Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 15, 2012

Issue Date: 2012-09-16. Author: Beverly Kaye and Julie Winkle Giulioni. Teaser: Study after study confirms that best-in-class managers – the ones who consistently develop the most capable, flexible and engaged teams able to drive exceptional business results – all share one quality: they make career development a priority. Study after study confirms that best-in-class managers – the ones who consistently develop the most capable, flexible and engaged teams able to drive excepti

Study 317

Study 317

The Sales Heretic

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

If you’re in sales—whether as a salesperson, a professional or a CEO—you have competition. And every one of those competitors has some kind of strength relative to your company: lower prices, more years in business, bigger staff, higher quality, more locations, etc. The temptation is to try to match strength for strength: cut prices, hire [.].

Hiring 310

Hiring Competition Relationals Company 310

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Over 42% of all Sales Managers don’t make their yearly number. A VP of Sales first thought is to terminate those Sales Managers. “Who needs a Sales Manager if they can’t make their number?”. Are you thinking the same? You need to ask yourself: How are you measuring your sales managers? Is it by quota attainment only? If so, you are making the biggest mistake a Sales VP can make.

Hiring 308

Hiring Lead Rank Lead Scoring Quota 308

Bernadette McClelland

SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

'Do you lie to yourself? That’s a pretty harsh question but consider what a lie is… it is a story that you have made up and you either believe it or you don’t, but it is serving you in the moment. We all do it, we all have done it and we will more than likely all do it in the future. In the context of pipeline growth though, let’s consider some stories you may be telling yourself and others -.

Top of Funnel 278

Top of Funnel Funnel B2B Pipeline 278

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

MTD Sales Training

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

In today’s world of e-prospecting, social media marketing, texting and sophisticated electronic communication, it seems picking up the telephone is becoming a lost art. Although we all know that no matter how the future continues to unfold, the telephone will always be an integral part of sales success. The problem I have found is that in the wake of all the new avenues of approach, sales people are quick to believe that picking up the telephone, be it warm or cold calling, is no longer effectiv

Cold Calling 291

Cold Calling Telemarketing Face-to-face Social Media 291

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

The majority of Lead Development Reps are inexperienced, undertrained, and ill-equipped for today’s buyer. 5 Years ago, CSOs could get away with low-skilled employees in this position. However, buyer behavior has changed. Informed buyer’s are entering the sales process with companies later than ever before. We are now living in the era of the self-directed buyer.

Sales Qualified Lead 293

Sales Qualified Lead Buyer Training Leads 293

Bernadette McClelland

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

'State of the Nation Address. Pick a state and address it: Confused? You need Clarity. Overwhelmed? You need Outcomes. Frustrated? You need Focus. Manipulated? You need Meaning. Competitive? You need Collaboration. Distracted? You need Direction. Lost? You need Leverage. And the list could continue…. States are emotions we experience and emotions drive everything or drive nothing, wouldn’t you agree?

B2B 268

B2B Competition Conversion Sales 268

MTD Sales Training

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

To grow your business, you have to open new doors, but you also must successfully cultivate current relationships. While there are a ton of “ after-the-sale-best practices ”, this seldom thought about tip, may be the most essential of them all. Try this and it will help you cultivate deeper relationships and turn more one-time customers into long-time clients.

Loyalty 271

Loyalty Customer Account Up-Sell 271

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

Sales and selling is made up of a lot of elements, of moving parts and actions, we can discuss and debate which is more important, when is it better to focus on one or the other, but I hope we can agree that time, intent and persuasion play a major role throughout. By persuasion I am not looking exclusively at the seller persuading the buyer of his product, but in the sense of advising, assuaging, as well as people within the buying organization persuading others to get involved, commit, what h

ACT 267

ACT Sales Cycle Buyer Top of Funnel 267

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Sales

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 15, 2012

Sales forecasting does not work. Stop wasting time trying to predict the future with yesterday’s forecasting tools. Running reports on dirty data from the field is not worth the effort. If you don’t agree, consider this: The Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning reports the error rate is between 16%-28% forecasting one month ahead. The error rate 3 months out is over 50%.

Tools 293

Tools Forecasting Sales Forecasts Revenue 293

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan In the past decade Boston's sports teams have won a number of championships. The two that excited me the most were the Red Sox' 2004 World Series victory and the Patriots' 2001 Super Bowl win. When I reminisced about those long-awaited championships, I was suprised at how little time I spent savoring those wins, compared with how much time I spent mourning the huge losses.

Sports 264

Sports Call-back Up-Sell Follow-up 264

MTD Sales Training

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Effective negotiating can entail a plethora of ideas, actions and techniques, primarily because the scope of negotiating can change dramatically from industry to industry. However, here is a foundational platform, or a framework you can use to help in almost any negotiating arena. NEGOTIATING TO GET A HIGHER PRICE. When negotiating to get the higher price , to close the deal or the sale for the most money, take these steps: 1.

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Negotiation Hiring Examples Benefit 264

Steven Rosen

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

My belief is that if you do the basics well you will succeed. In sales and sales management that rule applies. Interestingly enough so Mike Weinberg shares that same belief. In his new book New Sales. Simplified. The Essential Handbook for Prospecting and Business Development (AMACOM: 2013) Mike makes it very apparent that selling is not a highly complicated activity.

Handbook 246

Handbook Face-to-face Exercises Coaching 246

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Data

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

Are you seeing more projects go to RFP? If not, you probably will. The trend in business is that more companies are going to RFP, and this won’t be changing anytime soon. Good news - right? Probably not your first response, but read on to see why you may want to rethink that response…and rework your RFP strategy. Click on the following link to download the RFP Checklist to quickly determine whether to opt-in or opt out.

Strategy 282

Strategy Vendor How To Proposal 282

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

Hang on, before you get your pipeline in a knot, read on and discover. We’re talking about client profiling, not racial profiling. The reality is that all the things (some) people do not like about the type of profiling that takes place at airports, or in upscale shops at suburban malls, do indeed help sellers identify not just buyers, but the right buyers, and as a results buyers who buy faster.

Ideal Customer Profile 242

Ideal Customer Profile Objections Call-back Buyer 242

No More Cold Calling

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

The “change or die” motto lives on in sales. Define and communicate what distinguishes you from your competition. It used to be that you knew you were on your game if you targeted the Holy Grail of specific markets: the ultra-affluent, professional services, networking, mobility, and small business (these were hot for awhile). Then everyone targeted these markets, and suddenly they weren’t special anymore.

Referrals 204

Referrals Small Business Small Business Cold Calling 204

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan When I first began to evangelize the importance of sales force evaluations and sales candidate assessments in the early 90's, no other assessment company was focused on the sales force or developing a sales specific (built for rather than modified for the sales force) assessment. Twenty-two years later, my message has been so well received that it has spawned a sales assessment industry.

Revenue 188

Revenue Hiring Decision Maker Licensing 188

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

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

CMO’s are tasked with driving customer acquisition. As next year’s new plans take shape, the VP of Sales will be leaning on CMO's for more leads. What channel of Demand Generation can yield the highest return and sustained success? The answer is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Getting the most out of SEO is low-hanging fruit to drive qualified leads into the top of the funnel.

Top of Funnel 276

Top of Funnel Lead Rank Lead Scoring Funnel 276

The Sales Hunter

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

If you have followed this blog for even a short time, you know how I feel about sales motivation. No one can motivate another person. A sales manager or a colleague can certainly help create an environment where sales motivation can thrive, but ultimately each person is responsible for their own attitude… their own momentum… their own motivation.

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Motivation Intent Sales Positioning 195

Jeffrey Gitomer

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

Tweet Here’s the mind-set needed for generating power statements: . Don’t sell drill bits. Sell the perfectly smooth holes they create. Don’t sell printing. Sell the brochures that will reflect your prospect’s image and impact her sales. Don’t sell cars. Sell the prestige and status you’ll have, or the smooth ride. Don’t sell insurance. Sell safe, financially-secure families protected from tragedy.

Insurance 183

Insurance Insurance Resources Sales 183

Anthony Cole Training

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

I just read a quote by noted business expert Peter Drucker: "Meetings are by definition a concession to deficient organizations. For one either meets or one works. One cannot do both at the same time. In an ideally designed structure.there would be no meetings. We meet because people holding different jobs have to cooperate to get a specific task done.

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Meeting Leads Marketing Qualified Lead Sales Meeting 181

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

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

This year is no different than years prior in that every VP of Sales is getting ready for the annual 2013 sales planning season. Every VP of Sales heads into this annual meeting with his CEO/CFO full of anticipation. FACT: CEO’s/CFO’s do not know and understand the dramatic shift in buyer behavior that has transpired over the last 12 months. As a result, they may not know money could actually be better spent towards the top of the funnel.

Top of Funnel 267

Top of Funnel Funnel Demand Generation Demand Generation Targets 267

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

Issue Date: 2012-09-22. Author: A Herrmann International White Paper. Teaser: It’s increasingly challenging to grow top-line revenue, win new business, maintain client loyalty and retain top sales talent. The organizations that can successfully align the skills of their sales professionals with current business realities and improve performance on a faster curve will have a distinct competitive advantage.

Loyalty 176

Loyalty Sales Talent Competition Revenue 176

The Sales Hunter

SEPTEMBER 17, 2012

How much do you and your company spend on sales? Too many companies have made cutbacks in sales all because they want to save money. More often than not, I’ll argue they don’t save anything but wind up hurting themselves. I have looked at some of the data of the percentage of revenue that some successful companies spend on sales and marketing.

Hiring 177

Hiring LinkedIn Google Motivation 177

Score More Sales

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

This is my 6th time attending Dreamforce – the crazy annual party / conference / education that happens around this time each year in San Francisco. The 2012 event has not disappointed- it is not over yet, and in fact I’d say it is the best ever. It doesn’t hurt that the weather here in the Bay Area has been low on fog and high on sunshine.

Webinar Metrics 165

Webinar Metrics Vendor Education Territories 165

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

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. Modifying sales reports and dashboards to enable sales managers to track new product sales. Organizing and scheduling product training sessions.

Compensation 244

Compensation Incentives Incentive Penetration 244

Increase Sales

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

With all the sales experts, gurus, consultants to small business coaches, there appears to be an ever growing trend of making selling and sales far more complex than it needs to be. Yes, there are complex sales that involve multiple decision makers and have an extended to what seems like an exhausted sales cycle time. These are the few not the many.

Small Business 177

Small Business Small Business Decision Maker Coaching 177

The Sales Hunter

SEPTEMBER 15, 2012

You won’t be successful sales prospecting if you don’t use your time correctly. Too many salespeople spend too much time on people who really don’t have a potential to buy. My suggestion is you put your sales prospects in three categories: Broad, Targeted and Tight. Check out the below video to see how this works — and how following this approach could revolutionize your sales prospecting effectiveness.

Video 175

Video Prospecting Sales 175