Bernadette McClelland

AUGUST 31, 2012

'When the answers are in our questions. “Why don’t you live with your Dad anymore?” my son Matthew asked a few years ago. ”Cos Mum and Dad fight too much” came the other little voice. Two nine year olds, whilst maneuvering their play station controllers, were having a simple conversation. Even though only nine, it brought home to me the innate ability most children have to get straight to the point and ask the most pointed questions – and get an equally direct

Conversion 312

Conversion Examples Research Report 312

SBI Growth

AUGUST 26, 2012

I hear from sales and marketing leaders on a regular basis that they need more leads. The most common marketing efforts to drive leads include paid search, SEO, social media, outbound email, teleprospecting and trade shows. When I ask about inbound marketing and what they are doing about content marketing, things like publishing a blog , their eyes glaze over.

Lead Rank 306

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 306

The Pipeline

AUGUST 27, 2012

One of the easiest ways to dismiss Interruptions and to get the most out of Conditioned Responses , is by telling the caller that you are busy. Prospect: I’m really busy, can you call me back? Caller: Sure, when is a good time? Prospect: Call me Tuesday morning! Chick chack, back to work in less than five seconds. Let’s look at the replay in slow motion.

Objections 282

Objections Call-back Direct Response Prospecting 282

MTD Sales Training

AUGUST 29, 2012

Over the years, it seems the concept of a “Professional” has lost its luster. The word “professional” is loosely defined by most simply as, “Someone who gets paid for what they do…”, and that may apply to many professions. When it comes to the profession of selling however, I believe the term, “Professional” demands far more stringent qualifications.

Education 281

Education Training Engineering Industry 281

Advertiser: ZoomInfo

Longer sales cycles. Increasingly discerning buyers. More meetings. Intensifying competition. Economic uncertainty. Go-to-market teams of every size, in every industry, are grappling with these challenges firsthand. Thankfully, there’s an answer. We’ve developed an entirely new way for GTM leaders to identify and execute proven, data-driven strategies that drive revenue.

Sales Cycle

Steven Rosen

AUGUST 26, 2012

Or are you hiring on “gut” and tired of making hiring mistakes? Then Systematically Selecting Sales Super Stars is for you. You will learn how to more effectively select top-performing salespeople. Steven will teach you a three-step, systematic process to identify better reps who can deliver improved team performance and sales results. In this webinar you’ll learn how to: Identify and leverage key Super STAR traits.

Hiring 272

Hiring Webinar Metrics Sales How To 272

The Pipeline

AUGUST 31, 2012

In the first five installments of this series we looked at the nature of objections by potential prospects and how to best use them to transition an interruption to a conversation. But there is another aspect to objections that is common and can also be dealt with, what I call the Non-Objection. In case you are wondering this is no way related to the famous and perhaps mythical experimental Non-Rabbit.

Objections 254

Objections Follow-up Call-back Small Business 254

MTD Sales Training

AUGUST 30, 2012

While it should be only on rare occasions, there are times when you will need to offer a discount and lower your price to close the sale. A well-orchestrated and properly timed price drop can indeed help close a sale. However, a price reduction – no matter how small – done incorrectly can cost you the loss of more than just the sale at hand as well as additional sales; but also your credibility and reputation.

Territories 279

Territories Discount Referrals Negotiation 279

Sales and Marketing Management

AUGUST 26, 2012

Issue Date: 2012-08-27. Author: Dan McDade. Teaser: It’s no surprise that many recent surveys of sales executives and sales reps report an overwhelming majority of marketing-generated leads are not being followed up because quality is perceived to be poor. Drowning your sales reps in more leads – especially those of poor quality – can actually make things worse.

Marketing Qualified Lead 228

Marketing Qualified Lead Leads Survey Report 228

SBI Growth

AUGUST 25, 2012

Today’s post gives the sales rep a recipe to get more from their marketing leads. Reps often hunt down new leads themselves, discounting many from marketing. Reps use their own definition of a “good” lead. But it’s marketing that has the tools and data to deliver. Marketing must be on the hook to get good quality leads to sales. Direct support of the rep making their target is one of marketing’s key objectives.

Lead Rank 282

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Ideal Customer Profile Sales Qualified Lead 282

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Sales

The Pipeline

AUGUST 29, 2012

Continuing our journey through the joys of Prospecting Rejection we arrive at two common objections, one my least favourite, the other which is probably not really so bad, but some sellers just take it the wrong way, and end up on the short end of the conversation. My least favourite is the “send me some information” objection, not so much because it is hard to handle, but because I find them to be wimps, like Nancy said, just say no, don’t pretend to be interested just to get

Objections 226

Objections Face-to-face Policies Call-back 226

MTD Sales Training

AUGUST 28, 2012

A price objection is one thing. However, if you reveal your pricing and ask for the order, then after a comprehensive sales interaction, the prospect responds with a state of disbelief; you have a much bigger problem. The Molehill Really IS a Mountain. In a price objection , of course, you failed to build enough value. However, if the prospect is truly surprised or even shocked by your price, you failed in many foundational sales areas: You did not… 1.

Objections 260

Objections Call-back Course Report 260

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 30, 2012

It turns out that a dose of the happy stuff—paired with smart thinking and a reality check—really does make a positive difference. If you want to be depressed, read the newspaper, check out your online news feed, or turn on the TV. It’s not pretty. There’s rarely any good news to report. So how do we keep from getting depressed? One option is not to read the newspaper, watch the news, or listen to the radio.

Face-to-face 220

Face-to-face Referrals Travel Networking 220

SBI Growth

AUGUST 30, 2012

You’ve got four months left in the year to hit quota. It’s achievable, but far from certain. Your team’s execution in closing key deals will be the difference between a nice year-end bonus or a feeble “Nice effort” from the boss. How will you push your team over the finish line? One of the longstanding methods for determining the likelihood of closing deals is the sacred Pipeline Status Meeting.

Pipeline 267

Pipeline Meeting Forecasting Quota 267

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Data

Score More Sales

AUGUST 27, 2012

Now is the time to be thinking about new and strategically creative ways to bring some deals to closure. Q3 is 2/3 over, for those working off of a calendar year. In some companies, larger sales opportunities need to be wrapping up to even be able to deliver products or services by the end of the year. This is not a discussion about tricks or old-school tactics.

B2B 213

B2B Top of Funnel Closing Proposal 213

Understanding the Sales Force

AUGUST 28, 2012

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Some sales calls just go so well, flow so smoothly, and have little to no resistance. Some have no competition, others have plenty of money and a few allow unlimited access to senior decision makers. Some of your sales happen so quickly that you wonder why they can't all be that easy. Your salespeople can have more easy calls but you'll have to change up a few things.

Decision Maker 211

Decision Maker Consultative Selling Proposal Competition 211

Pointclear

AUGUST 30, 2012

My guest today is Craig Rosenberg, Vice President, Sales and Marketing and Co-Founder at Focus. He is also author of a popular sales and marketing blog, Funnelholic , where he shares B2B content with an edge. Craig specializes in lead generation, lead qualification, and B2B marketing and sales. Below, you can read highlights from our discussion or use the links to start the video from different parts of the conversation. 2012 Trends: Social Marketing Gaining Real Traction & Growth Hacks.

Software 187

Software Software B2B Top of Funnel 187

SBI Growth

AUGUST 29, 2012

If you’re allowing the HR team to drive Sales Compensation strategy and design you could be making a serious mistake. This blog is NOT about the capabilities of our HR brethren. I’m a huge fan of HR for the support, value, and role they play. This is about making sure your sales goals are clearly represented. Last year SBI conducted extensive research utilizing 9 forms of discovery, reviewing over 35,000 data points and interactions.

Compensation 257

Compensation Penetration ROI Distribution 257

Speaker: Andrew Regan, Managing Partner at BlueSeed Retail Ltd.

Did you know that 70% of new retail technology fails to deliver expected benefits and can often decrease customer value, service, and experience? With that in mind, how can we empower our store associates to leverage new technology to optimize the customer experience and boost productivity? This exclusive webinar with Andrew Regan will dive into strategies to empower retail associates for success with new technology.

Retail

Score More Sales

AUGUST 29, 2012

As a sales-brained person (not marketing-brained) I tend to stay away from marketers, but these last two days have been different and very rewarding. I’ve spent time at Inbound 2012, Hubspot’s summit for marketers – an event which is growing dramatically year to year. I was surrounded by 2800 marketers who are doing inbound marketing or learning all about it.

Inbound 184

Inbound Hubspot Marketing eBook 184

The Sales Hunter

AUGUST 25, 2012

It happened again this week. A salesperson called me to say how much trouble they were having in getting customers to pay full-price. The salesperson was quick to say how every customer they talk to is asking about a discount and how they won’t buy unless they get a better price. They go on to say how they haven’t been able to close a sale in months without a discount.

Discount 180

Discount Call-back Sales Meeting Motivation 180

Pointclear

AUGUST 30, 2012

Brian Carroll is Executive Director of Revenue Optimization for MECLABS and spoke midday here in Orlando on Day Two of the MarketingSherpa 2012 B2B Summit. Some key takeaways all organizations should think about are: 64% of leads generated go directly to field sales without filtering or prequalification. Nurturing leads increases revenue by 125%—yet most companies don't do it. 80% of marketing generated leads are ignored, lost or ineffectively followed up by field sales (66% of sales people stop

Marketing Qualified Lead 170

Marketing Qualified Lead B2B Leads Lead Generation 170

SBI Growth

AUGUST 27, 2012

The most important function an HR leader can perform to support Sales is to help attract and retain top sales talent. Based upon our research interviews conducted with VPs of Human Resources, it is clear that most don’t really understand how to help Sales attract top talent. Some cite the importance of clearly identifying critical competencies to select the right candidates.

Compensation 244

Compensation Commission Territories Quota 244

Advertiser: ZoomInfo

Even in today’s data-driven sales world, cold calling remains a fact of life for many go-to-market professionals. Fortunately, today’s sales leaders have a crucial advantage over their predecessors: market intelligence and outreach platforms that can warm up virtually any introduction.

Cold Calling

Score More Sales

AUGUST 30, 2012

Is the reason most salespeople don’t sell as much as they’d like because of some mysterious reason that cannot be determined? If you are in sales, you’ll have your opinions about that. Before you think you’re sure, pick up a copy of Mike Weinberg’s new book, New Sales Simplified. Mike has written a book about the basics.

Prospecting 173

Prospecting Hiring Sports Cold Calling 173

The Sales Hunter

AUGUST 29, 2012

Timing, emotion and personality still play a big role in B2B selling situations, yet too many salespeople leave them out. The reason they leave them out is they feel the customer is all business and they’re dealing with them either via email or some sort of a bidding process. It doesn’t matter. Time, emotion and personality still play a big role. .

B2C 175

B2C B2B Cancellation Motivation 175

Sales and Marketing Management

AUGUST 31, 2012

Issue Date: 2012-09-01. Author: Stephen J. Bistritz. Teaser: Identifying the relevant executive at a prospect company is imperative because that executive may be in a unique position to proactively make a purchase decision or usurp a buying decision that has already been made in the formal decision-making process. Here's how to snuff him or her out.

Positioning 149

Positioning Prospecting Company Sales 149

Increase Sales

AUGUST 27, 2012

How often do we seek the best customers and find ourselves settling for the worst customers? We scratch our heads and wonder how in the world did we get in this place? Maybe in our desperation to increase sales for our small business we engage in the role of Captain Wing It where we spray our actions all over the place and then pray something will stick?

Customer 168

Customer Small Business Small Business Webinar Metrics 168

Speaker: Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach®

Niche markets represent a huge opportunity for the financial services industry in America. From college students and women to communities of color and low-to-moderate-income households, niche populations have specialized financial needs – but they often underutilize many valuable financial products and services. How can you better connect with these consumers?

Marketing

Score More Sales

AUGUST 30, 2012

Is the reason most salespeople don’t sell as much as they’d like because of some mysterious reason that cannot be determined? If you are in sales, you’ll have your opinions about that. Before you think you’re sure, pick up a copy of Mike Weinberg’s new book, New Sales Simplified. Mike has written a book about the basics.

Prospecting 146

Prospecting Hiring Sports Cold Calling 146

The Sales Hunter

AUGUST 28, 2012

Salespeople are expected to respect their customer’s time, so you should too. This is why Secret #4 in my 10 Secrets to a Successful Sales Meeting is to start and end the sales meeting on time. (Be sure to also check out Secrets 1 , 2 , and 3.). The number of sales meetings I’ve attended that do not start on time is appalling. When I’ve asked sales managers why their sales meeting is starting late, I usually get a lame excuse about how that’s the way we’ve always

Sales Meeting 174

Sales Meeting Meeting Motivation Sales 174

Pointclear

AUGUST 28, 2012

Woke up in Gainesville, FL yesterday morning and headed out into light showers that ultimately approached tropical storm intensity before arriving in Orlando to heavy clouds but little rain. Prior to leaving Gainesville we searched for the not easy to find but definitely worth finding Peach Valley Café (ask for Lauren who my wife described as "a doll").

Conference 140

Conference Course Industry Marketing 140