The Pipeline

JULY 16, 2012

Last week I was working with a group, we were looking at more effective prospecting, when we got around to discussing referrals, I got back some familiar comments. We all know that referrals are a highly effective way to grow your leads and prospect base, (yes, there is more than cold calling, and more than referrals), but at times reps and sales organizations place unnecessary limitations on their ability to fully leverage referrals.

Referrals 324

Referrals Lead Rank Lead Scoring Territories 324

MTD Sales Training

JULY 18, 2012

If you still view gatekeepers as annoying, low-level, annoying pawns whose mission in life is to do nothing but waste your time, cost you money and make your life miserable, then I have news for you. The fact is that today’s modern gatekeeper (GK) is an educated, highly trained, sophisticated and sales savvy professional, who often has power and authority.

Gatekeeper 288

Gatekeeper Cold Calling Face-to-face Decision Maker 288

No More Cold Calling

JULY 19, 2012

Technology may power sales research, but people power the close. Nothing has really changed in the sales world, although many pundits rant about the “new normal,” “new realities,” Buyer 2.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0…. They talk about the “informed buyer.” Is the so-called Buyer 2.0 more informed? Of course you are. We are all consumers; whether we want to buy a book, child’s toy, shoes, shampoo, or a computer, we have easy and immediate access to what others say about the product—did it fit the descript

Buyer 267

Buyer Social Media Media Vendor 267

Pointclear

JULY 17, 2012

I asked this question on Focus.com a few weeks ago and got answers that surprised me. Knowing the B2B lead generation market like I do, here is what I expected to see : “The inbound lead is better because outbound is dead.” “Inbound rules. Stop interruption marketing.” I expected these types of responses because all you read these days are article after article and blog after blog saying that “70% of the buyer’s journey is done before a sales rep needs to get

Inbound 217

Inbound Sales Qualified Lead Marketing Qualified Lead Outbound 217

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

The Pipeline

JULY 18, 2012

Summer is a great time of year, despite the fact that I love living in Canada, I much prefer summer to winter, I don’t get the fuss over global warming, a little snow in December to help the retail trade, then I am ready for a heat wave in January. There are all kinds of activities that make summer great, one being camping. But it seems many sales people, whether they live in the north or a more temperate climate, like to camp out year round.

Account 288

Account Decision Maker Face-to-face Retail 288

Score More Sales

JULY 18, 2012

Some time ago we talked about the 3 parts of the sales pipeline: front , middle , and end from a sellers point of view. Today let’s talk from a marketer’s point of view. (Disclosure: since I represent sales, not marketing, this is my interpretation of what a marketer would say.) Actually anyone in professional selling has some marketing characteristics – there is no longer separate ground, but lots of interwoven strategies between marketing and sales to work with the new buyer.

Top of Funnel 192

Top of Funnel Pipeline Funnel Travel 192

Understanding the Sales Force

JULY 16, 2012

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan As a baseball fan, it drives me mad when underperforming players don't play because of one nagging injury after another. It makes me wonder whether their injuries are causing them to underperform or their "injuries" are convenient excuses for their lack of performance. We usually don't know, but it sets up my next question.

Leads 191

Leads Marketing Qualified Lead Up-Sell Meeting 191

The Pipeline

JULY 20, 2012

A few weeks ago, a friend took me to a restaurant opening, he knew the chef, who apparently was well know with a world wide following. We were introduced me after our meal, I told him I loved the curried eggplant dish, and he offered me the recipe. Last week I decided it was time for me to whip up a batch at home. I sat down to enjoy my creation, and noticed it was not the same as the dish I was served at the restaurant opening, it was missing something.

Face-to-face 282

Face-to-face Follow-up Up-Sell Pipeline 282

MTD Sales Training

JULY 17, 2012

I am literally amazed at how people make it so damn difficult for me to give them some money! And lots of money too! Not so long back I attended a freebie breakfast meeting. All was ok and one of the speakers was the MD from a firm of business mentors. Now being a CEO (it’s lonely at the top! lol) I thought that having someone to bounce ideas off of would be a good idea so I sent them an email to meet.

Examples 266

Examples Exact Meeting Report 266

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Sales

The Sales Hunter

JULY 19, 2012

I’ve been looking closely at 6 secrets for prospecting success , and we’ve already covered confidence and follow-through. Now we have arrived at telephone skills! If you feel you don’t have the telephone skills you should have to be successful in sales prospecting, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. Telephone prospecting skills are the number one thing salespeople say they lack.

Prospecting 198

Prospecting Follow-up Motivation Tools 198

Understanding the Sales Force

JULY 18, 2012

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Three salespeople left voice mail messages for me today. They were all cold calls, they were all bad, and they were all following up on brochures they dropped off last week. Nothing out of the ordinary here, as one of the callers wanted to know when our copier leases expire; one wanted to know when our commercial real estate lease expires; two wanted to introduce themselves as our new rep.

Trends 183

Trends Real Estate Prospecting Cold Calling 183

Anthony Cole Training

JULY 17, 2012

Steven Covey had a significant impact on my life and I'm guessing some of your lives as well. I read his books: 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. 7 Habits of Highly Successful Families. First Things First. Principle Centered Leadership. Speed of Trust. The first one I read was 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Clearly a landmark book for Steven and a book that changed millions of people.

Exercises 176

Exercises Influencer Energy Maximizer 176

Jeffrey Gitomer

JULY 18, 2012

Tweet NOTE WELL: A golden ticket is NOT a winning lottery ticket. It doesn’t have to be money. But it may lead you to money by turning your gold into wealth. Here are several areas to evaluate as you begin the search for your golden ticket. There may be several golden tickets you already possess but you haven’t yet realized their value. 1.

Referrals 165

Referrals ACT Facebook Channels 165

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Data

The Sales Hunter

JULY 16, 2012

Are you willing to cut your price to land a new customer? Unfortunately, far too many salespeople are willing to do so. Sorry, in my book what the salesperson is doing is cheating on the new customer and all of their other customers. Let me set the stage for how this typically goes. The salesperson is making the presentation to a new customer and everything has gone just fine.

Discount 197

Discount Customer Closing Motivation 197

Understanding the Sales Force

JULY 20, 2012

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan I was asked to comment on an article called The End of Solution Selling , which appeared in Harvard Business Review. The article was generally right on, but it also included several things that irritated me enough to question them and the article. "The End of Traditional Solution Selling" - The ineffective selling model described by the authors is more aligned with transactional selling than solution selling.

Face-to-face 172

Face-to-face Solutions Selling Discount Consultative Selling 172

Anthony Cole Training

JULY 16, 2012

The results are in for my poll question on Linkedin. The question I asked was: When you are asked about someone on your team not meeting expectations your response is? The possible answers where: They are failing to execute. They lack effort. They need more training. They are making progress. I have failed to develop them. The results in a nutshell: 50% blamed the performer, 50% took responsibility for the failure of the team member.

Hiring 168

Hiring Sales Talent Banking Coaching 168

Pointclear

JULY 19, 2012

My guest today is Brian Carroll. Brian is Executive Director of Revenue Optimization at MECLABS where he leads business units that include Applied Research, Strategy Group, Conversion Group, Leads Group, Agency Group, Technology Group and Training Group. Brian is also CEO of InTouch and author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale. Below, you can read highlights from our discussion or use the links to start the video from different parts of the conversation.

Lead Gen 145

Lead Gen Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank Lead Scoring 145

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

The Sales Hunter

JULY 17, 2012

The perception customers have of you is a direct result of the level of confidence you have. The perception customers have of you is a direct result of the level of perception you have. The perception the customer develops about you becomes the foundation for the decision they’re going to make. It’s only logical the higher the perception the customer has, the more willing they are going to be to buy from you.

Journal 183

Journal Discount Positioning Motivation 183

Increase Sales

JULY 16, 2012

“Just the facts Ma’am, just the facts” may be the mantra not only for Joe Friday but many who are in the role of being a sales communicator. These crazy busy sales professionals ask question after question in seeking just the facts. Yet, then they turn around and talk way too much and in some cases talk themselves out of a sale. This past week I had two opportunities to be reminded of this schizophrenic sales behavior and both were demonstrated by the same person.

Facebook 160

Facebook Customer Service Coaching Sales 160

SBI Growth

JULY 14, 2012

How To 310

How To Sales 310

HeavyHitter Sales

JULY 17, 2012

Harvard Business Review is arguably the most prestigious publication for business leaders and management thinkers. Here’s one of my recent Harvard Business Review articles titled “Strategies for Answering Your Toughest Customers’ Questions.”.   One of the hardest things to do in all of sales is handle tough questions from skeptical prospective customers.

Strategy 140

Strategy Study Motivation Intent 140

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

The Sales Hunter

JULY 14, 2012

Everyone is looking for a discount. Far too many salespeople are willing to give in and give a new customer a discount thinking it’s what is needed to close a sale. Don’t get me going regarding what I think of discounting. I hate it, as it only cheapens your value and worse yet, damages both short and long-term profitability for you and your company.

Discount 176

Discount Tools Prospecting Benefit 176

Increase Sales

JULY 20, 2012

Business recommendations are one of the best marketing strategies to capture attention and build relationships eventually leading to increase sales. A third party endorsing your work is gold especially if the recommendation is solid and well written. Credit www.sxc.hu. So one would think that receiving a business recommendation is important to any small business owner or professional?

Small Business 150

Small Business Small Business LinkedIn Facebook 150

SBI Growth

JULY 20, 2012

Sales Enablement 275

Sales Enablement Sales Quota Company 275

Sales Training Connection

JULY 18, 2012

Sales managers - building trust. It is difficult to overstate the importance of the front-line sales manager. Front-line management is the pivotal job for creating a great sales team. It is also a job that is increasingly complex and demanding. Ask most sales managers and they’d say that it is a time-balancing act. Requests come from all directions: from folks who want to know about revenue targets, to tough complains from key customers, to requests for better communications from other depart

Sales Management 130

Sales Management Top of Funnel Pivotal ACT 130

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

The Sales Hunter

JULY 17, 2012

Not long ago, I gave you the six secrets for sales prospecting success , and gave you a break down of the first one, CONFIDENCE. Now I’m looking closer at the another secret: Follow-through! How good are you at following-up with your leads? I would hope you’re following up on your leads, but the real problem with follow-up is not the follow-up — it’s what I refer to as the follow- through.

Leads 166

Leads Marketing Qualified Lead Follow-up Up-Sell 166

Increase Sales

JULY 18, 2012

There are times when the media relations business reminds me a lot of high school; specifically, prom season. When you’re a teenage girl without a steady beau, most of your energy in the weeks leading up to the dance is spent wishing that the hunkiest guy on campus will finally discover you exist and ask you to be his date. And yet no matter how many times you throw yourself across his path or recruit your friends to ask him if he likes you, the prom is either not high on his priority list or he

Media 149

Media Film Small Business Small Business 149

SBI Growth

JULY 19, 2012

Sales 276

Sales How To 276