The Pipeline

MARCH 19, 2019

With regularity, most active sales trainers and I get the following question: “When is the best time to prospect?”. First, wanting to stay real and all, what they are really looking for is either a reason not to prospect or absolution from having not prospected for a while for all the wrong and usual reasons.

Prospecting 306

Prospecting Proposal Cold Calling Quota 306

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

Last week I saw a piece on LinkedIn, that questioned the accuracy of predictions about the future of B2B sales and selling made in the past decade. In a piece I posted on July 19, 2011 , I questioned another mainstream piece forecasting a dramatic decline in B2B sellers and the nature of their role. By Tibor Shanto. Segmenting.

Revenue 370

Revenue Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank 370

Partners in Excellence

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

I’ve noticed a huge gap in how we equip and train our sellers, how we help them engage our customers in high impact conversations that focus on them and their problems, not pitching our projects. Where am I failing, where can I do better, what am I doing wrong?” For example, some years ago, someone was prospecting me.

Analysis 113

Analysis Conversion Training Examples 113

Shari Levitin

AUGUST 23, 2023

Take time to reflect and ask yourself these questions: Do you still need outdated frameworks? Take time to reflect and ask yourself these questions: Do you still need outdated frameworks? Do they energize sellers and increase deal success? So how do sellers cut through the clutter and guide buyers to a decision?

Workbooks 118

Workbooks Decision Maker Case Study Sales 118

Partners in Excellence

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

One of the biggest mistakes I see sellers and marketers making is depending on AI for answers. “AI does not answer questions… ”* Some of you are saying, “Dave, you are crazy, I go to ChatGPT, Gemini, Bard everyday and pose questions. . But it doesn’t answer questions.

Face-to-face 116

Face-to-face Journal Research Tools 116

The Pipeline

JANUARY 14, 2020

The whole notion of “lead to, not with,” having the conversation lead to a product question. The whole notion of “lead to, not with,” having the conversation lead to a product question. Many sellers only deal with buyers already in Decision mode. One of those is thinking. Leave The Product In The Car. Put a lot of “leads?”

Lead Rank 250

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Buyer Objections 250

Partners in Excellence

MARCH 6, 2023

We get the Discovery process wrong–period, full stop. Our product has these capabilities… ” They end it by asking to schedule a meeting or demo. Our product has these capabilities… ” They end it by asking to schedule a meeting or demo. Some fewer sellers do a much better job at discovery.

Face-to-face 107

Face-to-face Buying Cycle Customer Positioning 107

Partners in Excellence

JUNE 1, 2023

Earlier in the day, I had been looking at a ChatGPT led training program for sellers. As part of the program design, it suggested it engaging sellers in role plays. After describing a potential selling situation, I suggested a role play, where ChatGPT was the seller and I was the customer. See ChatGPT Pitch !

Scale 86

Scale Exercises Analysis Up-Sell 86

Sales and Marketing Management

JUNE 29, 2020

Ironically, the best sales professionals today are leading the way by avoiding one of the most common, most compassionate questions we hear in the COVID-19 crisis: “How can I help?” If the ultimate open-ended question is the wrong one to ask, what’s the right discussion choreography? Lead with insight. especially now.

Lead Rank 295

Lead Rank Face-to-face Travel Intent 295

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

It seems many in sales feel the best way to show how smart they are, is to have all the answers at the ready, and feel compelled to bark an answer as soon as the prospect asks, sometimes even before. So, while being right is great for grade 8 English test, it may move the dial the wrong way in a given deal.

Buyer 185

Buyer Guarantee Objections Proposal 185

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 20, 2020

One question I always when helping sales teams prospect better, is “why B2B professionals don’t like to telephone prospecting?” The question is how good you are at managing the objection, so it doesn’t lead to rejection. Much better learners than sellers. By Tibor Shanto. The first answer is always predictable, rejection.

Objections 262

Objections Call-back Face-to-face Margin 262

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 24, 2019

Over the years, I have found that some of my best prospect interviews have come as a result of something another prospect asked me. This not done in any underhanded way; the opposite, it requires sellers to alter their focus. Recycling questions have several advantages other than adding to your assets and value. By Tibor Shanto.

Prospecting 205

Prospecting Training SME ROI 205

The Pipeline

JULY 7, 2021

Want to split a room of salespeople, just ask if “sales is a numbers game or not?” Ultimately, neither can convince the other that they were wrong, but neither can say they were right. Simple questions, like of ten prospects who enter Discovery, how many will take a proposal. By Tibor Shanto. Numbers Are Here To Stay.

Discount 361

Discount Quota Sports Objections 361

Partners in Excellence

FEBRUARY 17, 2024

For instance, as sellers, we are looking for customers that have the problems we solve. We ask the questions to identify “the problem.” So, as sellers, we may think we have found the right customer and opportunity, but, in reality, we have mis-diagnosed the problem. So our diagnostic process is very biased.

Cancellation 77

Cancellation Face-to-face Inbound Opportunity 77

Partners in Excellence

APRIL 14, 2023

Every week, I am asked to participate in a number of interviews/webcast/discussions about the “Future of Selling.” There are phenomenal changes–new technologies, shifts in global economies, social changes that have a profound impact on sellers.

Negotiation 84

Negotiation Buyer Competition Tools 84

Zoominfo

JUNE 28, 2021

It is a marketing channel that enables two-way communication between buyers and sellers to provide critical buying information that accelerates their path to purchase. The other major problem in B2B marketing is pushy messaging, which includes asking for email or spamming the whole page with pop-up ads. Problem #2: Pushy marketing.

Conversion 246

Conversion Marketing Lead Capture Face-to-face 246

Zoominfo

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

This type of approach often drives sellers to employ a “find-out-what’s-wrong-and-fix-it” mindset. Sellers hear a buyer’s complaint and often jump to problem-solving far too quickly. To become one of these top performing sales reps, you must know what questions to ask. Keep reading to learn more!

Buyer 241

Buyer Scale Groups Sales Methodology 241

The Pipeline

JANUARY 7, 2020

If sellers don’t master human to human communication, it will limit the benefit they derive from their technology. If sellers don’t master human to human communication, it will limit the benefit they derive from their technology. Now comes the real hard part, breaking it to the woman in question. Data Is Blind.

Face-to-face 257

Face-to-face Lead Gen Hiring Google 257

Partners in Excellence

JANUARY 11, 2023

There’s a lot of excitement from sellers about the power of AI tools like ChatGPT, we can inflict infinite amounts of content on unsuspecting prospects. Sellers of all types are foaming at the mouth about how we leverage this tool to expand our outreach. I went into ChatGPT posing a series of questions.

Buyer 87

Buyer Vendor Face-to-face Buying Cycle 87

Janek Performance Group

APRIL 15, 2024

By stressing long-term relationships over short-term sales, sellers should form partnerships and work with buyers to achieve the best outcomes. However, while both sides have their wants, and one side’s needs should not supersede the other’s, it is still essential that sellers control the tone, tenor, and timing of the negotiation.

Negotiation 62

Negotiation Decision Maker Discount Lead Rank 62

Partners in Excellence

MARCH 11, 2024

ChatGPT and its colleagues are, too often, a debilitating cheat for sellers who don’t want to put in the work. Don’t get me wrong, these tools are very powerful and helpful. I leverage them constantly through my day, but for very different purposes than the majority of sellers. The key industry and market drivers.

Ideal Customer Profile 107

Ideal Customer Profile Face-to-face Engineering Industry 107

Partners in Excellence

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

The idea that sellers and buyers could be in perfect synchronization throughout the process, marching logically through it, culminating in a purchase decision has persisted for decades. For decades, many sellers pretended the only thing that mattered was marching effectively and efficiently through the selling process.

Buyer 120

Buyer Face-to-face B2B Up-Sell 120

SalesProInsider

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

It’s about not wasting valuable resources by doing “it” wrong and being unable to “undo” it. The Missing Ingredient in Successful Preparation What too many sellers often fail to include in their preparation is outlining the actual conversation. Let’s start with an old adage: “Measure twice, cut once.” We need to prepare twice.

Conversion 93

Conversion Objections Video Google 93

Shari Levitin

JUNE 29, 2020

As our team gathered virtually, I asked the only question I could think of, “How will we replace this revenue?” As we revisited our five core values: consumer centricity, empathy, creativity, positivity, and curiosity, we realized something: we had been asking the wrong question. This wasn’t the time for an ask.

Hiring 165

Hiring How To Cancellation Case Study 165

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

Most would agree that questions are the most powerful weapon; a seller has at their disposal. But day after day you see sellers come to play with either the wrong questions, dull questions or just plain stupid questions. In this case knowing what the prospect was thinking about the presentation.

Follow-up 282

Follow-up Up-Sell Pipeline Buyer 282

The Pipeline

MAY 22, 2018

To add greater credence to their word, they pointed to the fact that sellers now have to deal with a more discerning and informed buyer. The question is not that they got it wrong, but why, and more importantly, what happens if their current predictions are not any more accurate? Being Wrong Is Not All Bad.

Lead Rank 212

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Sage Segment 212

Alice Heiman

JUNE 25, 2020

Do this and you’ll hear customers ask the magic question : “Can you do that for me?” . The question “Can you do that for me?” But c ustomers almost never ask that when sellers talk about products. They only ask it when sellers talk about problem s. . Why Demos Don’t Work.

Banking 147

Banking Buyer Meeting Conversion 147

The Pipeline

MARCH 20, 2018

” This last one has always amused me, ask a group of ten salespeople about the 80/20 rule, and they all buy in, even while knowing that only two of them can on the right side of the line. .” The Question. But you can change those numbers and by extension your sales outcomes. Here Is Why.

Face-to-face 205

Face-to-face Buyer Lead Rank Lead Scoring 205

Sales and Marketing Management

APRIL 26, 2020

And yet, as we have seen in most downturns, a new population of super star sellers are born from the worst possible conditions. Ironically, the best sales professionals today are leading the way by avoiding one of the most common, most compassionate questions we hear in the COVID-19 crisis: “How can I help?”

Lead Rank 207

Lead Rank Survey Face-to-face Study 207

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 3, 2017

And they’re not asking for referrals. Ask these questions to determine the real problem: What was the lead generation system? Seller beware!). Did your account based sales reps ask discovery questions to identify prospects’ real problems and recommend relevant solutions? Closing is never the problem.

Account 220

Account Closing Sales Qualified Lead Referrals 220

Partners in Excellence

JANUARY 15, 2023

We know questions are important, but somehow they seem to slow us down. Most sellers rush to providing answers, to pitching products, features, advantages, benefits. Sellers carefully filter through qualification and discovery questions, trying to narrow them to the critical few that enable them to launch into a pitch.

Face-to-face 68

Face-to-face Objections Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank 68

Partners in Excellence

APRIL 26, 2023

What really differentiates sellers in helping customers in complex B2B buying processes? But too often, sellers don’t engage customers in these conversations, so they focus on price. Yet, there is no end to tricks and gimmicks foisted on sellers as silver bullets to capture buyer attention. Is it the price of the solution?

Buying Cycle 89

Buying Cycle Buyer B2B Sales Enablement 89

Partners in Excellence

MARCH 8, 2023

More importantly, people are asking the question and taking surveys on the topic, “Will AI replace sales people?” ” I guess, having so many years working in selling and with sellers, these questions provoke a bored yawn. Will AI replace sellers? Of course, and it should! No surprise!

Face-to-face 68

Face-to-face Groups Course Survey 68

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

Because I wanted to focus on a specific question, I glossed over the question I am sure many had as I set out a scenario, specifically when we ask sellers: “Who is your best prospect?”. Talk about a loaded question inviting interpretation and misinterpretations. They are the furthest down the pipe”. “I

Prospecting 274

Prospecting Forecasting Call-back Pipeline 274

SBI

JUNE 1, 2021

Three Impactful Approaches High-Performing Enterprise Sellers Practice for Deal Strategy Conversations. Sellers need more help with deal strategy and execution to make quota. The Status Quo is Your Biggest Threat As a sales leader, coach and seller, I have been on both sides of deal reviews and strategy conversations.

Conversion 77

Conversion Strategy Forecasting Coaching 77

Partners in Excellence

DECEMBER 16, 2022

It appears, for the time being, CHATGPT is architected to provide as balanced an answer to a question as it can, neither taking a strong position one way or another. It appears, for the time being, CHATGPT is architected to provide as balanced an answer to a question as it can, neither taking a strong position one way or another.

Cold Calling 68

Cold Calling Licensing Face-to-face Tools 68

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 10, 2019

Remember all those sages who predicted that the population of professional sellers would decline by 25%. This is not to suggest that these people are all wrong or intentionally misleading people, just buyer beware. Many post-Lehman Brothers sellers grew up when it was easy to believe that tech is the “why.” By Tibor Shanto.

Sage 218

Sage Up-Sell Buyer Benefit 218