Fill the Funnel

DECEMBER 3, 2012

This years Top Sales Books to Read in 2013. They represent the freshest, most innovative thinking on sales currently on the market and take into consideration the changing sales climate and competitive realities every sales rep and sales leader is facing. Top Sales Books to Read in 2013.

Face-to-face 132

Face-to-face Top of Funnel Call-back Social Media 132

A Sales Guy

DECEMBER 7, 2012

If you buy into the premise that it’s people behind success, which we should, then understanding your teams strenths and weaknesses should be at the core of your 2013 planning. Knowing that achieving your 2013 goals is directly dependent on your team, have you asked yourself are they up to the task? Do you move players out?

Sports 107

Sports Exercises Objections Positioning 107

Your Sales Management Guru

DECEMBER 3, 2012

Sales Leadership: 2013 Sales Theme. Last week I was speaking at a conference on: “ Building and Maintaining Sales Motivation ”, after the program several individuals came up to discuss my concept of a “Drive Statement. Then engage several team members to assist you in developing a sales theme or Drive Statement.

Sales Leadership 82

Sales Leadership Incentives Incentive Motivation 82

Understanding the Sales Force

MARCH 13, 2013

Sales Management must spend 50% of their time coaching salespeople like this: An enormous part of developing salespeople these days is helping them to differentiate themselves from your competitors. c) Copyright 2013 Dave Kurlan I will share the article I wrote for EcSell below. What did you learn? (c)

Coaching 264

Coaching Sales Management Decision Maker Competition 264

Increase Sales

JUNE 20, 2013

Believe it or not in spite of all the articles, books, sale training coaching and enterprise consulting on creating a culture of high performance, there are still Fortune 500 companies who are clueless when it comes to creating a united sales strategy where there exists a culture of collaboration among their sales management and team members.

Strategy 137

Strategy Hiring Coaching Conference 137

Anthony Cole Training

MARCH 19, 2013

During their annual conference, many topics, methods, strategies, and product evaluations are presented and discussed. There are several GREAT speakers in the general sessions, but it is not a conference where you will find constant discussions about the art and science of selling or sales management.

Hiring 198

Hiring Banking Survey Conference 198

Sales Training Connection

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

Sales Coaching. Front-line sales managers are the “pivotal job” for improving sales productivity. That means – if companies want to improve sales revenue and optimize sales profitability, they should do everything they can to make sure front-line sales managers are doing what they should be doing.

Sales Management 132

Sales Management Coaching Pivotal Sales Coaching 132

Increase Sales

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

The reality is much of the organizational structure for mid size to small businesses (SMB) today including having a sales manager is based on some of the practices of years gone by much larger companies with over 100 employees and multiple locations. Possibly by having a sales manager, you have created a hurdle for your sales team?

Sales Management 146

Sales Management Hiring Webinar Metrics Sales Leadership 146

DiscoverOrg Sales

DECEMBER 4, 2017

In fact, according to the CSO Insights 2016 Sales Enablement Optimization Study , the number of businesses with a dedicated enablement function has increased from 19% to 33% since 2013. This is likely because enablement strategies are wide-ranging in scope, meaning it can be difficult to know which aspects to prioritize.

Sales Enablement 295

Sales Enablement Collateral Decision Maker Study 295

Sales Training Connection

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

You need a superior sales team and maintaining a superior sales team requires f ront-line sales managers who coach and who are good at it. But for sales managers to be good at coaching, feedback must run both ways. From the sales rep perspective the feedback can take two very different forms: 1.

Sales Management 117

Sales Management Coaching Sales Coaching Training 117

Understanding the Sales Force

DECEMBER 18, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan My vision, of how the future of selling is shaping up, appears in today''s (the December 18, 2013) issue of Top Sales Magazine. This issue also features the 2013 Award Winners of the Top Sales & Marketing Awards in 18 Categories. I congratulate all of them!!

Sales Talent 235

Sales Talent Video Course Up-Sell 235

The Sales Hunter

MAY 21, 2014

Far too many salespeople and sales managers are still living as if it is 2013 or even 2010. Things change and they change quickly, and if your sales process and strategies aren’t keeping pace, then you’re going to find yourself closing fewer sales.

Consultative Selling 241

Consultative Selling Selling Skills Closing Sales Process 241

Sales Training Connection

JUNE 6, 2013

Sales rep to sales manager transition. You were a top sales person. You’ve just been promoted to sales manager – you have a team of 12 sales reps. The good news is you now have the pivotal job for improving the sales effectiveness of your organization. Remember you are now a sales manager.

Sales Management 124

Sales Management Top of Funnel Pivotal Coaching 124

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 3, 2012

One of the biggest problems a VP of Sales faces is prioritization. Prioritization through 3 lenses: What sales productivity problems should you fix in 2013? This post is written for the VP of Sales trying to determine which sales productivity problem to prioritize and which ones to ignore. H ow to Sequence.

Scale 282

Scale Face-to-face Promotion Lead Rank 282

Steven Rosen

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

New book helps sales managers unlock hidden sales potential (available in paperback). The sales manager is the pivotal person in the sales-driven organization, and Steven’s book shows you how to excel!” Get you copy now and be ready to take sales to a new level in 2013.

Hiring 296

Hiring Pivotal Sales Talent Small Business 296

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 8, 2013

Jason Brick’s article, “ Take Your Team From Worst To First: Leadership Lessons From The Boston Red Sox ,” shares four leadership lessons from Red Sox manager, John Farrell, who took his team from the bottom of their division last year to the 2013 World Series. These strategies include: Use Influence, Not Authority.

Small Business 237

Small Business Small Business Enterprise Enterprise 237

SBI Growth

JANUARY 2, 2013

But you can excel in 2013 because of your shortcomings in 2012. And with these answers come chances for improvement in 2013. Talent Assessment of Sales Leadership and Sales Reps. Build specific competency and accountability based scorecards for Sales Leadership and Sales Reps. What about a “qualified lead?”

Lead Rank 267

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Lead Lead Gen 267

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 14, 2012

Two simple strategies: Increase your access to coaching. 66% of Sales Reps believe that increasing the time invested by sales managers would help to increase their sales. You’re at a point in the year where you are discussing 2013. Your manager obviously wants you to succeed and hit these numbers.

Ideal Customer Profile 300

Ideal Customer Profile Lead Rank Lead Scoring Analysis 300

Sales Training Connection

OCTOBER 11, 2013

Developing an account strategy. The importance of selling strategically is an idea repeated time and time again – the larger and more complex the sale, the louder the advice. In major accounts, one-size-does-not-fit-all is a cornerstone proposition for formulating a winning account strategy. Confusing goals and strategy.

Account 110

Account Strategy Negotiation Pivotal 110

Sales Training Connection

JUNE 19, 2013

Medical device sales and sales managers. The cornerstone for making the adjustment will be the front-line sales manager. The same report showed the sales difference between the top 25% and bottom 25% of sales managers was a stunning 80%. Get serious about sales training and development.

Pivotal 100

Pivotal Health Care Hiring Sales Management 100

Sales Training Connection

JANUARY 14, 2013

Sales managers. A year ago, we published a post on the importance of sales managers to assess their prior year’s performance and to incorporate the results of that self-assessment into their plans for the new year. Good managers are always asking themselves and others about what they could do better or differently.

Sales Management 114

Sales Management Face-to-face Coaching Construction 114

Score More Sales

JULY 31, 2013

As a younger sales manager, I was wrong 75% of the time when hiring who I thought would be a stellar sales producer using my gut. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

Hiring 183

Hiring Lead Rank Lead Scoring Compensation 183

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Congratulations, your organization is launching a new product in 2013! As the leader of sales operations, I am sure you are working on: Updating CRM systems with new product information. Revising or building a new sales process to enable sales reps. Focus on new product sales. Determine Sales Expectations.

Compensation 244

Compensation Incentives Incentive Penetration 244

SBI Growth

DECEMBER 4, 2012

A post for Sales and HR leaders to ensure success of 2013’s Sales compensation plan. Fast forward to April of 2013. A Chief Sales Officer is meeting with Sales VPs and the VP of Sales Operations. They are trying to decide between keeping and scrapping the recently-implemented Sales Comp Plans.

Compensation 292

Compensation Channels Fashion Construction 292

SBI

MARCH 20, 2018

A dozen years ago, if you asked the average sales leader about their sales enablement strategy, the likely response would’ve been, “Huh?”. It’s not as if companies in years past weren’t training and enabling their sales forces; it’s just that the term “enablement” wasn’t yet a common part of the B2B sales lexicon.

Sales Enablement 139

Sales Enablement Hiring Face-to-face Course 139

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

Last year you got your 2013 quota in mid-February. This caused mass confusion, frustration and demotivation on your sales team. Do you have enough sales people to cover the new quota? Set up a planning session with your sales managers immediately. What/How do I train my sales people to generate more demand?

Quota 296

Quota Demand Generation Targets Demand Generation Negotiation 296

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 11, 2014

There''s talent, and then there''s the ability to utilize one''s talent and most sports talent evaluators are no better at this then most sales managers. Most postings are horrible and most are not placed using ideal strategies. Do you need to transform your sales force? c) Copyright 2013 Dave Kurlan'

Sales Talent 263

Sales Talent Hiring Sports Tools 263

SBI Growth

JULY 22, 2013

You have to make the rest of 2013 with the sales heads you have.” Sign up for SBI’s 7th annual research tour: " How to Make Your Number in 2014: A Sales Strategy You Can Execute." There are 10 best practices Sales VPs have taken to ensure this doesn’t happen. Sales people like to be included in a team environment.

Hiring 325

Hiring Top of Funnel How To Social Selling 325

The Sales Hunter

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

The reason is simple: Confidence creates confidence, which in turn creates more sales. . Sales managers who are reading this should implement this strategy, and the way to do it is by making sure each salesperson has a standard voicemail message ready to go and a couple of questions they can ask anytime.

Prospecting 250

Prospecting Motivation Objections Up-Sell 250

Score More Sales

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

This was a tip I learned from one of the most favorite of my 21 sales managers over my selling career – a former IBM top sales rep and leader who would say this so regularly that it was ingrained in my 20-something brain and has been there ever since. Create sales messaging around these buyer types.

Inside Sales 222

Inside Sales Lead Rank Lead Scoring Buyer Persona 222

Score More Sales

JULY 8, 2013

Looking back over my sales career I would have to say that my focus, for the role I had at any given time, varied due to a number of things – external and internal to the company I worked for. I have also managed sales teams.

Inside Sales 218

Inside Sales Lead Rank Lead Scoring Distribution 218

A Sales Guy

OCTOBER 16, 2012

To stop the cycle, sales leaders and the CEO need the discipline to spend Q4 focusing on the team and the organization in addition to Q4 revenue and closing out the year. Starting the new year right, and in this case 2013, means having the right structure, people, processess, and strategies in place. revenue growth. and more.

Margin 117

Margin Territories Channels Sports 117

Delicious Sales

MAY 2, 2012

Sales (12918). Sales Management (2614). Inside Sales (849). Outside Sales (81). Strategy (4418). 2013 (4691). THE SALES HUNTER AUGUST 12, 2013 Is Your Sales Process Slow or Fast? Is your sales process slow or fast? Topics Major Topics. Marketing (6398). Training (4995).

Lead Rank 99

Lead Rank Leads360 Lead Scoring Top of Funnel 99

Understanding the Sales Force

JULY 8, 2013

Need for Approval takes quite some time to overcome and, that''s only when sales managers know how to recognize it and help their salespeople overcome it. The only thing more detrimental to sales success than Need for Approval is #1, their ego. In the end, it requires more than most sales managers are capable of providing.

Consultative Selling 259

Consultative Selling Margin Sports Sales Methodology 259

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

You’re completing 2013 and building your marketing strategy for 2014. Maybe you are supporting sales with a CRM implementation, linking your marketing collateral into each phase. Asking a couple of sales reps does not constitute understanding the buyer. User buyer examples: Sales reps by vertical. Buyer insights.

Eloqua 316

Eloqua Marketo Buyer Persona Collateral 316

Understanding the Sales Force

MAY 9, 2014

The salespeople charged with selling to and through a channel are different - in many ways - and their goals, expectations, activities, skill sets and strategies must be different as well. In this case, it doesn''t matter how good your sales management is or how talented your salespeople become.

Channels 221

Channels Retail Hotels Territories 221

Score More Sales

JULY 17, 2013

Jim Crisera of The TAS Group spoke next and really caught my attention because of the great statistics he shared based on their research: Only half of sales reps can access key players at a prospect company – 54% to be exact. 30% of reps don’t develop a competitive strategy. Sales managers should hire learners, not students.

Hiring 192

Hiring B2B Video Lead Rank 192