February, 2019

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How to Adapt to the Well-Educated Modern Buyer

Sales and Marketing Management

Author: Kelly Bosetti Salespeople once played a significant role in educating buyers about their options and helping them come to a decision regarding a product or service, but times are changing. In many ways, the average customer now carries the sum of all human knowledge in their pocket on their smartphones. Because of this, it’s no surprise that the buyer’s journey has undergone a fundamental shift.

Education 330
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Move The Close Date – Not The Open Date

The Pipeline

By Tibor Shanto. Salespeople are preoccupied with closing; makes sense, that seems to be where the pay-off is for everyone, at times even the prospect. However, the biggest challenge most sales organizations have is not closing but opening. The reason most salespeople or teams miss quota is not that they can’t close, they just don’t have enough opportunities to close.

Closing 292
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How To Handle A Client That Wants A Bigger Discount

MTD Sales Training

There are many times when a sale can stall in its progress and there are many reasons for it occurring. One of the most common is the issue of price, where a prospect has not yet seen the value of paying the price for your products or services. Why does this happen? Naturally, it’s because people associate what they have to pay with how useful the solution will be for their current situation.

Discount 199
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The Forgetting Curve Has a Cure

No More Cold Calling

What do you remember from your last training? The way we’ve been learning is all wrong. Remember cramming for tests? I do, and while I usually did well on my exams, I didn’t retain much of anything. I’ve heard for years that people forget 70 percent of what they learn in a professional training class within 24 hours of the event. That isn’t learning at all.

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5 Inspiring B2B Marketing Campaigns to Take Yours to the Next Level

Your next big B2B marketing idea starts here. Get inspired with these five successful B2B marketing campaigns. Ready to generate more leads, interest, and revenue with your B2B marketing? In this comprehensive eBook, you’ll get: In-depth studies of five successful B2B marketing campaigns spanning a wide range of industries Key takeaways and lessons from each story to implement in your own strategy Resources to help your own B2B marketing thrive By submitting this form, you agree to have your con

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Hiring Salespeople Should Not be Like a Coin Flip

Understanding the Sales Force

Hiring the right salespeople has always been problematic for most companies but with the shortage of quality sales candidates, it's more difficult than ever. The pressure to fill a role often causes sales management to hire the best of the pool of candidates instead of the right candidate. What's the difference you ask? The difference is huge, especially if you have a complex sale, a long sales cycle, or a lot of competition.

Hiring 263

More Trending

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Make Your Sales Force Your Loyalty Program

Sales and Marketing Management

Author: John Larson A few weeks ago I was having lunch with a friend, a successful executive who has run large sales organizations for three different companies. She is a forceful executive with clear ideas of how “things should be done.” On this particular day, she appeared a bit frazzled and distracted. I asked her what was the matter and she said, “For the last 12 years, I have had all my key financial accounts with Bank XYZ – a fund for my daughter’s college education and my mortgage, plus m

Loyalty 290
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3 Proven Voicemail Tips

The Pipeline

By Tibor Shanto. While it has been near 40 years that voicemail has been the constant companion to sales professionals, it still seems to challenge many, especially when it comes to connecting with unknown buyers. “How do you get them to call you back and still hold your own?” Most salespeople I speak to, opt out and don’t leave a message the first time to an unknown prospect.

Call-back 262
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Set Yourself Up for Successful Prospecting: Truths 41-50

The Sales Hunter

Sales is not a destination; sales is a journey of continual learning. Throughout my many years of selling, I have been constantly gaining new insights and ideas. The discussion continues about whether sales is an art or a science. People are quick to point out the number of new sales tools created by advances in technology; however, all of this is just noise.

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There’s a Difference Between Being Alone and Being Lonely

No More Cold Calling

“Imagination is the highest form of research.” —Albert Einstein. Ever have a good idea pop into your head, seemingly out of nowhere? We all have, but I bet it didn’t happen when you were heads-down working on a project, facing a demanding deadline, running late for a meeting, yelling at the stupid drivers who cut you off, or in the middle of some other intense experience.

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Brick & Mortar Retail Relevance: How to Stay Ahead of the Curve

Speaker: Jay Black, Senior Account Executive

Let's set the record straight: in-store retail isn't dead - it's evolving! Faced with the digital age and the demands of omnichannel shopping, some retailers are thriving while others are struggling to adapt. Join Jay Black in this exclusive session as he explores the strategies that set successful stores apart, including: Crafting unique and unforgettable in-store experiences 🛍️ Mastering the art of retail demands 🛒 Navigating inventory challenges in today's climate 📦 an

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Follow These 5 Steps When Preparing For A Sales Meeting

MTD Sales Training

Having achieved the goal of setting a sales meeting with a customer or prospect, what would be the best way to ensure, as much as possible, its success? Follow these five ideas in order to make sure you are fully prepared and confident when approaching the meeting: 1) Have a clear purpose. As the saying goes, if you have a big enough ‘why’ you can achieve any ‘how’.

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The Secret Code to Mastering Mindset

Jeffrey Gitomer

From Mindful to Mindset, Part 1. The personal development buzzword for the last decade or so has been MINDSET. Here’s a bit of history and explanation…. NAPOLEON HILL is the grandfather of MINDSET. His definition was “concentration” combined with the elements of enthusiasm, self-confidence, a chief major aim, and providing more service than you are paid for.

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Empowering B2B Sellers Through Sales Technology

Sales and Marketing Management

Author: Matt Suggs More than ever before, buyers can scan hundreds of reviews and articles about a product online, forming opinions before they even interact with a sales representative for the first time. Modern sellers must evolve their sales approach, reinventing their pitch to include information that can’t be found on the internet. To be successful, it’s time to focus on the value of the company and leave the stagnant sales decks behind.

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Obquestions – Sellers’ Objections To Buyers

The Pipeline

By Tibor Shanto. Not all objections are fatal, most, based on how we interpret and handle them, can usually add to the conversation and ultimately to converting the objecting prospect to a client. While there is a lot more to succeeding in sales than handling objections, mishandling them is usually fatal, and is why most salespeople dread objections.

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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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Salespeople Make This Mistake - The Dumb Question I Was Asked in a Hotel Restaurant

Understanding the Sales Force

I pulled up to the entrance of the Doubletree Hotel, greeted Chris, and we walked into the hotel restaurant. As we approached the table, a well-meaning server asked, are you an Honors member? I said, "yes.".

Hotels 218
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You Don’t Have Time to Ask for Referrals? [February Referral Selling Insights]

No More Cold Calling

If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Two colleagues complained they were so involved in their work, they didn’t have time to prospect. One guy even said he was thinking of cold calling (shudder) and doing more marketing. Why didn’t he think to ask for referrals? That’s a rhetorical question. I already know the answer. People are so focused on their projects, and they don’t make time to prospect.

Referrals 233
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What You Like Doesn’t Matter

The Sales Heretic

So I’m sitting around with a bunch of friends, and we’re discussing really important stuff, when somehow the subject of potato chips comes up. (Possibly because we were eating them.) Within a few seconds, our friendly discussion morphed into a heated debate on the merits of regular potato chips versus “Kettle-Cooked” potato chips. Both sides [.].

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List Segmentation: The Key to Email Marketing

Zoominfo

No matter how many times we’re told email marketing is dead, the channel continues to be an effective way to generate revenue. In fact, studies show that email marketing has a 4400% return on investment ( source ). But, that’s only if you do it correctly. The days of batch and blast emails are long gone. It’s no longer good enough to send your entire customer database the same offers.

Segment 219
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The Battle of the Authoring Tools: A 10-Point Comparison for Picking the Right One

Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions

There are plenty of great authoring tools for developing eLearning, but the one you select could directly impact your course's outcomes. Depending upon your learners’ needs and your organization’s performance goals, you could be overlooking considerations that impact the both effectiveness of your courses and how long it takes to finish them. From general capabilities to specific workflow structures, some aspects are critical when it comes to learning objectives and deadlines.

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5 Changes to Your Office Environment That Can Boost Sales Effectiveness

Sales and Marketing Management

Author: Dean Stier All successful sales teams share common qualities regardless of what industry they are in. Winning teams have a strong culture of communication and know what their goals are, they are part of a collaborative environment where best practices can move throughout the organization. They are comprised of energetic self-starters that are hungry to close the deal.

Study 216
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Getting On The Right Timeline

The Pipeline

By Tibor Shanto. Many in sales believe that there will be no action by a buyer unless there is a compelling event. Not here to argue that, it certainly helps when the buyer is already motivated by a deadline, an immovable one is that much better. The challenge is that any given point in time, at best about 10% of your B2B market has a compelling event, these are Actively looking buyers, what we like to call the “57 percenters!

SME 225
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I'm Sorry But Your Sales Process Sucks

Understanding the Sales Force

Perhaps you saw this too. Yesterday, a post appeared in my LinkedIn feed that talked about the power of sales process. The article was clearly written to support the author's technology application, which helps track sales KPI's; so they should know a little about the topic of sales process. Towards the end of the article, they provided a sample of what an effective sales process should look like.

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Does Your Resource Plan Start at the C-Suite?

SBI Growth

“Strategy is simply resource allocation. When you strip away all the noise, that’s what it comes down to.” – Jack Welch. As the CEO, your job is to execute against your corporate strategy. To do this, you must align your resources.

Resources 208
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Mastering Intent Data: Understanding its Importance & Best Practices

Speaker: Joe Apfelbaum, CEO of Ajax Union

In this webinar, Joe Apfelbaum, CEO of Ajax Union and business strategist, will take you through the ABCs of intent data. You'll learn how to effectively use it to drive business results, with practical tips on how to leverage both company and contact intent data to maximize your marketing efforts. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just getting started, this webinar is a must-attend for anyone looking to stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing.

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Product Knowledge is Overrated

The Sales Heretic

Companies spend thousands—even millions—of dollars every year training their salespeople and sales channels on the minutia of their products and services. In fact, many companies use the term “sales training” when what they really mean is “product training.” And that’s a mistake. Because product knowledge is not enough. If product knowledge was all that mattered, [.].

Channels 204
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How to Be a Memorable Salesperson Part 7: Encourage Your Buyers

Connect2Sell

Now that we’re more than halfway through this CONNECT2Sell series on how to become a more memorable as a seller, be sure to go back and catch up on any posts you’ve missed. We’re covering 12 different ways you can make a lasting impression with buyers. The benefits for you of becoming more memorable include differentiation, competitive advantage, confidence, getting more referrals, and making more sales.

Buyer 203
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4 Steps to Crafting Compelling Value Propositions

Sales and Marketing Management

Author: Jennifer Tomlinson Consumer choice has never been greater. In fact, you can expect 30,000 new products to hit the market each year. With competition so immense, and the chances of failure so high (at a rate of 95 percent, to be exact), attention should be paid to delivering value to your target audience. One of the most effective ways is to focus on your value proposition.

Lead Rank 214
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The Data Will Bring Us Together: Relationship Therapy with Sales and Marketing

DiscoverOrg Sales

The process of sales and marketing alignment is so fraught with assumptions, misunderstandings, and disagreement that we think both departments need a relationship therapy session! Marketing has certain data needs. Sales has others. Sales uses a CRM … but the marketing automation system might not integrate. Marketing says their leads are qualified – but Sales doesn’t trust them.

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Boost B2B Sales Productivity & ROI Growth with Automation

Business-to-Business (B2B) sales can be a complex and time-consuming process, involving a variety of tasks such as lead generation, qualification, and nurturing. However, by leveraging the power of Workflow & CRM automation System, companies can boost sales productivity and drive ROI growth. Automation allows companies to streamline their sales processes, reduce manual errors, and improve communication and collaboration among teams.

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What Is Sales?

The Sales Hunter

Sales leadership is nothing more than interacting with others to make a positive impact. We can break it down even further and say that sales leadership is just people connecting with people. Sales and leadership are one and the same. Sales is only as complicated as we want to make it. I feel like we too often over complicate it and then wonder why our customers aren’t buying.

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Building an Accurate Business Model is the Key to Ensuring Product Launch Success

SBI Growth

So, you have a new product investment you are excited about. How do you ensure that your idea holds up to leadership scrutiny, and has a big enough ROI to be considered a success? Understanding and building a business model.

ROI 193
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The Definitive Guide to Conversational Marketing

Zoominfo

As with most business functions, technology is drastically changing the way we market our products and services. We’ve long since understood the power of one-to-one marketing, but without modern technology, it wasn’t always feasible, scalable, or affordable. So, instead of one-to-one interactions, marketers relied on one-to-many marketing tactics– i.e. email, social media, direct mail, billboards, etc.