knowledge about the solution that separate competitors in buyers’ eyes. There are two important points that contradict that belief: Your customers are nowhere near as educated as we’d like to believe they are about their problems, so it’s virtually impossible that they’ll be able to: Truly understand your expertise and solutions, and Effectively compare the difference – and the value…
Imperfect Content

Doug Davidoff

13 Mar 2013 | 8:14 am

Over the last eight years, I bet I have published more than 1000 pieces of content. Between my blog, columns I write for magazines, guest blog posts I write for other blog sites and magazines, I put out a lot of content. Frankly, it’s one of the major advantages I’ve had in growing my business. A few years ago I quantified the impact of my blog alone and valued it to create more than $2 million of documented value for my company. On top of that I’ve won many awards and gotten quite a bit of press for the blogging and publishing that I’ve done. I’ve done this while leading…
Creating Your Unfair Competitive Advantage

Doug Davidoff

7 Mar 2013 | 5:16 am

Next month I’ll be presenting a webinar that I more excited about that anything I’ve done before. It focuses on how to turn the tables and create a structural advantage for you and your business. For years your business had the wind at its back, and you didn’t need an unfair advantage to grow successfully. In 2013, as we continue to recover from the “Great Recession,” ask yourself: Is our sales approach creating an unfair advantage for us, allowing us to: Close more business, Close it faster with less effort, Increase our margins, and Drive our profitability and business…
Gaining The Focus You Need to Expand Your Customer Base

Doug Davidoff

27 Feb 2013 | 10:42 am

Over the last 18 months I’ve been focusing on simplifying the approach that small and mid-market companies take to growth. There is probably nowhere where this is needed more than in strategic planning process. Working with thousands of companies, I’ve come to understand that the focus of your go-to-market strategy can be broken into three categories. They are: Those who will do business with you. Those who won’t do business with you. Those who should and aren’t doing business with you. Those Who Will The reality is that you do not need to spend significant time creating strategy…

MindOnMedia[Sales]
A New Standard: IAB Digital Media Sales Certification

MindOnMediaSales

10 May 2013 | 10:02 pm

You would think, that someone writing a blog entitled, MindOnMedia[Sales], would, and in fact had BETTER pass an exam for Digital Media Sales pros on the first try. And MoM[S] has.
Sales Talent – Is Excellence or A Digital Exodus En Route?

MindOnMediaSales

21 Apr 2013 | 7:05 pm

...if the firm pictured here still has Stockbrokers [or ok, "Financial Planners", LOL], then surely there are many places yet for us to sell in the Media world, in 2014 and beyond!
Saying Thanks to our Readers…

MindOnMediaSales

18 Apr 2013 | 6:50 pm

Today we celebrate reaching over 10,000 views of MoM[S]! We thank all of you for reading.
5 Ideas To Double Your Sales Right Now. | Edgy Conversations

MindOnMediaSales

15 Apr 2013 | 3:11 pm

While there will always only be one Seth Godin, it is becoming clear that there will also be only one Dan Waldschmidt, too.
[Yet Another] Online Car Sales Conundrum

MindOnMediaSales

3 Mar 2013 | 7:11 pm

When we last commented on work being done over at Borrell Associates, it created some further dialogue in relation to observations made by Amy L Phoenix, in her interview with us for our Keep It Real Interview Series. While happening again upon something from Borrell [purely coincidentally, as it goes], we will comment this time […]

Hunt, Gather, and Cultivate...meaningful relationships
Gotta love it!

Brick

16 May 2013 | 6:23 am

I had a conversation with an entrepreneur this week and was just blown away by the passion and great lengths this person is going through to see his dream come true…selling his house, moving across the world to be in the best market, working endless hours to raise capital. All successful people have this drive, period. Of course, you need something good to sell but without the drive it’s not possible to reach your potential. I recently started training after years of what I term “executive workouts” where I broke a sweat but didn’t push beyond any limits and…
Everything you need to know is at the kitchen table

Brick

8 May 2013 | 2:52 pm

This may be a title for a book, whaddayathink? It’s true…if you are lucky enough to have a family then you have all of the ingredients to become a great manager. All you have to do is build a well functioning family life and then apply the same principles to your business, your team… Some of the common management challenges that come to mind: 1. Appealing to a variety of team members If you have more than one, and better yet a boy and a girl… 2. Scheduling nightmares Try working out the weekend sports schedule 3. Crisis management Have you been to the emergency room…
Realistic Expectations

Brick

27 Apr 2013 | 6:11 am

We all have that inner voice that whispers thoughts, sometimes doubting, fearful…. Do you know the voice I am talking about? Sometimes it’s faint and other times it’s screaming!!! So, how do you manage this inner voice so it doesn’t interfere with your efforts? How do you manage this distraction in the face of carrying on and meeting all of the various challenges? It comes down to confidence and expectations. Success breeds confidence but what if you haven’t had success in a while…I think it’s more about expectations and having realistic ones.
Shit happens!

Brick

19 Apr 2013 | 9:06 pm

The question is… What do you do when you lose a deal, have a bad call, have a bad experience? Most of us don’t take the time to analyze what happened so it’s a learning experience that makes us better so we don’t have the same undesired experience again and again…and that’s a shame because when something happens we have a great opportunity to learn and get better, not just roll over the event without learning something. I am telling you, it just isn’t that hard to be great if you are willing to work hard at getting better instead of going through life…
When they finally pick up the phone…

Brick

19 Apr 2013 | 9:41 am

and, trust me they will if you stay with it! Here is what not to say: 1. Boy, you are tough to reach…. – that serves no purpose. 2. Do you have a minute? – you just wasted valuable time 3. Is this a good time to speak? – start talking, don’t ask 4. Hi, I am calling from…- no one cares, start providing value Here is what you need to do: 1. Get right to the point of the call – time is precious 2. I am calling to help you…- why else would you be calling? 3. You will know their situation and you will address their concerns – be a valued…

Anne Miller
Picture-Bites: Getting to "Got It!"

22 May 2013 | 2:59 pm

Its the economy, stupid. Just do it! Ideas worth spreading. We all know these as sound bites that capture a strategy (Clintons election slogan), a brand (Nike), a movement (the TED talks). If, in an age of information overload, sound bites are the...
3 Signs It's Time to Walk Away From Business

15 May 2013 | 6:20 am

A coffee discussion this morning with a marketing friend of many years led into a discussion of what is good and bad business. We agreed that sometimes the best business decision for both you and a prospect or client is to walk away from the business....
I Analogize, Therefore I Am

8 May 2013 | 3:55 am

My apologies to Descartes, but anyone who knows me knows I am a passionate advocate for the use of visual language to persuade, explain, and rally others to your cause, and a recent article, The Analogical Animal, in The Wall Street Journal, re-affirmed...
The #1 Skill for Successful Negotiations

2 May 2013 | 11:15 am

If, as I noted in last weeks blog about negotiating and Picasso, understanding your true value is essential going into a negotiation because it gives you the inner fortitude to hold your ground under pricing pressure, then the #1 skill you need to...
Negotiate Like Picasso

25 Apr 2013 | 5:24 am

Has something similar to this ever happened to you? An executive recruitment friend of mine produced the perfect senior level candidate for her client in only two days, who then thanked her by insisting she lower her fee for the job! His reasoning?...

ViewPoint | The Truth About Lead Generation
Marketing Communications Managers Must Know the Sales Quotas!

Guest Blogger

21 May 2013 | 5:46 am

James Obermayer, Executive Director and CEO of the Sales Lead Management Association and President of Sales Leakage Consulting is a regular guest blogger with ViewPoint. How can marketing communications managers know how much interest to generate if they don’t know their salespeople’s quotas? Ask any group of marketing communications managers, exhibits managers or even marketing managers and less than 40%, overall, know the quotas for the sales channel they represent. What world are they living in? How can these people create demand, create a marketing plan, and create…
Good Reads for B2B Sales - Sales Intelligence with Google

Guest Blogger

16 May 2013 | 6:15 am

Keeping up to date on the latest innovations and opinions in sales can be time-consuming, especially in the the digital space. Sales Sphere features relevant blog articles from PointClear's online B2B sales circles. Tap CRM to Give Your Customers a Pleasant Surprise Christopher Bucholtz says it’s time to use the data in your CRM to help cement your relationships with your customers. Using CRM intelligence about customers’ desires and needs, businesses should create personalized experiences and rewards that match their interests. Businesses should go deeper with data and create a…
The Real Reason Sales People Struggle to Close Opportunities

Guest Blogger

15 May 2013 | 4:13 am

This article was originally published by Bob Apollo on his blog Accelerating Revenue Growth: the Inflexion-Point Blog As CEO of UK-based Inflexion-Point Strategy Partners, Bob works with the leadership teams of technology-based B2B-focused companies, enabling them to make the critical connections between their marketing messages, their sales conversations, their true differentiators, and their customer's priorities. Alec Baldwin has got a lot to answer for. And, no, I’m not talking about his appearance in “Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat”. I am, of course referring to his role as Blake,…
PowerViews with Michael Brenner: The Battle for Customer Attention

Dan McDade

14 May 2013 | 4:37 am

My guest today is Michael Brenner, Vice President of Marketing and Content Strategy at SAP and Managing Editor for the SAP Business Innovation site. At SAP, Michael’s challenge is to transform social business and content marketing to reduce cost-per-acquisition of new customers. Michael is also the author of B2BMarketingInsider.com, where he discusses content marketing, demand generation, mobile strategy, and sales alignment to name a few. Below, you can read highlights from our discussion or use the links to start the video from different parts of the conversation. (Due to technical…
Good Reads for B2B Marketing - Protect Your Online Reputation

Martine Hunter

9 May 2013 | 5:35 am

Online content in the sales and marketing industries is dynamic and constantly changing. The Marketing Sphere represents recent good reads from our digital circles about B2B marketing selected by PointClear colleagues. 5 Compelling Reasons To Launch B2B Mobile Landing Pages Now Mobile-optimized landing pages are essential to taking advantage of the trend toward fewer desktops and more smartphones and tablets, Abraham Nord writes. B2B customers on the go want a measure of instant gratification and easily readable text on their ever-present smart phones. Via Marketing Land How to Protect…

Results Count ... everything else is conversation.
A case for Simplicity …

Chris Petersen

11 May 2013 | 8:00 am

Have we simply become overwhelmed by technology and connections? Nothing seems simple anymore. It's amazing how complex our lives have become with the technology that was supposed to simplify our lives! As I was trying to confirm flights for my departure for China, I was talking on Skype, another person was texting me, my cell phone and land line were both ringing off the hook (yes I'm that old that I still have a land line). It made me wonder if brands and retailers understand what life is like for consumers in this connected world where everyone is shouting. Maybe less can truly be more.
Why retailers must excel in the 4 Cs instead of just the 4 Ps

Chris Petersen

2 May 2013 | 8:06 pm

Marketing 101 classes are being rewritten by consumers Anyone who has taken a marketing class or attended a business seminar can probably recite the 4 Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Prior to the internet, consumers literally had to go shops to purchase anything. The best merchants in this product centric world thrived if they mastered the 4 Ps. Today, the 4Ps are far less relevant in a consumer centric world, where you can shop any place, anytime from anywhere. Traditional retailers clinging to the 4 Ps are in trouble. To thrive in today's marketplace requires at least…
CRM … A profound example of RETAIL FAIL and Opportunity

Chris Petersen

23 Apr 2013 | 11:48 am

No birthday card from Amazon, but a "Tree of Life" from an Indian hotel? Today happens to be "blog writing" day … and my birthday. After spending six decades on this planet, you do not get overly excited about celebrating your birthday. I celebrated the fact that I was able to get out of bed, even if I had to get up and write. I opened email and found expected email birthday wishes, Facebook posts, and a cute video from the grandkids. And … there it suddenly appeared … a birthday messaged from the Leela Hotel in India. How is it that an Indian hotel, where I stayed one time, can send me…
“Ship My Pants” - A viral flash in the pan, or sign of the times?

Chris Petersen

18 Apr 2013 | 12:03 pm

Can the "Blue Light" specialist even begin to compete with Amazon? Kmart is actually the third largest mass merchant retailer in the US. It still has over 1,000 big box style stores, offering everything from groceries to electronics. But, its legacy was greatly tarnished when it filed for bankruptcy, only to be purchased by Sears, another retailer struggling to survive. While the press is full of headlines on Amazon, Walmart and Target, Kmart has literally faded from the US retail scene. That was until one single video went viral. Could "Ship My Pants" be the "Gangnam video of retail? Does it…
5 Things Retailers Can Learn from Walgreens Innovation

Chris Petersen

11 Apr 2013 | 8:09 pm

You can see the future of retailing today … at Walgreens, not Walmart When you specialize as a consultant, it is a mixed blessing. On the positive side, you gain deep knowledge about an industry. After working in the field of technology and retailing for 30 years, I've accumulated a wealth of experience and first-hand knowledge of the challenges and success factors for retailing technology products. The danger of specialized focus is that you can completely miss trends in other areas. Frankly, I was shocked when I started poking to find just how far "drug store" retail chains have come. The…

Top Sales Dog
How to manage angry prospects or customers

Michael Boyette

22 May 2013 | 8:22 am

Are you flustered when prospects or customers get angry over botched orders, typos in sales contracts or some other miscommunication? It helps to understand that people express anger differently. Three common profiles: Blamers typically start off with, “You should’ve…” or “I thought you…”, suggesting you’re in the wrong. They focus on others instead of admitting “I’m angry,”or “I’m upset.” Exploders shout, scream, or holler when something doesn’t go their way. This behavior is most common among authority figures – they may use anger to intimidate or manipulate.
How to encourage customers to invite you to close the sale

Michael Boyette

20 May 2013 | 8:05 am

What’s your goal in any sales presentation? Isn’t it getting the customer to “invite” you to close the sale? Getting that coveted invitation is about gaining your customer’s full participation toward a shared objective, says consultant and sales coach Ronald Karr. Sounds easy but isn’t. For most decent salespeople it happens occasionally. But the very best somehow manage to get “invited” over and over again. How do they do it? Our research reveals four strategies that winning salespeople employ instinctively. You can learn them, too: 1. They’re not put off by No “No”…
Sales Recap: May 17

Michael Boyette

17 May 2013 | 8:49 am

The Sales Recap takes a look at the best, most insightful sales blog posts from across the web. If you read something this week you think deserves to be shared here, feel free to leave it in the comments. In the meantime: Nancy Nardin has 4 reasons why dumbing down your sales process is the smartest way to sell. Alen Mayer wants to show you how to use persuasion techniques in sales. Leanne Hoagland-Smith can help you with 5 Tips on how to lose the sale before you realized you lost it. Finally, Michelle Davidson wants to know how strong your client relationships are. The post Sales Recap: May…
I never really loved you

Michael Boyette

15 May 2013 | 7:00 am

Memory is a fragile thing, apparently. Remember that customer who loved you loved you loved you six months ago? Since then, someone else has been whispering in her ear. They’re telling her that your product quality isn’t what it used to be. That there’s been a lot of turnover in your management. That other customers have complained. Now your buyer has some doubts about you. Even worse, she tells herself that she always had these doubts. “I was afraid something like this would happen all along,” she thinks. And suddenly that customer who was crazy about you and your product is…
Loyalty: How you can win it, or lose it

Michael Boyette

13 May 2013 | 7:16 am

I should be your loyal customer. But I’m not. Why? Because: You tried to sell me something that I didn’t want. You didn’t care enough to learn about my preferences, my needs and my constraints. What you offered me was style, while my concern was substance. I wanted something that would do a little more, or something that was made a little better, with just a little better workmanship. What you offered me was just a little too expensive, and budget was my primary concern. The terms and conditions you offered were designed mainly as a solution to your problems. They didn’t address mine.

entreQuest
Learn from the best: Chris Brogan on top performers

Joe Mechlinski

20 May 2013 | 10:13 am

I am super excited to share an exclusive interview I had the chance to do with one of my favorite authors, Chris Brogan. He’s also a consultant, speaker, blogger, and online marketer. In case you don’t know, Chris is a two-time New York Times best-selling author with Trust Agents and The Impact Equation. He’s worked with Ford, GM and other huge brands. Chris sat down with us on The Growth Factor and really got to the heart of the matter of what has made him successful and what he believes makes top performers successful. It’s all about originality, authenticity, and being vulnerable.
Did You Miss Joe’s Interview on Forbes?

Emily

26 Apr 2013 | 2:01 pm

If you didn’t see it live, you can still see Joe’s interview with Forbes contributor, Devin Thorpe. Devin and Joe discuss how Joe’s background has influenced his current business philosophies, as well as the importance he places on community involvement. Click here to watch the interview and join in the discussion by commenting below, on Twitter at @joemechlinski and @devindthorpe. To learn more about Devin, visit his website at yourmarkontheworld.com. The post Did You Miss Joe’s Interview on Forbes? appeared first on entreQuest.
Washington: Think like an entrepreneur and go regardless

Joe Mechlinski

12 Apr 2013 | 9:51 am

It’s official: Our elected representatives have lost our trust—they’ve thrown up their hands and proclaimed they couldn’t find a way to prevent the sequestration. It strikes me that if our government were an entrepreneur, it would be out of business. Congress would be just another statistic among the many businesses that fail to gain the market’s trust, fail to survive. In some ways, the dysfunction and brokenness we see in our nation’s capital mirror the problems that plague companies; by the same token, we can find lessons in Washington on how to do better. For reasons more…
Go Regardless!

Joe Mechlinski

29 Mar 2013 | 7:02 am

“Finally, a book that brings it all together. Not just ‘what to do’ but ‘how to do it’. Practical applications that became VERY useful when motivating a stagnant workforce.” – Davidn05. “…I didn’t expect to be able to get all that much out of 160 pages – but I was pleasantly surprised how many ideas I scribbled down as I ripped through this thing. Chapter 5 alone was worth the price – the “25 Reasons Why” exercise is something every business owner and every employee should go through to realign the internal compass.” …
Grow Regardless interview with Kathleen Hays and Vonnie Quinn on Bloomberg Radio

Joe Mechlinski

25 Mar 2013 | 5:13 am

Did you miss my interview on Bloomberg Radio’s The Hays Advantage with Kathleen Hays and Vonnie Quinn? Listen to it here: Joe Mechlinski is the bestselling author of Grow Regardless, CEO of entreQuest, and has partnered with countless leaders to effectively improve their team’s performance, their clients’ experience, and their company’s profits. The post Grow Regardless interview with Kathleen Hays and Vonnie Quinn on Bloomberg Radio appeared first on entreQuest.

Revenue-IQ
Coaxing B2B Sales from the Reluctant

Chris Arlen

2 May 2013 | 12:12 pm

They know they have a need. They know you can deliver, and they send out all the right buying signals; return your calls immediately; give you inside information; ask how long before [...]
Don’t Get Caught Selling “Duh”

Chris Arlen

18 Apr 2013 | 11:41 am

Duh: interjection – used derisively to indicate that something just stated is all too obvious or self-evident. Duh is what customers think as sales reps leave their office having told them their [...]
Sales Reps & Market Pricing

Chris Arlen

9 Apr 2013 | 10:08 am

Most sales reps are kept away from the pricing cookie jar as they’re considered too self-serving to price what they sell – think of the runaway commissions. (Sales rep voiceover: “God, grant [...]
Win Strategies for 3 Different Side-by-Sides

Chris Arlen

26 Mar 2013 | 5:05 pm

You are always in a side-by-side evaluation when selling. Side-by-sides is a Procurement term where they put their ratings of sales offers side-by-side and determine who wins. Even if you’re not dealing [...]
3 Keys for Large Sales Proposals that Win

Chris Arlen

15 Mar 2013 | 10:46 am

Sales proposals for large contracts are a ton of work – why climb that mountain except to increase your chances of winning? And is it too obvious to mention if customers don’t [...]

TopLine Leadership » Sales Leadership Blog
My Golf Pro Would Make a Great Sales Manager

TopLine Leadership

20 May 2013 | 2:36 pm

Last week I took a golf lesson from my favorite instructor. He’s my favorite pro because when I take a swing he sees at least a half dozen flaws. But then he gives me just one suggestion, and that one suggestion solves many of my flaws. This is a great model for coaching, one that I advise for any sales manager. What typically happens, however, is that a sales manager will give a sales rep a laundry list of things they need to improve. Most of us only have the capacity to improve one or two things at any given time. Learning—and especially skill development—occurs little by…
Successful Communication Skills for Sales Managers

TopLine Leadership

30 Apr 2013 | 10:04 am

Ever wonder what your salespeople think about your coaching style? Recently, I asked a group of experienced salespeople “What are the most ineffective aspects of sales coaching that you have encountered?” Here are four of their answers, along with some practical solutions: “My sales manager doesn’t follow-up.” There is perhaps no more important step in the coaching process than follow-up. If you don’t follow-up, you are sending the message “I don’t really care about whether this gets fixed.” Salespeople will perceive you as uncommitted to the coaching process. When you…
How Great Sales Coaches Improve Team Morale

TopLine Leadership

10 Apr 2013 | 12:54 pm

Are you satisfied with the morale and esprit de corps of your sales team? A positive attitude is contagious. Unfortunately, so is a negative attitude. A negative attitude by one team member is that one bad apple that can ruin an entire bunch. Here are sales coaching tips for improving the morale of your sales team: Step One: Define what a “great attitude” means to you. One problem with attitude is that many salespeople don’t know how to bring a great attitude to the workplace. It’s your job as a sales manager to help make that translation for them. That means you need to know…
3 Costly Mistakes that Sales Coaches Make

TopLine Leadership

20 Mar 2013 | 11:46 am

A VP of Sales with a force of 22 first-line sales managers and 175 salespeople recently told me that not one salesperson had expressed an interest in moving up into a sales management role even though there was an opening. His opinion as to why? He described his sales managers as reactive fire-fighters, working 70+ hours/week, overwhelmed by all their job demands. They weren’t managing their time effectively, were easily distracted, and frequently stressed out. “I don’t think my salespeople like the lifestyle they see,” the VP said. Here are some practical solutions I provided my…
The One Sales Leadership Tip You Need for 2013

TopLine Leadership

20 Jan 2013 | 7:54 pm

How many times have you come into the office with a great plan for the day… and about 8:15AM everything blows up in your face? For the rest of the day you chase other people’s problems. Whether it was email, a phone call, your boss stops by, or perhaps more frequently, a sales rep saying “Hey, I got a problem here.…” Then suddenly it’s 5:00PM. A lot of “To Dos” were crossed off other people’s lists, but what you didn’t accomplish was your own #1 goal, which was probably time spent coaching salespeople. To start off 2013 on a new note, consider this as an idea: people…

VanillaSoft Blog
It Is Better to Know Why You Feel That Way

David Hood

13 May 2013 | 5:38 am

In business, as in our personal lives, it is sometimes easy to identify the problem but hard to take action to solve it. This is particularly true when the struggle is one between the heart and the mind, when your instinct is telling you something but your mind doubts the conclusion. And just as with [...]
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? For Inside Sales it’s Do Ask, Then Tell!

Kevin Thornton

9 May 2013 | 5:43 pm

The Sales line rings and the young inside sales rep is eager to answer and talk with a potential new customer. The prospect shares that she was just doing some research on the website and wanted to know more about your company’s services and how you differ from your competitors. The confident young sales rep [...]
Ode to the Undervalued Admin

David Hood

24 Apr 2013 | 9:43 am

I want to give a shout-out on Administrative Professional Day to all of those people working in the background to keep sales processes running efficiently. As a company offering a hosted sales solution we perhaps have a different perspective into the functioning of sales groups through our interaction both during implementation and ongoing support. We [...]
Lost Leads – The Infographic

Kevin Thornton

23 Apr 2013 | 12:59 pm

According to a recent article from By Tamara Weintraub on Business 2 Community, “55% of companies don’t respond to new sales leads at all.” There were a few other key facts that we just had to put together for you in the form of this infographic. Enjoy and share! And, don’t forget to prevent the [...]
Recruiting Telefundraising Volunteers

Kevin Thornton

19 Apr 2013 | 8:40 am

Have you ever needed to recruit volunteers to help out with your telefundraising project? If the answer is yes, then you know how difficult it can be to find the right volunteers, prepare them, and keep them coming back. In some cases, you also have to think about the community and the key institutions that [...]

3FORWARD
Your Sales Machine is Obsolete – Sales Leadership Council

Matt Smith

9 May 2013 | 5:29 am

Improving B2B Sales Strategy In my last blog post, I introduced our newest research findings on sales culture, and how most sales organizations today have a sales culture or climate that is hindering their ability to build a Challenger sales force. Most sales leaders recognize that while traditional change management initiatives such as effective training, coaching, and communication campaigns are required to embed new behaviors, change is destined to fail if it’s not supported by the right sales environment. In fact, when we asked reps what’s preventing them from adopting new sales…
THE ROLE OF PR IN CONTENT MARKETING AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP – Forrester

Matt Smith

8 May 2013 | 5:44 am

B2B Marketing Strategy After hosting a Forrester webinar on April 25 about “3 Ways To Turn Content Marketing into Thought Leadership“, I received some interesting questions from clients. I thought I would share the questions — and a short response to each – since this line of inquiry points to broader question about the role of public relations (PR) in content marketing generally and thought leadership marketing specifically. Here’s the Q&A I found intriguing: READ MORE>>> Source: Forrester
Hiring Sales Leaders 101

Dan Hudson

7 May 2013 | 6:52 am

Many times on the Sales Leaders Blog we have suggested that sales leader effectiveness is the proper mix of process and people. If you have determined that your current sales leader does not have the skills and or drive to get the job done, leaving them in place too long can have a negative impact on the sales team and the rest of your organization. Assuming your sales process is reasonably effective and you have strong alignment between the sales and marketing team, how do you find a chief sales officer that will outlast the current average tenure of 18 months? While it is important to…
What Should Lead Your Online Marketing Strategy: SEO or Content Marketing? – Top Rank

Matt Smith

6 May 2013 | 5:49 am

Inbound Marketing There are quite a few studies showing that companies publishing more blog posts and more content in general equates to generating more business than those that don’t. I suppose if you’re starting from scratch, adding any kind of content has the potential to improve a company’s ability to attract people seeking to buy. Since content creation is one of the biggest obstacles to companies realizing gains with content marketing, it’s no wonder that advice about how to produce articles, blog posts, infographics, white papers, and visual marketing has become so…
Don’t Blame Your Company’s Poor Performance on Its Industry – HBR

Matt Smith

1 May 2013 | 6:29 am

Industry and Market Analysis Between 2002 and 2012, the shareholder return of the average airline company rose an uninspiring 5.6% a year. Diversified consumer services were a notch lower, gaining just 4.2% a year. Worst of all were computers and peripherals companies, with a 3% average annual return — barely the rate of inflation in many parts of the world. It was just lousy timing if you happened to be in one of these industries, which were all in the bottom quartile of total shareholder returns (share price change plus dividends paid) in the 10 years through 2012. However, one thing you…

Sales Marketing Effectiveness Blog
The Sales Force Thinks Your Marketing Leads Suck

John Koehler

23 May 2013 | 4:00 am

Have you ever heard, “Your Leads Suck” from the sales force? Or have you wondered why the sales force ignores your leads? If you ever find yourself in this situation, it’s time for a quick diagnosis. A quick diagnosis can identify common mistakes between lead generation and field sales teams. Here are common indicators for mistakes in your diagnosis. Marketing Captured Leads Are Qualified Too Soon A common complaint by sales is that the leads were not ready to buy. Review the time window of when the lead first converted and advanced to the sales team. A good rule of thumb is that…
5 Social Selling Tactics to Find Your Next Sales Job

Dan Bernoske

22 May 2013 | 4:00 am

Have you wondered "if I needed to secure a new job, how would I?" Job change is inevitable. Very few stay in one place for 30 years. If you are in the market now, or might be soon, here's an idea. Approach each hiring manager as your Buyer. Then connect to them through social selling, inbound marketing techniques. To help you plan for this, download the Self-Promotion Guide. It is a ready-built tool to help you secure your next job. The Hiring Manager as the Buyer Someone who posts a job is a Buyer. They are on the market looking for an HR solution: a top…
Read Your CSO's Mind and Increase Sales Ops Value

Patrick Seidell

21 May 2013 | 4:00 am

Does your Chief Sales Officer rely heavily on you for his success? As the sales operations leader, you focus on helping your sales leaders shine. Making the revenue number consistently is what your boss wants. But what else does your CSO care about? What’s underneath making the number? What else causes him sleepless nights? Download the Guide to Understanding Your CSO here. Think about your most valued sales ops team members. What do they deliver that separates them from the others? At the core, your best sales ops…
Buy or Build? How Your Customers Decide

Matt Sharrers

20 May 2013 | 4:00 am

You are an experienced sales leader. It is Monday morning and you are on a forecast call. You know a few big deals determine if you make the number. You ask for the update on the Acme deal. Neither the Sales Manager nor rep speaks. The line goes quiet. You repeat your request. And then you hear: “The customer thinks they can do it themselves” You mute the line. You swear. And then you realize this is reality. A common hurdle you face is overconfident customers. They think they can solve their problem on their own. The customer asks “Can we do it ourselves?” The Buy…
How to Give Your Marketing Team that 2nd Chance to Win

John Staples

19 May 2013 | 4:00 am

You’re investing all that money in getting someone to your site then they leave. They often continue to a competitor site and buy later on. How can you bring them back for a second chance at converting? Retargeting gives you a second or third chance. Retargeting tracks people who visit your site. It then displays your ads in front of them as they visit other sites. Why should the CMO or VP of Marketing care about retargeting? You’re the one who explains why marketing is not supplying enough leads to sales. Be sure your team is not ignoring retargeting as a potential lead source. After…

web2.salesforcesearch.com
4 Steps You Should Take to Retain Sales People

Matt Cook

22 May 2013 | 6:53 am

The mission to retain sales people is front and center for many organizations since higher retention rates result in lower recruiting costs and keep the sales team’s focus on selling, rather than the disruptions that the continual cycling of sales personnel can cause. At the same time, organizations may struggle to retain sales people due to a variety of factors. The good news is many of the negative impacts on the ability to retain sales people are within your organization’s control, and the solutions are likely less costly than you think. Retain Sales People by Building the Team Sales…
7 Qualities That Define the Best Sales Leaders

Doug O'Grady

21 May 2013 | 6:35 am

Becoming one of the best sales leaders is no easy task, and although not all sales leaders choose to work in management, the majority of sales managers are drawn from the best sales leaders. The competition to join the ranks of sales leadership is high, and the sales activities that aspiring sales leaders must master require dedication and time. For the effort involved, though, the best sales leaders are rewarded well, in compensation and in increased career opportunities. These seven qualities are among those that the best sales leaders have developed to reach this level. Quality #1:…
The Timeline of a Successful Sales Interview

Loic De Cupper

17 May 2013 | 9:31 am

The sales interview timeline varies from the time you submit your application to the time you receive an offer according to many factors. When you are excited about a new opportunity the sales interview timeline may seem to take far longer than anticipated, but that does not mean that you are not being considered for the position. Understanding the sales interview timeline from the perspective of your potential employer and knowing what you can do to keep your candidacy viable may help. Understanding the Sales Interview Timeline For every position that is filled on the same day as a…
Optimizing Your Value Proposition to Increase Sales

Matt Cook

16 May 2013 | 7:23 am

All too many organizations and sales people overlook key aspects of optimizing value proposition for results – i.e., sales. Optimizing value proposition starts at the organizational level, but sales people working in the field must also be knowledgeable and comfortable working with value propositions according to each selling situation. These tips for optimizing value proposition can help organizations and sales forces optimize the value proposition as a flexible entity that can improve prospects’ receptivity and increase sales. Optimizing Value Proposition for Maximum Impact For any…
When to Ask the Right Questions During a Sales Interview

Scott Lombardi

15 May 2013 | 6:54 am

In sales interviews, interviewers are looking to hear quality questions from candidates. As a prospective employee, you may be wondering what the right questions are, and equally important, when the right time is to ask. These tips for questions to ask in a sales interview can help you navigate what can be a tricky subject for job candidates. The Right Questions to Ask in a Sales Interview The questions that sales interviewers want to hear during a sales interview touch on all aspects of your candidacy for an open position: How interested you are in the company, how qualified you are for the…

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Why You Need Marketing Systems, Not Just a Bunch of Ideas

23 May 2013 | 4:00 am

Does this sound familiar? You read a blog post about a great marketing idea. You think it sounds perfect for your firm. You make a note or bookmark the page to remind you to go back to it so you can add it to your marketing mix. But you never do, and the idea fades away. You are not alone if you've done that. Independent professionals are particularly susceptible to it, as they're doing everything for their business and there is only so much time in a day. How can they add something to their already-busy schedule? They can if they have a marketing system and make the new item part of their…
Vote for RainToday's Best Content of the Week - May 22

22 May 2013 | 5:00 am

Congratulations to Deborah Flate for winning the May 15 Readers' Choice Award! If you missed her article on the important difference between selling and presenting, take a minute to check it out. Great work, Deborah! This week, we have a nice batch of new content to send you into the Memorial Day weekend. Here's the rundown of what you'll find in the May 22 Rainmaker Report:
Selling to the C-Suite: How to Win the CxO Sale with Ago Cluytens, June 11, 2013, at 2 p.m. ET

21 May 2013 | 3:00 pm
'Happy Meal Marketing': Make Sure No Prospect Leaves Hungry—An Interview with David Newman

21 May 2013 | 4:00 am
Actually Putting Your Marketing into Action

20 May 2013 | 4:00 am

amacus.net
The Science of Succeeding Predictably in B2B Sales [Lessons from Moneyball]

John

6 May 2013 | 4:52 pm

One of the statistical pioneers of Moneyball, Paul DePodesta, spotted ‘the tendency of everyone who played baseball to generalize wildly from their own experience. People always thought that their own experience was typical when it wasn’t.’ Might the same be … Continue reading →
3 Keys to Empowering Employees [and why it matters]

John

23 Apr 2013 | 7:11 pm

In a recent article, John Hagel of Deloitte’s Center for the Edge notes that the empowered employee is coming, it’s inevitable, and asks: is the world ready? As companies increasingly struggle to compete for leading talent, he sees savvy firms … Continue reading →
4 Keys to Creating a Flat Army [of Front-Line Folks in Sales Execution]

John

7 Apr 2013 | 7:13 pm

In Flat Army, Dan Pontefract outlines his take on why it’s important, today, for firms to become connected and engaged. In his view, it’s time to connect the dots between leadership, engagement, learning, technology, and collaboration as a path to … Continue reading →
5 Things You Can Do to Solve Tough [Sales Execution] Performance Problems

John

30 Mar 2013 | 9:54 am

When poor sales performance persists, and everything you’ve tried hasn’t worked, it’s tempting to sit back and say ‘that’s just the way it is’. It’s probably the #1 reason sales performance problems DO persist. Skepticism. The Power of Positive Deviance … Continue reading →
It’s Hard to Fix [Sales Execution] Mistakes You Can’t See

John

23 Mar 2013 | 9:32 am

The life of a sales person can sometimes seem like that of a juggler in a circus. Always many balls in the air. The best trained Reps are the ones who can simultaneously juggle more balls than their peers. One … Continue reading →

ActionCOACH - Derek O'Dwyer
Putting things off will drain your energy

Derek ODwyer

21 May 2013 | 1:08 am

How many times have you failed to do the most important things? Take 1 minute to look at this video – then define what your frog is today. If you want to use this to accelerate your business success, get in touch today. To your success, Derek
What I learnt on my Linkedin Course

Derek ODwyer

6 May 2013 | 12:14 pm

Well, I attended the Linkedin Training on Friday with Andy Gwynn. There were about 25 other attendees. Here are the top five things that I took away from the course: 1. Linkedin is not a passive networking tool. Like many other social media sites, Linkedin can be more of a distraction than a useful tool in business. The reason is that people create a profile which is often very poorly written, with poor examples of work, poor photographs and minimal descriptions on your capabilities. Once created, they sit back and wait for the enquiries to come in. But they never arrive. And then the whining…
Martyr in your business – Good or Bad?

Derek ODwyer

22 Apr 2013 | 12:12 am

Client – “This business simply would not survive without Mary! She is here first thing in the morning, she’s here last thing at night, she does all the books, all the staff come to her when things go wrong” Coach – “So why do you think we are in the financial mess that we are in right now?” Client – “Mary is snowed under – she is bringing the books home at night getting the accounts ready for the accountant for 2012″ Coach – “Interesting, how come you do not know your financials yourself, every week?” Client…
Profit from Linkedin – Learn How…

Derek ODwyer

15 Apr 2013 | 2:39 pm

Event Registration Online for Turn Linkedin into a Powerful Marketing Tool for Your Business powered by Eventbrite
Your Mental Preparedness for Success

Derek ODwyer

14 Apr 2013 | 10:43 pm

Watching the Masters makes you wonder why some people actually thrive under pressure while others seem to crack when they most need their mental strength. Is it something you can prepare for? Can you train your mind to cope, to react in a particular way as events unfold. Most sports psychologists would have you believe that this is the case and in fact most sports superstars would agree. So why do so many business owners not train their minds for success? If your brain is not trained for success in business, the biggest challenge you will have will be from yourself. We often call it self…

Kelley Robertson: Fearless Selling Blog
How Serious Are You?

Kelley Robertson

20 May 2013 | 4:36 am

Over the years I have had the good fortune of working directly with hundreds of sales people in a wide range of industries. I have seen dozens of sales people who have tremendous potential fail and other less talented individuals succeed. I have also witnessed on numerous occasions people who seem to be on their way down or out and this group fascinates me the most. I remember watching one particular sales rep dramatically improve his results when it appeared that his days were numbered. When I commented on his improvement he said that after a year or two of doing just enough to get by, he…
Why You’re Still Waiting for Prospects to Call Back

Kelley Robertson

6 May 2013 | 4:52 am

Ever wonder why prospects don’t respond to your voice mail message? Lately, I have been listening to voice mail messages left by sales people and I have to say I’m not surprised why they don’t get return calls. Few, if any, of the messages were effective. Here are three reasons why your prospects don’t call you back what you can do to get a different result. Message length Most of the voice mail messages I listened to were far too long. Some of them lasted more than a minute which is waaaaaaay too long. Decision makers will delete a message in less than 10 seconds if they sense that…
Why Happy Ears Are Hurting Your Results

Kelley Robertson

29 Apr 2013 | 4:35 am

A recent article by Nancy Nardin, Smart Selling Tools, used the phrase “happy ears” and it referred to situations when we hear what we want to hear. For example, “Your solution looks great!” However, when we use happy ears to filter information in a sales call, it can lead to “no deal” if we’re not careful. Just because someone loves our solution does not mean they are prepared to move ahead with the decision. As a sales professional, we need to slow down and uncover potential roadblocks and barriers that may prevent our prospect from moving forward with the decision. In…
Say “Bye-Bye”

Kelley Robertson

22 Apr 2013 | 4:41 am

Very few of the sales people I have encountered enjoying walking away from a deal. As a result, they end up working a potential deal for an extended period of time only to have it fall apart. Here are 11 warning signs that that indicate it might be time to walk away from a deal. 1. Your prospect gives you excuses such as, “We haven’t got to it yet” or “We’re still considering your proposal” or “We’re still thinking about it.” 2. Your prospect keeps telling you that he/she is the decision maker but they refuse to make a final decision. 3. Your key contact no longer responds…
What the 2013 Masters Taught Me About Selling

Kelley Robertson

15 Apr 2013 | 4:45 am

This year’s Masters Tournament has proved to be one of the more interesting ones in my opinion. Of course, with sales being my passion, I naturally looked to see how I could connect the tournament to selling. Here are three sales lessons I learned during this year’s Masters Tourament. BTW: I am not going to discuss concepts such as practise, hard work, getting up early and working late. You already know those concepts are important. Young Kids Can Compete Fourteen-year-old Tianlang Guan surprised the world by qualifying for this renowned tournament. He may not have won the…

EcSELL Institute™ Sales Coaching Blog
Sales Managers - the "soft" stuff is the hard stuff

15 May 2013 | 11:51 am

If an acquaintance asked you to help them move this weekend would you willingly raise your hand or might you quickly come up with a reason to opt yourself out? Likewise, if one of your good friends asked you to help them move would you willingly accept because it would make you feel good to lend a helping hand to a friend in need? Truth be told, I would like to opt out of both situations. I hate moving furniture, but I know that I would help a friend in need and we would somehow find a way to make it an enjoyable experience. It is not rocket science as to why I would help my friend and…
Developing Top Salespeople: Can Nurture Overcome Nature?

9 May 2013 | 6:40 am

An individual’s personality – how they think, how they feel, how they respond to situations – develops early on in their life. Those of us that are parents definitely know this. Oftentimes, a parent will say certain aspects of their child’s personality were apparent even as an infant. And because so much development occurs in our first five years of life, children start to develop the predictable patterns of behavior that they will demonstrate throughout their lives. Indeed, most psychologists agree that a person’s personality is pretty well set by the time…
Three Reasons Why 360 Reviews Stink

1 May 2013 | 5:19 am

I despise 360 reviews. Didn’t like them when they were done on me, didn’t like to do them on others, don’t like them when our members do them, and refuse to do them at the EcSELL Institute. I’ve never visited with anyone following a 360 that was pleased with their end result, and for a tool that is supposed to be a "growth instrument" I’ve had to council too many execs off the ledge. Only recently have I been able to articulate my thoughts in a logical fashion. Below are the Three Reasons Why 360 Reviews Stink. Reason #1—Most 360’s aren’t reviewing what is…
Connecting is the First Step to Coaching: Why Personal Relationships are Essential to Professional Success

17 Apr 2013 | 10:41 am

Last week was one of my favorite times of the year here at EcSELL Institute. We hosted nearly 100 of our members at our annual spring coaching summit. This year we gathered at the beautiful Dove Mountain Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Whenever we have a summit, I always enjoy the powerful presentations from our speakers, the good food, and the great surroundings. But what makes summits really special is the interaction with our members. As the group got to know each other better over our three days in Tucson, I saw business cards being exchanged and ideas being…
Focusing on the mental game

4 Apr 2013 | 6:13 pm

I am writing this week’s blog with a great deal of humility, some embarrassment, a little shame, and a lot of new found joy. For the better part of the last decade I have been battling chronic right foot and ankle pain that seemed to get worse and worse with each passing day. At times the pain got so severe that getting from the bed to the bathroom was an excruciating challenge. Although I hate to admit it, the pain had gotten so unbearable that it was affecting my personal life, my professional life, and my mental state – at times it brought me to tears. Naturally, having played…

Sales Enablement Perspectives
Why Selling Internally Is Key To Success for Sales Enablement Professionals

Tamara Schenk

1 May 2013 | 3:08 pm

Selling internally – that’s when sellers complain about processes, templates, specific questions they have to answer to get delivery commitments, necessary invests and so forth… This is the first dimension of selling internally – already addressed in many articles. There is a second dimension: Especially in complex selling situations, sales people should also equip their relevant decision makers within the customer’s organization with a shared vision of success, to help them to sell the story and the value of a deal internally – to speed up the process to get a…
GoToCustomer Account Management Part 3 – Execution And The Role of Sales Management

Tamara Schenk

21 Apr 2013 | 2:58 pm

Maybe, you were already waiting for part 3… I was asked, why I would plan to write about account management execution and the role of sales management: “Isn’t that pretty clear?” and “where is the link to sales enablement anyway?” First, sales enablement in my opinion has to be a strategic, cross-functional end2end discipline, not only designed to equip sales people to make their quarterly numbers, but first and foremost to lead sales organizations to master the 21st century challenges – the challenges of a connected economy from push to pull – to create…
GoToCustomer Account Management Part 2 – It’s Not About The Plan, It’s About Planning

Tamara Schenk

15 Apr 2013 | 2:24 pm

In Part 1, we discussed the GoToCustomer account management foundation. Today, we build on that and discuss GoToCustomer Account Planning. Account planning – what’s crossing your mind? Maybe “another boring Q1 exercise”, “another complicated, useless template, doesn’t help me at all!”, “nobody will ever inspect my account plan, apparently it’s not important”, or “another reason for a headache, why all these details?”. If you are a sales manager, you might ask “How can I manage my portfolio of accounts more effectively and how can I better coach my team…
GoToCustomer Account Management – Part 1: Not Everything That Matters Is Measurable!

Tamara Schenk

1 Apr 2013 | 6:59 am

Account Management as part of an integrated GoToCustomer strategy – how should it look like, considering the changing economy, in order to create value for and with our customers? The “do more with less” economy, the relationship economy, the connection economy, customer capitalism – you name it! I will write a series about GoToCustomer Account Management. Today, we discuss the foundation and the importance of an account definition and of account segmentation, specifically what matters, but cannot be measured very precisely. Then, we will discuss GoToCustomer account…
Forrester Sales Enablement Forum 2013 – Highlights Part 2: The Selling System And Simplicity

Tamara Schenk

10 Mar 2013 | 2:04 pm

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” –Leonardo da Vinci Today, let’s focus on the bigger picture, the selling system and the need to think differently to achieve simplicity. We all learned a lot about selling systems and simplicity on our journeys and especially during these two conference days. Where is sales enablement heading? A few years ago, the discipline became some color, the term was positioned above sales trainings, above portals and technology for sales content. From activity to discipline, from program made to function, from tactical level to a strategic…

Sales and Marketing Strategies
How Outbound Telemarketing and Lead Generation are much like Boxing

ambrking

28 Apr 2013 | 10:22 pm

Image from bbc.co.uk As cliché-ish as it may sound, it seems that everything in life can be likened to Boxing. This is probably because of the fact that this contact sport requires focus, determination, and a competitive spirit, much like all of life’s everyday endeavors. Sure, other sports also require the same characteristics – perhaps even more – but Boxing has the right amount of athletics and drama which makes it one of the most adored forms of entertainment. To compare the sport of Boxing to Outbound Telemarketing and Lead Generation is easy. Both are dynamic realms of human…
Why Outsourced Lead Generation And Appointment Setting Work For Some And Not For Others

ambrking

27 Sep 2012 | 1:24 am

Small companies who have little time and resources to manage their own lead generation telemarketers and appointment setters have the option of outsourcing these tasks to a capable and reliable b2b appointment setting company. However, there are companies who tell that they have negative experiences with outsourced services. While there are companies who purposefully try to scam and rob their clients of money, not all outsourced service providers are the same and there are authentic BPO companies who provide quality services. Nonetheless, there are still businesses who say that even…
Anticipating Facebook’s Enhanced Page Post Targeting

ambrking

4 Sep 2012 | 9:51 pm

As the pioneers of the brand pages, Facebook is making it easier for marketers to make the most of their Facebook fan pages and become an even better lead generation tool. Thanks to the latest updates of Facebook, content marketers will be able to control who sees which content on their wall feed. This content segmentation feature will allow Facebook marketers to do something that they have long dreamed of: better targeting of Facebook followers. It’s not yet available to all page administrators, only to a select group of social marketers, but Facebook says it will be available to other…
CMO’s Agree on the Positive Impact of Social Media for Sales and Marketing

ambrking

29 Aug 2012 | 9:41 pm

Bazaarvoice recently released a survey that further supported the effect of social media on a company or business’ sales by asking 100 CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) from different B2B and B2C companies. Chief marketing officers, those who are the most responsible for the lead generation campaigns of large, international companies, have agreed that social media indeed affects the sales potential of a company. Not only that, according to the survey done by Bazaarvoice, social media has a significant impact on finding out consumer sentiment towards the products, consumer demographics,…
Of Fishing And Business Sales Leads Generation

ambrking

21 Aug 2012 | 9:27 pm

Lead generation is a lot like fishing. B2C lead generation marketers are the fishermen who use a fishing net to catch fish: the more fish you want to catch, the bigger the net you should use. For b2b lead generation marketing, you use specific methods which bring you face to face with your specific clients. When you’re an angler and you want to catch a certain type of fish, you use your fishing rod, a specific type of lure, and you fish in the areas where you know you will be able to catch the fish you want. When doing b2b lead generation for your company, you have to choose the right…

Pipedrive blog » Sales Tips
How to measure sales skills

Urmas Purde

15 May 2013 | 3:17 am

As a sales manager and trainer in my previous career I spent a lot of time trying to measure and quantify sales skills. The word trying is telling here, because although we managed to come up with useful tests and training methodologies, there were a significant number of those that failed the tests and did poor in training programs, but closed sales like there was no tomorrow. I kept looking and the best proxy I have found is sales pipeline metrics. In my experience, which is extensive by some standards, there is no better indication of a sales person’s skills. More specifically I…
Mindfulness and sales results

Peep Vain

25 Apr 2013 | 5:41 am

Being mindful is being here and now, doing one thing at a time – but most of you already knew that. Mindfulness is a useful concept for most walks of life including, perhaps surprisingly, sales. What does mindfulness mean in sales context I picked up my sales skills selling books door to door on 4 consecutive college summers. It was about long work days and pre-rehearsed sales script that I know by heart to this day. A prospect says X, I say Y in response, and so on. I used this approach to build several successful sales teams later, including one for my own training business. On the…
iPhone app update: access and add notes on the go

Martin Tajur

12 Apr 2013 | 12:40 am

We released an update to our iPhone app (version 1.0.4) which enables you to access notes stored with deals, people and organizations. You can also add new notes on the go. Notes can be viewed by tapping on the Notes button on any organization, deal or person summary panel. This release also addresses some layout bugs when the app is used on an iPad, as well as an issue with viewing products attached to deals. I know we’ve been rather quiet on the mobile app front, but this has been quiet before the storm kind of quiet. We’ve ramped up native app development resources and you can…
Sales tools for modern email warriors

Urmas Purde

4 Dec 2012 | 6:37 am

There used to be a time where most sales people were “road warriors”. Rarely in the office, they were out there looking for the next big deal. Things have changed, and today many of us spend an increasing amount of time at our desks and with ever-growing number of unread emails. (Or is it just me?). I’ve put together a short list of tools that help to get organized and win more time for talking to customers. The basics – schedule time for reaching your activity goals If you have set activity goals (which you should), make sure you’ve allocated time for getting…
Learn to manage your sales pipeline in 4 minutes [video]

Timo Rein

23 Nov 2012 | 4:15 am

Many of our customers say that the main reason why they’ve started to use Pipedrive was that our software helps to improve their sales processes.That it helps people understand the basics of sales pipeline management without having to read a book about it or taking a costly course. Which is great, but we have a feeling that if we explained the principles of sales pipeline management better, our software would be even more useful. And by the same token, if more people knew about the power of sales pipeline management, more people would want to use tools like ours. So we’ve created…

Joe McGonigal
Biggest Life Lesson From My Recent Trip To Disney World

jmcgonigal

10 May 2013 | 5:04 am

Last week, our family spent 5 days at Disney World. We are expecting our third child in September and realized it might be a while before we get the chance to go back, so we surprised our 5 and 3 year old with an impromptu trip. There are countless lessons to be learned from Disney – the experience, the culture, the imagination and creativity. Everyone knows the deal. Disney is a magical place where memories are made. Where everyone, no matter how you old you are, becomes a kid again, if only for a few days. And, although it may sound a little cliché, it’s true. I could write…
What I Fear The Most

jmcgonigal

26 Apr 2013 | 4:47 am

The greatest limiting factor for so many people is fear. You’re afraid of failing. Afraid to give up whatever security or stability you have now. Your afraid of embarrassment, judgment, and ridicule. It can be scary to step out of your comfort zone, to raise your hand, to go against the grain. Maybe you’re afraid of starting over or having to learn something new. In some situations, it’s even scary to stand up for what you know is right. To support an unpopular position or cause that you believe in. I can’t tell you what to fear and what not to fear. I can’t tell…
The easy way vs. the hard way

jmcgonigal

18 Apr 2013 | 6:22 pm

There’s always two ways to do things – the easy way or the hard way. Often times we opt for the easy way. It takes less time, less thought, less energy. It usually comes with lower risk or a smaller investment. For example, there’s the chef who chooses to make her stock for sauces and soups from a store bought base. Something that comes in a jar that she can just scoop into some hot water. Voila! Chicken stock the easy way. People choose the easy way over hard way because the hard way can be daunting. It’s a path where outcomes are less certain, and definitely not guaranteed. It…
Could You Play Piano With Billy Joel?

jmcgonigal

11 Apr 2013 | 6:17 pm

To get the full effect of this post, there are a few steps. 1. Read this post from Bob Lefsetz, a music industry veteran. He captures the story from Billy’s point of view. 2. Watching this MSG performance is optional for this post. 3. Watch the Vanderbilt video below. But before you do, here are few things to notice. On this blog I talk about taking chances, going after what you really want, facing your fear. I talk about how you have to embrace risk and judgment and raise your own hand. It’s rare to find a real life example of all of those things. You’re about to see it.
Why People Frame Their First Dollar

jmcgonigal

7 Mar 2013 | 9:00 am

Take notice next time you’re in an independently owned business – a restaurant, a dry cleaner, the hardware store. Look for it around the register. It might be in frame or just tacked to the wall. Maybe it has a date written on it, maybe not. The first dollar. My new venture recently earned its first dollar and while I don’t have it framed on my wall anywhere, it did get me thinking about why this is such a common practice. What purpose does it serve? One dollar alone doesn’t symbolize success. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll earn more and it isn’t even…

Margie Albert
Today’s remark – Coach Who Trains or Manager Who Controls?

Margie Albert

20 May 2013 | 11:54 am

Love it when someone I greatly admire writes a piece that reflects what I have been saying for years. Harvey Mackay wrote “It’s a Brave New World for Sales” describing how consumers are doing research well before you walk in the door. By the time a salesperson gets to the customer there are only two differentiators – price and YOU! And that is true in TV Sales as well. Jill Konrath (another one of my favorites) says, “Salespeople need to be business analysts and idea providers.” If you have spent five minutes with me you have heard me say those exact words! So what can Sales…
Today’s remark – are you insane?

Margie Albert

6 May 2013 | 9:54 am

Chris Brogan (entertaining bio here) recently wrote about “the world’s #1 secret game – distraction.” We are all playing it – I prefer to say, “We are all being sucked into it!” There are many distractions in our lives causing angst. Email (huge offender), watching your Klout score, looking at comments and likes on facebook, seeking to know everything about everything, pleasing your Sales Manager by being “political,” volunteering for multiple organizations because you are afraid not to, and, most of all, worrying about what others are doing – all play heavily into the…
Today’s remark – When? Why? How?

Margie Albert

23 Apr 2013 | 10:29 am

This past week my longtime and dearest friend suddenly became a widow. Just the day before we were chatting about everything from shoes to The Voice. We laughed freely and made plans to see a movie. The next day everything changed – there was no more laughter, the plans to see a movie changed to planning a funeral. As a friend, my focus was now completely on “her.” You ask what this has to do with a TV Station and Social Media? Well, the same thing happened last week to all of us. We were going about our lives freely until Boston. And then West. The nation’s mood changed…
Today’s remark – really?

Margie Albert

16 Apr 2013 | 2:44 pm

Bloggers tell you to write what you think and not worry about the readers’ reactions. I’m not very good at that but will take the risk today. In my opinion, yesterday’s horrific event in Boston was made, in some ways, worse by some of “Traditional” media and I am referring to my beloved television. Here are some examples: An anchor here in Phoenix asked multiple times on their facebook page if we thought the Boston tragedy was a domestic act of violence or an international act. Really? Why ask that when no one knows as of this writing and, truthfully, our speculations not only…
Today’s remark – a devoted Tonto

Margie Albert

9 Apr 2013 | 11:22 am

I had an “ah-ah” experience last week while preparing for my interview with Deb Calvert from People First Productivity Solutions. Maybe this occurred to you long ago so please forgive how slow I am! Here goes. Let’s be honest – most of us TV Sales people think of ourselves as being our customers’ hero. We ask a few questions (if we are truthful, to determine if this potential television advertiser will contribute to our wealth) and then provide a proposal incorporating as much as we can to meet or slightly stretch their budget. How about we look at it differently? How about we…

Business Marketing Strategies | Increase Sales | Theresa Delgado
Five Work Life Balance Tips That Will Help You Succeed

Theresa Delgado

20 May 2013 | 6:00 am

It is ironic. You start a business so that you can have more financial freedom in life and then don’t spend any of your earnings because you are always working. Working for yourself may fulfill a lifelong goal, but you don’t have time to enjoy the things you’d like to, like family and friends. Are you having trouble finding a work life balance? It can be hard to find time for both work and family, especially when you are doing it all alone. Here are five work life balance tips that are sure to help you. 1. Communicate Keep your family in the loop about what is going on with…
12 Ways to Improve Productivity – Guaranteed

Theresa Delgado

13 May 2013 | 6:00 am

Are you looking for ways to get more done in less time? It seems that this is a frequent topic with individuals regardless if you’re self employed or corporate employed. “I need to find ways to improve my productivity”, sound familiar? Everyone can improve upon their current business practices. If you are looking for ways that you can get more done throughout the workday and the work week, then you have come to the right place. What Is Productivity? In a nutshell, it’s how you run your business, checking off those To-Dos. What is the workflow like on a daily basis? Do…
Keyword Analysis: Wordtracker Keyword Tool

Theresa Delgado

9 May 2013 | 6:00 am

Keyword Analysis Part 5 of 12 This is the part five in the series that is designed to guide you through finding the best keywords for your small business. If you missed it, here’s the link to read Part 1 Keyword Analysis: How Keywords Work, so you can get the series from the beginning. Remember to have your business plan handy, so you can refer to it and make any additional notes to it. As mentioned before, if you haven’t had the opportunity to finish it yet, no worries, just do what you can when you can. If you are just joining us for the first time, first I’m glad you’re…
How to Improve Your Business Skills and Watch Your Sales Grow

Theresa Delgado

6 May 2013 | 6:00 am

In business, there is always a new skill new to learn. If you are thinking about growing in the future (whether you work for a company or are self-employed), you will need to expand your skill set. But, you might be thinking how. Besides going back to college or taking extension courses there are other ways to expand your business skills. When you decided to begin your business, you had some expertise in the field. It could be landscaping, internet marketing, article writing or accounting. You had an interest in one of these areas and took the time to learn the skills necessary to operate a…
Keyword Analysis: Deciphering Google AdWords Keyword Tool

Theresa Delgado

2 May 2013 | 6:00 am

Keyword Analysis Part 4 of 12 This is the part four in the series that is designed to guide you through finding the best keywords for your small business. If you missed it, here’s the link to read Part 1 Keyword Analysis: How Keywords Work, so you can get the series from the beginning. If you’ve been following along, remember to have your business plan handy, so you can refer to it and make any additional notes to it. As mentioned before, if you haven’t had the opportunity to finish it yet, no worries, just do what you can when you can. If you are just getting here for the first…

Tactical Sales & Business Blog
How to Lose Control of your Sales Process

20 May 2013 | 5:00 pm

This week I thought I’d share a lesson I learned a few years ago. Essentially, I dropped the ball with a good opportunity through what is really quite a common mistake in our profession.
5 Apps To Help Close The Deal Today

16 May 2013 | 5:00 pm

Mobile sales strategies give you a massive advantage over lugging a laptop with you; everything can be accomplished with an app nowadays. However there are over 600,000 apps in the app stores so it’s going to be hard to find the right one.
The Psychology Behind Questioning

14 May 2013 | 5:00 pm

Listening is now more important than ever for a sales professional, but do we truly understand why it’s so important? The psychology behind asking questions; the right questions, is vital for the success of your approach.
Report | Are Sales Professionals Recession Proof?

9 May 2013 | 5:00 pm

According to a recent survey the recession hasn’t stopped companies from continuing to invest in their sales forces. The market was found to be especially resilient in the technology sector with the number of vacancies on the rise.
1 Very Common Sales Mistake to Avoid

5 May 2013 | 5:00 pm

I’m sure that the screen shot below probably rings familiar bells for some of us. Pages and pages of activity where we’ve chased a deal over a long period of time. Just look at all those calls!

Buyer Insights
9 New Ways To Nudge Your Customer To Buy

Ray Collis

23 May 2013 | 3:04 am

More information is simply not enough to get the buyer to across the line - we all know that. If it was then we would write longer proposals and provide more detailed product sheets. In this insight we will use the latest buyer psychology to examine how to nudge the buyer towards a decision.
50% Of Sales Forecasts Are Undermined By Missing Information

John O' Gorman

20 May 2013 | 8:55 am

Sellers are not getting all the information that they need. They are being asked to prepare accurate forecasts and close deals while at the same time key information is being withheld. In this insight we will examine the types of information sellers are being denied and how it can be accessed.
Understanding Buyer Psychology

Ray Collis

14 May 2013 | 6:05 am

Buying decisions are generally more complex than they may at first appear. We look behind the buyer's stated rationale for the decision and to uncover the psychology that is often hidden.
Building A Logical Argument For Buying Your Solution

John O' Gorman

11 May 2013 | 2:16 am

How do you build a logical argument for the purchase of your product or solution? One that can beat the competition, secure the budget and win the deal? As we will examine in this insight the formula is clear.
Helping Your Customers To Justify Their Decisions

Ray Collis

10 May 2013 | 1:30 am

Sellers must make sure that the buyer is in a position to justify the decision. Otherwise the risk of a stalled deal increases greatly. This is particularly important when decisions are driven by instinct or emotion.

Yesware Blog
Cutting-Edge Sales Insights … from 1968

Lou Carlozo

22 May 2013 | 8:00 am

The truth in sales, as in life, can often be deceptively simple: Sometimes to look ahead, you have to look back. As in five decades back. While it’s tempting to think that apps and gadgets alone can catapult your sales career into the stratosphere, you might also want to consider as another effective tool a book that debuted 45 years ago, The Greatest Salesman in the World. First published in 1968, Salesman is one of those books that never should’ve made it to the list of all-time greats. Its author, Og Mandino, was an insurance salesman and an unknown writer; this tome was his…
How To Sell Without Selling Your Soul

John Bracken

20 May 2013 | 8:00 am

John Bracken is a founder and CEO of Speek, which offers a new kind of conference call. The days of using words like “hard” and “cold” when discussing sales tactics are over. You can sell your product with confidence and turn a profit while still feeling like a human. Many sales-based teams will admit that commission and quota pressures force them to sell products quickly and often carelessly. Sales teams feel best about the products and services they stand behind. Here are some of the best ways to sell like hell, without feeling like you’re going there. Use Your Network (When…
Tracking Co-workers for Fun and Profit

Jake

17 May 2013 | 9:03 am

Yesware makes it easy to see who has interacted with your emails. Starting today, we even tell you explicitly when you or a co-worker (a Yesware user that shares your email domain) is the one that opened or clicked on your email. To view all of your recent tracking events, just click on the Yesware dashboard at the top of your Gmail inbox. On the right of each event, you can see whether it was an external party, you, or a colleague that opened or clicked your email. (Note: if you have an @gmail.com email address, colleague tracking is not available). Hiding Sender and…
The most sales prospects … or the best sales prospects?

John Barrows

16 May 2013 | 8:00 am

Most of us at some point in our sales career were told that activity equals results and were forced to make 50-100 dials a day until our ears fell off. Many of us were even forced to use scripts and read them verbatim when trying to manage a call or leave a voicemail. Brutal. This is a pure quantity approach to sales that relies on the laws of averages and luck.As we gain more experience in our careers, those quantities go down as we try to increase the quality of our approaches. We spend more time digging into each lead and researching it before making the calls or sending the…
Four Ways Salespeople Can Beat Call Reluctance

Lou Carlozo

10 May 2013 | 8:30 am

If you’ve ever experienced call reluctance–as I did during my cold-calling days–then you know that feeling. You’ve felt that dull throb in the pit of your stomach, that inability to pick up the phone or make the day’s first appointment, that awful dread in which you obsess upon rejection, rejection, rejection.Call reluctance hits sales rookies and seasoned pros alike, and its impact is well documented. In The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance, Shannon Goodson and George Dudley found that 80 percent of new salespeople fail because of call reluctance, while 40…

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Blog
People don’t know what they have. It’s better than money.

Gitomer

22 May 2013 | 10:48 am

TweetI’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Count your blessings.” I wonder how you interpret that. I wonder how you count them. I wonder how you take advantage of them. My biggest wonder is how grateful are you for your blessings. HERE’S AN IDEA: Re-look at your blessings from a different perspective. Are they blessings or are they assets? Are they blessings or are they attributes? Are they blessings or are they gifts that you can share with others? GOOD NEWS: There are no right answers to those questions. BETTER NEWS: You have to determine the answers for yourself. BEST…
Jeffrey Gitomer’s Deal of the Week #602 – Sales Revival CD Set

Gitomer

21 May 2013 | 6:45 am

Tweet The post Jeffrey Gitomer’s Deal of the Week #602 – Sales Revival CD Set appeared first on Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Blog.
Jeffrey Answers a Question about Overwhelming Prospects with Data | Real World Sales Wisdom

Gitomer

20 May 2013 | 8:12 am

TweetRSS readers click here for video. In your business: Video is the new brochure. Video is the new testimonial letter. Video is the new proposal. Video is the new training manual. Video is the new instructional manual. Video is the new letter and email. Here’s what to do (and here’s what I’m doing) to keep your business up to speed: 1. Take video of something every day. I don’t care what it is. A thought, an idea, an article, a brochure, a sales presentation, a customer testimonial, or a little kid sliding down a slide. 2. Make a list and create a pile of everything you have…
The Biggest Thing Sales Leaders Overlook: SALES!

Gitomer

16 May 2013 | 9:12 am

TweetREALITY QUESTION FOR SALES MANAGERS: Why would you, as a leader, take an improving salesperson who is having the best year of their career, and tell him or her they’re “not making enough calls”? Why not do something to actually help? REALITY ANSWERS: (Pick any or all that apply.) You’re an idiot who knows nothing about leadership, coaching, or creating winners. You’re a micro manager with little or no current sales talent yourself. (You may have sold before, but that was before the internet – and you’ve probably never tweeted). You’re an unschooled leader, following the…
See Jeffrey Gitomer LIVE in Greeneville, TN | Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Gitomer

15 May 2013 | 8:38 am

TweetThe promo code GITOMER grants a special ticket price of $99 for our fans! The post See Jeffrey Gitomer LIVE in Greeneville, TN | Wednesday, June 19, 2013 appeared first on Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Blog.

Star Results
The Power of Handwritten Recognition

Steven Rosen

20 May 2013 | 12:48 pm

The best way to recognize great performance is by sending a hand written motivational card. I believe there are two things that motivate most sales reps. 1. Is the ability to do the job they paid to and 2. Being recognized for a job well done. With email and text messages it is very easy to bang off a quick note. Personalized hand written notes are a rarity? If you want to differentiate yourself as a manager hand writing personalized recognition cards is very motivating. If you want to be a STAR sales manager make sure you have a variety of motivational cards at your disposal. Make sending…
How to Drive More Sales Every Quarter

Steven Rosen

15 May 2013 | 6:17 am

Effective Quarterly Business Reviews Drive Sales Performance Both business acumen and business planning are becoming a much more integral skill for sales reps and sales managers. Company’s business planning processes require sales reps to build annual business plans. To have an effective business planning process it is important that companies build in proper follow up and follow through to ensure execution and establish accountability to the business planning process. Quarterly business reviews consists of a formal review meeting between a front line sales manager and one of his/her sales…
How Focus will Make you Successful

Steven Rosen

29 Apr 2013 | 4:57 pm

Do you have a secret formula for success? I wanted to talk to you about how you can be successful in any job do. I was fortunate to have been promoted into seven different roles over a five-year period, moving from a sales rep to a VP of Sales for three divisions. The problem was that I had no idea what I was doing in each of those successive new roles. I will however share with you what I did to continue to get promoted. My secret to success in each role was to figure out the 2 or 3 key things would drive sales performance and making sure my team did those 2-3 things not just adequately,…
Setting your Goals on Success

Steven Rosen

21 Apr 2013 | 4:37 pm

Welcome back. One of my old colleagues used to say that “The road to success for a sales manager is paved with potholes”. Today I would like to share with you the tips that have helped me become successful in my career. Tip #19 from Chapter 3 of 52 Sales Management Tips – The Sales Manager Success Guide is: Success is Achieving the Goals You Set for Yourself We all strive for success. Yet many people feel that they are not successful because someone has a bigger house, fancier car or more money. I believe success is measured in setting and achieving the goals you set for yourself.
Top Sales Management/Leadership Academy

Steven Rosen

21 Apr 2013 | 4:30 pm

Here is what we know… At least 80% of sales managers fail within eighteen months of being promoted (Source: Chally). Making that transition, from self-supporting super sales star to “executive shepherd”, is daunting. We understand exactly how the sales leader’s role has evolved and continues to change. So, what’s the answer? Sales managers basically have two choices: They can wait around for the economy to pick up – and hope that their company will re-commence their education – or they can take matters into their own hands and work with the mantra “If it’s to be, then it’s…

SaleMoveSaleMove | Consultative Sales Platform
Offshore vs. Outsource (pros, cons and tips)

admin

20 May 2013 | 9:00 am

Throughout my life I have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars hiring contractors. I have used Odesk, Elance, Houdini, Fiverr, Amazon Mechanical Turk and many other services that have assisted me in hiring and managing people all over the world. That said, I lost time & money before I finally started to understand how to properly hire and work with contractors. This post is some distilled lessons that I can share from my experiences. SaleMove is based out of NYC- our business development and a large part of our engineering team work in the big apple. However, in addition to our local…
Are your spamming your visitors with Live Chat?

admin

26 Apr 2013 | 12:04 pm

In design, the concept of “the crystal goblet” explains that a glass should be made of a clear material in order to showcase the liquid that it holds. In other words, the best tools are those that let the content or the message shine through. When it comes to communicating with online customers in real-time, the tools we use should be “invisible”- this means that they are so easy to use that they allow us to focus on our message instead of on the tools themselves. Communicating with your website visitors online in real-time is the future of online commerce for customer engagement.
The Video Chat Sales Revolution

admin

10 Apr 2013 | 10:56 am

380 Million people will use video chat on a regular basis by 2015 -Tokbox projections What is the communication method that is the most effective for sales consultants- Email, Chat, Phone, In-Person? Most would respond that an in-person interaction is always preferred. The benefit of selling in person is that a sales representative observes the prospect’s body language and establishes a much deeper connection. With email, chat or a phone call, the prospect is much more detached and shooting back “no thanks” becomes much easier. Let’s examine these communication options…
The Next Step in Car Dealership Evolution

admin

21 Mar 2013 | 10:26 am

After working with and speaking to hundreds of dealerships, aggregators & industry experts, the SaleMove team has assembled a slideshow that shows how car dealerships have evolved with the Internet and the evolution that will likely unfold in the coming years. It is certainly clear that automotive sales have been moving online for some time. Technology is now on the verge of fully bridging the last gap- replicating the showroom online…. The NextStep in Car Dealership Evolution slide transcript below: 1. The Next Step in Dealership Evolution SaleMove –…
Using your Website as a Sales Platform

admin

18 Mar 2013 | 10:29 am

Selling online should be no different than selling in person. Once a customer is connected with a sales consultant, it becomes about engaging in a conversation around the product in question. In person, the two parties see each other and observe facial expressions and body language. Often in these situations the customer and the seller develop a trusting relationship (especially when the seller provides guidance/expertise). On the web, the communication experience between a customer and sales consultant can not only come close to an in-person sale but with video, real-time analytic and…

Sales Engine
When You Know Your Sales Culture Is Suffering

Craig Wortmann

20 May 2013 | 10:00 pm

High turnover, high absenteeism, decrease in referral hires and, of course, decreased mood and activity on the sales floor are clear signals that a sales culture is suffering. In order to turn things around, managers often set rules and guidelines to motivate the team, either through new goals or setting clear expectations. However, what do you do when the signs a sales culture under attack are not as self-evident, and the answers are not so straightforward? When You Know Your Sales Culture Is Suffering Here are a few of the more subtle clues your culture may be suffering: Reps don’t ask…
Kick in the Ass: May 17, 2013

Craig Wortmann

16 May 2013 | 10:00 pm

We recently reviewed the book Start with Why by Simon Sinek. If you haven’t picked it up yet and you have the power to lead and manage others, we strongly recommend that you do. In today’s business culture, we often link a salesperson’s ability (or inability) to sell with product itself. Scenario one: the salesperson isn’t confident in the product or service. He doesn’t believe that the product actually delivers on the promises that he tells his prospects on the phone. He’s unmotivated because he’s uninspired by selling a product he doesn’t…
Top 5 Sales Lessons from “Rework”

Craig Wortmann

13 May 2013 | 10:00 pm

Rework is a book by the founders of 37Signals, a company based in Chicago. I’m constantly reading books, blog posts, and articles about how to be more productive and efficient. There’s no shortage of books on personal productivity but I felt compelled to pick up Rework after seeing the authors speak in person and in online interviews several times (and it makes sense that a company that makes collaboration tools for teams would be the people to write a book on the subject.) There’s always a handful of reasons why I pick up a certain book over another. My goal when reading…
Kick in the Ass: May 10, 2013

Jenny Poore

9 May 2013 | 10:00 pm

We’re productivity advice nerds over here. We think we are pretty good at getting a lot of things done in a very small amount of time. (Of course, that’s not always true and we still battle procrastination somewhat regularly like normal human beings.) Maybe it’s the spring air, but we seem to be stumbling upon a lot of really great productivity content lately. Here are just a few to get you started this Friday morning: How to Make Meetings Better Sales Engine’s CEO, Craig Wortmann, spoke with Bill Moller of WGN Radio last weekend on how to run high impact meetings and…
How to Prospect…Even at a Wedding

Craig Wortmann

7 May 2013 | 10:00 pm

I have to attend a wedding this weekend or else I’d be out a girlfriend. Actually, it’s a wedding on a Friday so I’m out an entire day of prospecting and pushing leads through our sales process. Ultimately, I have one day less this month where I can bring revenue into our company. Letting my team, manager, or myself down is not an option. It’s a brand new month; I have to get ahead of the curve to succeed; yet I’m already a day behind projected numbers because of my schedule. I won’t allow the idea of not making my number creep into my head. (Not even sure why I’m leaving…

Buyer Insights
9 New Ways To Nudge Your Customer To Buy

Ray Collis

23 May 2013 | 3:04 am

More information is simply not enough to get the buyer to across the line - we all know that. If it was then we would write longer proposals and provide more detailed product sheets. In this insight we will use the latest buyer psychology to examine how to nudge the buyer towards a decision.
50% Of Sales Forecasts Are Undermined By Missing Information

John O' Gorman

20 May 2013 | 8:55 am

Sellers are not getting all the information that they need. They are being asked to prepare accurate forecasts and close deals while at the same time key information is being withheld. In this insight we will examine the types of information sellers are being denied and how it can be accessed.
Understanding Buyer Psychology

Ray Collis

14 May 2013 | 6:05 am

Buying decisions are generally more complex than they may at first appear. We look behind the buyer's stated rationale for the decision and to uncover the psychology that is often hidden.
Building A Logical Argument For Buying Your Solution

John O' Gorman

11 May 2013 | 2:16 am

How do you build a logical argument for the purchase of your product or solution? One that can beat the competition, secure the budget and win the deal? As we will examine in this insight the formula is clear.
Helping Your Customers To Justify Their Decisions

Ray Collis

10 May 2013 | 1:30 am

Sellers must make sure that the buyer is in a position to justify the decision. Otherwise the risk of a stalled deal increases greatly. This is particularly important when decisions are driven by instinct or emotion.

The AXIOMS of Selling Blog
How to Increase Sales in Competitive Markets

Lisa Pool

26 Apr 2013 | 12:12 pm

Bob Sanders, CEO of AXIOM Sales Force Development, believes to increase sales in competitive markets, sales managers must invest in their own people. During his remarks at the 2013 Search Starts Here Conference, Bob explains that local marketing companies must not only invest in new products and innovation but also in developing and teaching their sales force to adapt to the evolving landscape. Markets change and selling environments become more challenging. Selling Environments are being affected by: Influx of New Competitors Disruptive TechnologyRapidly Changing Market Conditions New…
Got Ethics?

Bob Nicols

18 Apr 2013 | 7:17 am

While shopping this past weekend I was approached by a gentleman named Jim, one of the best salespeople I’ve met in quite some time. He quickly identified my needs and walked me through his store’s available options. By asking the right questions, this pro was able to present solutions in the most compelling fashion possible. Jim was thorough, demonstrated concern and a sincere desire to help me in any way possible. Did I buy from him? No. Did he want me to buy from him? Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, Jim gave me directions to one of his competitors, where I bought exactly what he…
What Sales Coaches Can Learn from Baseball Coaches Part Eight

Bob Nicols

8 Apr 2013 | 9:25 am

In The Journey to Sales Transformation, crafty old messenger Benjamin Delaney directs Chief Sales Officer Phillip Evan Hawthorne’s sales transformation journey. Ben reveals truths of becoming a trusted advisor and partner to his customers through observations and stories. In this eighth of a series of excerpts Ben discusses why sales managers who cannot coach cannot transform sales. a continuation What Sales Coaches Can Learn from Baseball Coaches Part One, Part Two , Part Three Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, and Part Seven Ben leaned towards Phillip. “Managers who can’t coach are the…
Successful Product Launches Solve Business Problems

Mike Bybee

4 Apr 2013 | 8:16 am

The launch of a new product can be an exciting time for a company. Nearly every department has a role and expectations are high. Leadership describes how sales of the new product will positively impact the company’s future and help position the company strategically for long-term success. Excitement is palpable, except in sales where the launch of the new product is usually accompanied by a newly raised quota. Unfortunately, an all too common result of new product launches is that sales don’t live up to those initial expectations. And it’s not for lack of effort or product quality.
What Sales Coaches Can Learn from Baseball Coaches Part Seven

Bob Nicols

1 Apr 2013 | 7:09 am

In The Journey to Sales Transformation, crafty old messenger Benjamin Delaney directs Chief Sales Officer Phillip Evan Hawthorne’s sales transformation journey. Ben reveals truths of becoming a trusted advisor and partner to his customers through observations and stories. In this seventh of a series of excerpts Ben discusses why sales training alone doesn't transform the sales process. a continuation What Sales Coaches Can Learn from Baseball Coaches Part One, Part Two , Part Three Part Four, Part Five, and Part Six “The truth is,” Ben continued, “changing people’s behavior and…

Call Tracking Blog
The Dos and Don'ts of LinkedIn Marketing

McKay Allen

23 May 2013 | 5:43 am

Do...develop a personal profile and build it out. In other words, make sure that your personal profile has all the necessary elements. LinkedIn will tell you how complete your profile is. It should be 90% complete or more. Do...post content from your LinkedIn profile. You can add daily updates. You can even post to your LinkedIn profile from Hootsuite or other tools. We get a lot of clicks from the personal profiles of our employees. Do...join groups. LinkedIn groups are an incredible tool that allows marketers to leverage their relationships, share content, and meet potential…
Sales Training Data: Persistence Makes the Sale 12.6x More Likely

McKay Allen

22 May 2013 | 6:26 am

About a year ago we partnered with some professors from a local university to conduct a very intensive study about the specific elements of an inbound phone call that actually make a difference. In other words, what elements actually matter? What things can an employee say that make a difference? And for sales trainers, which elements of your training are most important? The Methods of the Study LogMyCalls recorded and scored 4400 phone calls in industries where an inbound call is considered a GREAT lead. In this case the calls were in the hotel industry. But our data shows,…
Why Minnesota Search Association's Article About Call Tracking Was Really Good

McKay Allen

22 May 2013 | 4:54 am

Before yesterday I had never heard of the Minnesota Search Engine Marketing Association. Today I respect them a great deal. Why? Because they wrote a very fair and accurate article about call tracking. There haven't been many of those lately. Most articles about call tracking are either written by a few local marketing firms that don't understand modern call tracking technology and therefore oppose it, or they're written by call tracking providers like us. These articles, as you can probably imagine, can be slightly slanted. That's where the Minnesota Search Engine Marketing…
Even 'Experts' Bashing Call Tracking Admit it Doesn't Hurt SEO

McKay Allen

22 May 2013 | 3:47 am

This week we've written several articles about call tracking and SEO. We've written these articles in response to a couple of articles that bashed call tracking. These articles have produced a fair bit of social media traffic and renewed interest in call tracking. The article that bashed call tracking is titled A Guide to Call Tracking and Local Search. And let me first say that the author is a true expert and is a nice guy. We just disagreed with his approach on this article. The article spends 80%-90% of time bashing call tracking, but then at the end blatantly admits that…
Call Tracking and Local Search: Don't Throw Out the Baby With the Bathwater

McKay Allen

21 May 2013 | 8:07 am

Lately we've seen several articles decrying call tracking. Most articles point out that there are specific and important ways to use call tracking correctly that DO NOT HARM SEO. These articles advocate call tracking, even after raising concerns. They treat a nuanced subject with an appropriately nuanced response. Other articles aren't quite as nuanced. They condemn call tracking because there are some call tracking providers (I won't name names) and some clients that use call tracking incorrectly and thus, hurt their SEO. These articles WRONGLY advocate that call tracking…

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