February, 2024

article thumbnail

25 Sales Experts on the Importance of Coaching Salespeople

Understanding the Sales Force

According to the search results inside this blog, I have written on the topic of coaching salespeople more than 400 times or 25% of my articles. Why? Because sales managers are not coaching – still – at least not consistently or effectively. As a reminder, consistent daily coaching increases revenue by 28% and when it is paired with effective coaching, revenue increases by 43%.

Coaching 347
article thumbnail

Leaders: Here’s How to Drive Seller Productivity in 2024

SBI Growth

Sellers today have an unenviable job: buyers are increasingly conservative, and deals are taking longer to close. A survey from SBI in Q3 2023 shows that commercial leaders are feeling the effects, with a staggering 69% of CEOs seeing lower seller productivity. For sales leaders seeking to escalate growth projections in 2024, it’s time to rethink how sales enablement should be done.

Survey 317
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Qualities of a Great Sales Manager

Janek Performance Group

Every company looks for specific characteristics when seeking candidates for leadership roles. References and reputation only go so far in evaluating capabilities. For sales managers, look for qualities that build strong teams and motivate others to perform their best. Whether you seek a new hire or promotion, here are several essential qualities of sales managers.

article thumbnail

Should Your Company Hire a Fractional Sales Manager?

Anthony Cole Training

Many companies are struggling with finding talent in today’s environment, and it is particularly difficult to find top-notch sales management talent. Depending on the industry, this role can be a very expensive one to fill, and it is critical to get it right. Every organization needs to grow revenue, and this person is the driver of keeping your sales team focused on the right activities, target clients, industry knowledge, technology solutions, and most importantly, sales skills.

Hiring 332
article thumbnail

Smart Tools & Strong Teams: A People-First Approach to AI in Sales

Speaker: Matt Sunshine, CEO at The Center for Sales Strategy

AI isn’t replacing salespeople—it’s empowering them. The most forward-thinking sales organizations are using AI to enhance human performance rather than eliminate it. From coaching and messaging to prospecting and pipeline accountability, artificial intelligence is giving managers and SDRs the new tools they need to work smarter, sell better, and close more.

article thumbnail

A Seller’s Perspective on Enhancing Sales with AI

SBI Growth

As business leaders, we get excited when we think about just how much a Sales team empowered by artificial intelligence (AI) can achieve in terms of commercial productivity, but the reality is that most companies aren’t there yet because it’s a long learning process for everyone involved.

Sales 303

More Trending

article thumbnail

Beyond the Inbox: Rethinking Email Strategies in Modern Sales

The Center for Sales Strategy

Did you know that the first email was sent way back in 1971? That first “message” was a throwaway in terms of actual content. Engineer Ray Tomlinson, at the time, was exploring different ways for humans and computers to interact and sent himself a test email to see if his new idea worked. Ray had little idea how powerful and enduring the concept of electronic mail would end up becoming.

article thumbnail

Here are 12 Sales Coaching Resources You Want to Bookmark

Membrain

It’s no secret that I’ve been pushing the importance of coaching over the past several months. With the upcoming launch of our Coaching Cockpit this year, it’s definitely been top of mind for me.

article thumbnail

An Introduction to Using AI in Sales Prospecting

RAIN Group

Unless you’ve been on an extended media break, you’re aware that artificial Intelligence (AI) is making a splash across all industries of business. I’ve seen this as a practitioner. I work closely with client organizations and collaborate with senior executives, and I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about AI. What’s RAIN Group’s position on AI?

article thumbnail

4 Selfish Sales Tactics That Could Be Costing You Sales, According to Databox's CEO

Hubspot Sales

Welcome to "The Pipeline" — a weekly column from HubSpot, featuring actionable advice and insight from real sales leaders. Every time you use a selfish sales tactic, you’re destroying the trust between you and your buyer — but you’re not just hurting yourself. When a salesperson uses a slimy sales tactic, the entire sales profession takes one step backward.

article thumbnail

AI In The Aisles: The Executives Guide To Better In-Store Experiences

Speaker: Steve Worthy, MBA

The rapid rise of AI-powered displays, touchless technology, and sensory marketing is reshaping the future of in-store engagement. Yet for many retail executives, the real challenge is not identifying new tools - it is knowing which signals to trust, which inputs to prioritize, and how to architect decisions that elevate in-store leadership rather than dilute it.

article thumbnail

My Simple Step for Great Results

Engage Selling

Why making small, incremental improvements leads to big results. Let’s build a habit of continuous improvement! Also – don’t forget to check out: Curiosity isn’t just for cats! The post My Simple Step for Great Results first appeared on Colleen Francis - The Sales Leader.

article thumbnail

How Good Talent Can Realize Returns from Customer Success

SBI Growth

Knowing who to hire and what sort of traits to foster across an organization’s talent can go a long way in creating value for customers and seeing the business returns of customer success.

Customer 329
article thumbnail

Appeal to Their Heads and Hearts

Steven Rosen

David Hennessy , the VP of Sales at Kite Pharma, delves into his transformative moment as a sales leader, stressing the significance of active listening and strategic questioning. He underscores the necessity for a well-defined and compelling strategy that is effectively communicated to the sales team. David also highlights the crucial balance between the strategy’s rational and emotional facets, resonating with intellect and emotion.

article thumbnail

4 Rules to Help Your Salespeople Have Better Initial Calls

Anthony Cole Training

How important is it that you or your sales team close more business, more quickly at higher margins? We can guess that it is pretty important.

Margin 314
article thumbnail

How to Coach Reps on Overcoming Sales Objections with Confidence

Speaker: Brendan Sweeney, VP of Global Sales and David Phelan, Account Executive

In a world where buyers are more informed and objections are more nuanced, confidence isn't optional—it’s a competitive advantage. In high-stakes conversations, knowing how to handle pushback can make or break the deal. Join industry experts Brendan Sweeney and David Phelan for a behind-the-scenes look at how teams are transforming sales coaching with real-time feedback, objection-handling role plays, and pre-call preparation that actually sticks.

article thumbnail

5 Best Practices for Engaging Current Clients & Recruiting New Ones

Sales and Marketing Management

Many companies use sales and marketing efforts to address their clients’ symptoms, not the underlying problems. Here are five best practices to foster a dialogue that allows marketers to give B2B customers what they want. The post 5 Best Practices for Engaging Current Clients & Recruiting New Ones appeared first on Sales & Marketing Management.

B2B 296
article thumbnail

How to Handle, “Your Price is Too High”

Mr. Inside Sales

Based on how successful my last blog was on handling the objection: “We’ve Already Got a Vendor for That,” I thought I’d give you another proven response to help you overcome the objections and resistance you get daily. In this case, “Your Price is Too High.” The reason this is such a common objection is because your prospects have figured out it’s the best way to get sales reps to drop their price!

article thumbnail

How to Defuse a Price Objection

Engage Selling

Flip the script on pricing objections. How to bring them up early, navigate the conversation, and avoid last-minute price roadblocks. Also – don’t forget to check out: The #1 Source … The post How to Defuse a Price Objection first appeared on Colleen Francis - The Sales Leader.

article thumbnail

7 Focus Areas to Secure a Fast Start to 2024

SBI Growth

The transition into a new calendar year can create a period of adjustment that negatively impacts a company’s productivity and their growth trajectory if not managed well. In 2023, up to 49% of companies were adjusting their growth projections as early as the beginning of March. Q1 underperformance can often set the tone and momentum for the rest of the year if left unchecked.

Company 317
article thumbnail

From Curiosity to Competitive Edge: How Mid-Market CEOs Are Using AI to Scale Smarter

Speaker: Lee Andrews, Founder at LJA New Media & Tony Karrer, Founder and CTO at Aggregage

This session will walk you through how one CEO used generative AI, workflow automation, and sales personalization to transform an entire security company—then built the Zero to Strategy framework that other mid-market leaders are now using to unlock 3.5x ROI. As a business executive, you’ll learn how to assess AI opportunities in your business, drive adoption across teams, and overcome internal resource constraints—without hiring a single data scientist.

article thumbnail

Don Kent and My 8 Reasons For Inaccurate Sales Forecasts

Understanding the Sales Force

This article has a longer analogy build up then most, but it’s worth it. Earlier this week, the forecast called for a big nor’easter to drop 8-13 inches of heavy, wet snow in our area. We got 3 inches. It harkened me back to the good old days before the incredible weather technology we have now. When I was growing up in the 1960’s, I watched meteorologist Don Kent give his weather forecasts on WBZ channel 4 in Boston.

article thumbnail

Do Your Salespeople Have the Ability to Push Back?

Anthony Cole Training

One of the most important skills that a salesperson needs to possess is the ability to engage in what I refer to as “appropriate and respectful confrontation” with a prospect…at least when the need arises. For the sake of simplicity, let’s just refer to that as the ability to push back.

article thumbnail

5 Best Practices for Engaging Current Clients & Recruiting New Ones

Sales and Marketing Management

Many companies use sales and marketing efforts to address their clients’ symptoms, not the underlying problems. Here are five best practices to foster a dialogue that allows marketers to give B2B customers what they want. The post 5 Best Practices for Engaging Current Clients & Recruiting New Ones appeared first on Sales & Marketing Management.

B2B 296
article thumbnail

How to Handle, “I Want to Think About It.”

Mr. Inside Sales

Ah, the amorphous, “I want to think about it.” At first glance, this seems hard to handle because it’s not really an objection, rather, it seems more like a stall. Because of this, it fools many sales reps who think that perhaps after a week or two the prospect might actually buy. But they rarely do. Make no mistake: this is almost always a “no” disguised as a “maybe.

article thumbnail

Get Higher-Quality B2B Leads That Convert!

B2B marketers face a number of challenges, including: continuously generating great leads converting leads to active sales prospects finding vendors that deliver real results Aggregage has proven content syndication, webinar, online advertising and intent signal marketing programs that deliver higher-quality leads. More than 700 companies have already benefited from our programs.

article thumbnail

The #1 Source of Sales Friction

Engage Selling

Don’t be the obstacle in the sales process. Learn why buyer alignment is the key to accelerating a deal… Also – don’t forget to check out: It’s Not Always About … The post The #1 Source of Sales Friction first appeared on Colleen Francis - The Sales Leader.

Buyer 62
article thumbnail

Assess Your Revenue Growth Model to Improve Executive Alignment

SBI Growth

“Executive alignment is critical to growth and value creation. Nearly 75% of companies with high commercial momentum have go-to-market (GTM) leadership teams that are highly aligned.” This may sound like common sense to many executive leaders, but some companies can still have a hard time making this happen when their leaders don’t know where to start.

Revenue 316
article thumbnail

Whipped Cream! The Easiest Way to Lower Sales Resistance

Understanding the Sales Force

Dinger had his second ACL surgery in the past five months. While his recovery is on par with the recovery from his September surgery, this time he was much less willing – as in resistant – to taking all of his meds (pain, inflammatory and anti-biotic). Remembering that Dinger loves Starbucks’ Puppaccinos (whipped cream in a cup), my wife suggested that we hide the pills in a 1/4 cup of whipped cream.

article thumbnail

Achieving Sales Team Excellence – No Micro Managing!

Anthony Cole Training

Most organizations and sales managers think of accountability or performance management as “micro-managing.” Jim Collins has been quoted as saying “There is no such thing as 'micro-managing.' There is either managing or not managing.” There is a lot that a manager must bring to the table to be effective at setting standards and gaining accountability with their team.

Account 303
article thumbnail

State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.