Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

They can get feedback, they can ask questions, they can get answers, they know that their version of Houston - their prospect or customer - can hear them and will respond if there is a good reason. It''s their sales managers, who are almost as much in the dark as their salespeople. So why do salespeople continue in the dark?

Decision Maker 313

Decision Maker Proposal Sales Cycle Exact 313

No More Cold Calling

JULY 29, 2021

But not closing sales is never the real problem. The problem is that sales reps neglect important activities during earlier stages of the sales process. Unless you address the broken links in your prospecting system, your sales reps will continue to struggle with closing the deal. It’s just a symptom.

Closing 409

Closing Sales Qualified Lead Lead Scoring Lead Rank 409

No More Cold Calling

MAY 24, 2018

If you’re researching the latest and greatest sales trends, you just might fall victim to the bright-shiny-object syndrome. Just because certain sales prospecting techniques are all the rage, doesn’t mean they’re right for you or for your buyer. Sales productivity tools are everywhere, but do they really enhance productivity?

Prospecting 196

Prospecting Social Media Trends Face-to-face 196

Sales and Marketing Management

JANUARY 2, 2019

Author: Brad Wilsted Note: This is part 2 in a 3-part series on the powerful role sales management plays in driving sustained revenue growth – and how companies can better leverage this critical position for improved top-line performance. What does great front-line sales management actually look like?

Hiring 224

Hiring Sales Management Territories Outsourcing Services 224

Vengreso

MARCH 2, 2021

Prospecting to generate sales leads is one of the most important jobs of the modern sales professional. In fact, if you ask any sales leader what their teams struggle with the most (and I have), they would say it’s prospecting, especially now that virtual selling is the norm. What is Prospecting?

Pipeline 145

Pipeline Prospecting Ideal Customer Profile Sales Qualified Lead 145

Steven Rosen

JANUARY 10, 2021

Invest in your sales managers to unlock the potential in your sales organization and turn that performance into sustainable performance As the leader of your organization, the next 6 months will prove to be more pressure-filled than you may have experienced in years. Invest in your sales managers.

Sales Management 194

Sales Management Hiring ROI Maximizer 194

Understanding the Sales Force

APRIL 4, 2024

Science Reveals the Actual Impact of Sales Coaching More Sales Assessment Imposters Exposed The Best Salespeople are 2733% More Likely to Have This Than the Worst Salespeople What Percentage of Sales Managers Have the Necessary Coaching Skills? Consultative Approach to Selling Call Reluctance is Just as Popular as Ever!

Hiring 154

Hiring Sales Leadership Sales Forecasts Forecasting 154

Understanding the Sales Force

JUNE 4, 2014

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan The Selling Power Blog published a new article of mine, The Top 10 Steps Salespeople Can Take to Improve. The article includes a really terrific video on the importance of tonality. Most of the focus on persistence is related to contacting new prospects. Stop giving demos.

Territories 268

Territories Exercises Video ACT 268

SBI Growth

JANUARY 10, 2014

Top sales leaders know how to communicate and roll out a sales plan. Get your sales managers involved early in the process. The sales management team needs to have a clear understanding of the new quota. Sales can’t rely on marketing alone. Here is a great article to get you started.

Quota 316

Quota Top of Funnel Territories Marketing Qualified Lead 316

Sales 2.0

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

This is the first in a series of interviews with sales management subject matter experts, examining the current and future states of AI in sales. This first interview is with Oliver Churchill , the founder and CEO of Acuity Sales Decision Science. I was curious to hear what he thinks.

Sales Management 195

Sales Management Top of Funnel Data Intent Signal 195

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

Between 57 and 87 percent of the buying process is complete before a buyer ever contacts a company—at least that’s the case if you believe the widely quoted but ill-advised statistics floating around sales circles. Read the rest of the article.) Read the rest of the article.) But their needs have changed.

Cold Calling 265

Cold Calling Small Business Small Business Vendor 265

No More Cold Calling

JULY 13, 2017

Can sales managers influence the buying process? You can’t manage revenue. If sales close, you win. Calls with their sales managers become about justifying why prospects should be in their pipelines in the first place, and discussing ways these account based sales reps can accelerate the buying process.

Account 287

Account Referrals Cold Calling Ideal Customer Profile 287

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 19, 2014

Selling by referral is the most personal prospecting strategy that exists. That’s why I resonated with Tom Scearce’s LinkedIn article, “ Social Media—Don’t Be THAT Guy.” Read the rest of the article.). Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business' That''s my. Begin a Conversation.

Referrals 292

Referrals Webinar Metrics Social Media Face-to-face 292

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 21, 2014

Or you can close the laptop and actually talk to colleagues, prospects, and clients. Get out there and actually get to know your prospects. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business' Bottom line: It’s because they like and trust the salesperson and his organization. We all are.

Networking 294

Networking Cold Calling Small Business Small Business 294

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 14, 2014

Break Free from Failed Selling Strategies It’s common sense that annoying strangers who never expressed any interest in hearing your sales pitch is a waste of time. Yet far too many sales pros are still doing it, usually because their sales managers demand it. Read the rest of the article.) Hear, hear!

Cold Calling 265

Cold Calling How To Referrals Small Business 265

Understanding the Sales Force

MAY 7, 2014

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan The May issue of Top Sales Magazine is now available and in addition to my monthly article, this month''s issue is loaded with important reading on sales and selling. The Latest Fiction for the Sales Force - No More Hunters and Farmers. Has my thinking changed?

Cold Calling 290

Cold Calling Sales Qualified Lead Networking Territories 290

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 10, 2013

And because referred prospects are more likely to be well qualified, the chance of converting the business is much higher. Generally speaking, referred prospects accelerate through the sales pipeline at a much faster rate than other types of opportunities, and are also more receptive to providing future referrals.

Cold Calling 298

Cold Calling Referrals Banking Maximizer 298

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 20, 2013

This article is about how to cut through the noise and evaluate your organization. The top sales executive in every organization faces the same problem: spin. Learning the truth is critical for your sales strategy. When you register, you’ll receive the complete Sales Organization Discovery Guide. Prospect Interviews.

Hiring 310

Hiring How To Face-to-face Survey 310

No More Cold Calling

JULY 29, 2014

So when and where is the best time to make a sales pitch? Save it for when your prospects genuinely like and trust you, because strangers on social media couldn’t care less. Sales is still about people buying from people. To increase sales effectiveness, we must make connections that matter. Your mother was right.

Social Selling 272

Social Selling Social Media Webinar Metrics Media 272

SBI Growth

DECEMBER 18, 2013

Each of these articles focuses on your sales reps. Effective ways to enable your sales reps to make the number. Today’s post focuses on the missing link: Enabling your front-line sales managers. Without strong front-line sales managers, your chances of making the number are low. Prospecting.

Hiring 305

Hiring Strategy Handbook Face-to-face 305

Hubspot Sales

JANUARY 14, 2025

All sales champions employ specific strategies and have particular mindsets that allow them to constantly drive deals forward. In this article, Ill explain what a sales champion truly is, the importance of having one in your sales squad, and, most importantly, how to get one on your side. And the best part?

Data 111

Data Hubspot Negotiation B2B 111

Steven Rosen

MAY 24, 2024

He also explores the practical applications of AI in sales, including prospecting, customer retention, and pre-call planning. ” – Rob Ulsh Key Takeaways: AI is not a threat to sales professionals but a powerful tool that can enhance their effectiveness. He also emphasized the time-saving aspect of AI in prospecting.

Company 296

Company Sales Leadership Retention Loyalty 296

Steven Rosen

MAY 1, 2024

Utilize technology like WhatsApp and voice notes for seamless communication, making work engaging for the sales team. The interactive podbook below contains videos, audio, articles, summaries, transcripts, and YouTube shorts from this podcast episode. This is a crucial skill that many companies overlook when hiring salespeople.

Lead Scoring 228

Lead Scoring Lead Rank Hiring Leads 228

DiscoverOrg Sales

DECEMBER 4, 2017

In this article, we take a closer look at the ways you can focus your enablement efforts, to achieve the best possible sales performance. One of the most important aspects of any sales enablement strategy is alignment to the customer journey. Map your strategy to the customer journey. Training, training, training.

Sales Enablement 295

Sales Enablement Collateral Decision Maker Study 295

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 18, 2014

Emails, articles, news flashes, blasts, webinars, podcasts…they make my blood boil. These “gatekeeper” tactics are insincere, duplicitous, unprofessional, offensive, and a waste of sales time. Think you’re getting away with cold calling and pretending you’re best buddies with your prospect? Of course you would. Think again.

Gatekeeper 303

Gatekeeper Cold Calling Telemarketing Referrals 303

No More Cold Calling

JULY 14, 2015

No one had time to prospect, because they couldn’t keep up with the business coming in every day. The problem was that sales management had their heads in the sand. Leadership and Management—You Can’t Have One without the Other There’s an important distinction between sales management and sales leadership.

Sales Management 120

Sales Management Hiring Referrals Conference 120

No More Cold Calling

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Read the rest of the article.). Don’t waste your prospects’ time with demos or put them to sleep with PowerPoint slides. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business' We actually had to learn our material, because no one wanted to suffer the dishonor of reading from index cards.

Decision Maker 292

Decision Maker Cold Calling Small Business Small Business 292

The Center for Sales Strategy

MARCH 27, 2023

Sales management is an art that requires a delicate balance between the present and the future. This means managing your current deals while also prospecting for new ones. Whether you are a seasoned sales professional or a newbie in the game, read on to learn how to master the art of sales management.

Pipeline 111

Pipeline Sales Management Competition Resources 111

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

These famous words from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice equally apply to our sales pipeline. As sales managers, we know from experience that when we review the opportunities our sales reps have promised to close this month, next month and the next 90 day, that they won’t all close. Prior to co-founding Occulus Inc.,

Lead Scoring 49

Lead Scoring Lead Rank Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face 49

Hubspot Sales

APRIL 12, 2021

As a sales manager, ensuring that your team's communication with prospects is tight and effective is in your best interest. That process — making sure your team's communications aren't erratic — is most commonly referred to as implementing consistent sales messaging. Keep it customer-centric and accessible.

Sales Management 134

Sales Management Hubspot How To Scale 134

No More Cold Calling

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

What can we learn from our ancestors about connecting with prospects and clients? Read the rest of the article.). We’ve simply forgotten what we know to be true: Face-to-face cannot be replaced —not in life, and certainly not in sales. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business'

Wireless 274

Wireless Face-to-face Fashion Cold Calling 274

Sales Gravy

DECEMBER 29, 2024

As you'll learn in this Monday Money podcast episode and article, these goals are essential to helping you maintain sales discipline throughout your sales year. Maybe you want to be a sales manager, or if youre a manager, you want to be a director or VP of sales. Its loaded with rejection.

Face-to-face 98

Face-to-face Decision Maker Call-back Commission 98

No More Cold Calling

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

An Aussie reaches out to confirm his understanding of American prospecting practices. Another Brit sees a post on Twitter and writes to ask if he can use my article for his presentation. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business' There really isn’t such a thing, but we try.)

Social Media 264

Social Media Skype Referrals Twitter 264

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 17, 2014

But most sales reps enter the field without any formal training. Some of us get lucky and thrive under a brilliant sales manager. In fact, three out of four salespeople aren’t performing up to par, according to research from sales training consulting firm, Kurlan & Associates. Read the rest of this article.

Face-to-face 278

Face-to-face Social Media Oracle eBook 278

Hubspot Sales

JULY 22, 2024

Your sales manager has given your team a big pep talk encouraging you to dial, dial, dial. In this article, I’ll share more about cold calling and show you what a typical cold call looks like — plus what I consider to be the best cold call script ever. Cold Call Script Examples **The prospect's phone rings** Prospect: Hello?

Cold Calling 111

Cold Calling Top of Funnel Inbound Call-back 111

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 12, 2014

Anthony Iannarino’s brilliant post When Was the Last Time You … poses some eye-opening questions: When was the last time you met with a brand new prospect face-to-face? Read the rest of the article. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business' Was it more than 7 days ago?

Face-to-face 266

Face-to-face Cold Calling Small Business Small Business 266

Gong.io

JANUARY 31, 2022

While the exact list depends on who you ask, the following (alphabetized) traits are all critical for a sales manager: Able to coach, analytical, available, confident, empathetic, good listener, innovative, leads by example, loyal, motivating, passionate, positive attitude, serves vs. dictates, strategic vision, strong communicator, and thoughtful.

Software 118

Software Software Sales Management Sales Forecasts 118