March, 2024

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Homicide Detective Makes Best Case for Sales Process

Understanding the Sales Force

Although this is an article about sales process, the first two paragraphs have more to do with religion than sales. To fully understand this powerful analogy, you’ll want to read the next three paragraphs and allow me to make my case. It will be worth it! My wife thought I would enjoy a book she found at the airport bookstore and I agreed that it looked compelling.

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5 Reasons Sales Managers Are Reluctant to Coach Prospecting

Steven Rosen

In the highly competitive SaaS world, prospecting is often seen as the most challenging task—a test dreaded by many and mastered by few. Indeed, 40% of salespeople cite it as the most challenging part of the sales process, more daunting than either closing or qualifying. Despite this, it is the critical first step in a journey where every interaction has the potential to bloom into a significant deal.

Coaching 334
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Likes Galore, Sales Zero?

Sales and Marketing Management

Social media likes offer a surface-level view of engagement that doesn’t necessarily translate to real business value. Aim higher. The post Likes Galore, Sales Zero? appeared first on Sales & Marketing Management.

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Why Companies Struggle with Hiring Salespeople Who Will Sell

Anthony Cole Training

Putting the best people in the right seats is the biggest problem identified by most business execs, especially as it applies to critical sales roles. In today’s high tech, fast-moving economy, finding the right people who can and will sell for your company is a keystone for success. What can your firm do differently to attain better results and attract top talent?

Hiring 264
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The Trends You Need to Succeed This Holiday Season

October Prime Day is usually an early sign of how consumer spending trends ahead of the holidays. This one was no exception. Our October Prime Day Report breaks down what’s working: the products flying off the shelves, the categories winning big, big brands, and the search terms defining demand. All brought to you via Similarweb’s Shopper Intelligence platform.

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Leaders: Here’s Why Your Sellers Are Underperforming

SBI Growth

CEOs want to retain the playmakers and managers that have proven themselves in the past. But for many companies, their talent may now be holding them back. It goes beyond tech augmentations and enablement, it is the fundamental hiring framework that is flawed. How has sales evolved from the past, and what should leaders look for when finding new talent?

Hiring 317

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How to Keep Your Sales Kickoff Energy from Fizzling

Sales and Marketing Management

In this episode, we talk with two leaders of incentive program providers about the science behind keeping the energy and enthusiasm generated by sales kickoffs going throughout the year. The post How to Keep Your Sales Kickoff Energy from Fizzling appeared first on Sales & Marketing Management.

Energy 296
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Why Hiring a Fractional Sales Manager Can Drive Sales Results

Anthony Cole Training

Running a company is very different than managing a sales team, so you need someone skilled in the specific strengths of coaching and motivating your sales team. Companies have choices and often it makes sense to hunt, interview, hire and pay for a full-time sales manager, but this is a position very difficult to fill. It will take time, money, lots of effort and then onboarding to your systems, people and culture.

Hiring 274
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How to Respond to Common Sales Objections

Anthony Cole Training

Sales objections typically arise in several key areas during the sales process. The first is when you’re trying to secure someone’s time during prospecting, attempting to schedule a meeting on their calendar and obtain a few minutes of their attention. The second occurs when you are delivering a presentation and seeking a commitment or decision.

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Five Essential Steps to Building an Effective Sales Playbook

SBI Growth

For many commercial leaders, helping sellers to be more effective poses significant challenges. Despite innovative methods constantly being introduced into the sales process, commercial leaders often find their sellers relying on ineffective approaches that aren’t tailored for today’s buyers. Then, how do you scale up any improvements made across the sales organization?

Hiring 194
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AI Strategies for Sales Managers: How to Cut Down on Tedious Admin Work

What if you could help your sellers stop wasting 72% of their day on non-selling activities and focus on bringing in revenue? Incorporating AI in your enablement workflows can help you cut down on busy work, get projects done faster, and let your team (and you!) focus on making a bigger impact. We put together this guide to show you how to use AI to cut time and costs for projects, including collateral creation, development of training videos, and automating tedious processes.

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(4:39 Video) “The Power of Face-to-Face Sales: Building Trust and Rapport”

Steven Rosen

In this 4:39 video , Hosts Colleen Stanley and Steven Rosen discuss the importance of in-person interactions for building rapport, trust, and empathy. They highlight the biological aspect of human connection and the release of bonding hormones during face-to-face meetings. By getting off Zoom and meeting clients in person, salespeople can read the room better and strengthen relationships.

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3 Interviewing Mistakes to Avoid!

Mr. Inside Sales

Have you ever interviewed for a job you really want, thought your interview went well, and then didn’t get called back for it? I’ve helped sales managers and business owners interview hundreds of potential sales reps over the years, and I’ve identified 3 top mistakes that virtually eliminate sales candidates on the spot! Study these 3 interviewing mistakes and make sure YOU don’t make them the next time you’re trying to land your next sales position.

Hiring 241
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The Impact of Web Hosting on User Experience

Sales and Marketing Management

Who you choose to host your website can have drastic effects on your marketing efforts and in turn, your sales. The post The Impact of Web Hosting on User Experience appeared first on Sales & Marketing Management.

Marketing 295
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New Data: Top Salespeople are 7562% Better at Winning RFPs

Understanding the Sales Force

Lately, when I talk with people, the most popular topics for discussion are Politics, March Madness, and the movies and TV shows they are streaming. Personally, I substitute Baseball for the middle topic because college baseball is in full swing and we’ve been traveling to watch our son, a college senior, play college baseball. But lately, when I talk with the Kurlan & Associates team, the topic is consistently about salespeople who push back when our sales training and coaching is sp

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Buyer’s Guide: 5 Tough Questions To Ask a Salesforce Managed Services Provider

This guide is for leaders who recognize the importance of Salesforce but would rather trust a team of external experts to do the heavy lifting. Choosing the right managed services provider is a significant decision that impacts your business's efficiency and success. In this 10-minute read, you'll find 5 essential questions to ask any potential provider.

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Achieving Sales Team Excellence – The Will to Manage

Anthony Cole Training

It's difficult to choose what the toughest part of any sales manager’s job is and it can vary by company, industry or geography. Undoubtedly, it will be about people – finding the right salespeople, hiring and onboarding, coaching them on important deals and for skill development. And don’t forget about holding them accountable to the goals established and their activity to achieve those.

Hiring 263
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Here’s What a Successful Talent Initiative Looks Like

SBI Growth

If you have been following our podcast and latest blogs, you would have heard many of our experts talk about how talent initiatives are the quickest way to drive growth. This is a particularly good strategy to turn to in situations where a company needs fast returns and cannot afford to wait for longer-term strategies to take effect—for example, with companies that need to manage EBITDA or in companies that are struggling to meet the growth objectives set by their private equity owners.

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Leading Transformation in a Fast-Paced World

Steven Rosen

Ryan Thomas , the sales VP of Elastic, Americas, shares his insights on effective leadership, team motivation, and driving business growth. He emphasizes the importance of inspiring and motivating teams, aligning individual success with the company’s vision, and making data-driven decisions. Ryan also discusses the challenges of leading sales teams in a complex and fast-paced industry and provides valuable advice for sales leaders.

Leads 227
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Reps need to self-source leads

Sales 2.0

According to recent research from SalesLoft best-performing senior salespeople (like Account Exectuives) need to self-source around 48% of their pipeline–rather than having leads come from a sales development rep (BDR, SDR etc.) or inbound via the efforts of their marketing department. This uptick in the need for AEs to self-source deals has likely been driven by economics, the need to “do more with less”, but is I trend that may continue as AI tools free up AEs from admin tasks.

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Beyond the Basics: How to Develop and Retain a Top-Performing Sales Team

Speaker: Brendan Sweeney, VP of Sales at Allego

Maximizing sales rep performance is no easy task. 📈 Traditional sales training methods focus heavily on the first few weeks in the sales role. Companies dedicate time, resources, and budget to onboarding new hires, only for them to forget what was learned in those first few weeks, lose motivation, and struggle to come to grips with their role.

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Driving Leads and Sales Through Private Engagements

Sales and Marketing Management

Offsite events are not a "build and they will come" endeavor. Here are five ways to make your in-person event more enticing and successful. The post Driving Leads and Sales Through Private Engagements appeared first on Sales & Marketing Management.

Leads 295
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10 Unfavorable Selling Conditions That Prevent Sales Success

Understanding the Sales Force

College baseball is in full swing and my wife and I watched our son and his college team play eight games over the past 10 days as they traveled from Orlando, FL, to Saratoga Springs, NY. While one of the sales lessons from this trip comes from baseball, the actual travel generated the other two sales lessons. Lesson #1 – Unfavorable Conditions Last Friday’s game was played in horrible baseball conditions.

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Achieving Sales Team Excellence with a Coaching Culture

Anthony Cole Training

Most sales managers spend less than 10% of their time on coaching, and only one third of managers actually coach their people on a weekly basis. Yet, the Coaching Competency is the most critical part of a sales manager's responsibilities; it is also the most difficult skill set to learn and master. There are many reasons for this, but among them are: the managers themselves were not coached or they had a bad experience with coaching; they were elevated to a team lead or manager position based on

Coaching 254
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Navigating the New Sales Landscape: Strategies for Accelerating Your Sales Cycle

SBI Growth

In today's dynamic commercial environment, accelerating the sales cycle is not just a goal but a necessity for thriving in a competitive market. The landscape has evolved, with buying behaviors becoming increasingly conservative and consensus requirements reaching new heights. The challenge? Many sellers find themselves poorly equipped to navigate these changes effectively.

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How to Optimize Call Monitoring: Automate QA and Elevate Customer Experience

Speaker: Laura Noonan, Chief Revenue Officer at CallFinder + Angie Kronlage, Director of Program Success at Working Solutions + April Wiita, Vice President of Program Success at Working Solutions

Are you still manually reviewing calls? 🤔 It's time for a change! The traditional method of manual call monitoring is no longer cutting it in today's fast-paced call center environment. Industry experts Angie Kronlage and April Wiita from Working Solutions are here to explore the power of innovative automation to revolutionize outdated call review processes!

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Get Off Your Butt and Start Coaching Your Reps

Steven Rosen

Sales Managers: Get Off Your Butt and Start Coaching Your Reps In today’s highly competitive sales industry, which has endless analytic tools and virtual interfaces, the role of the sales manager has quietly pivoted to that of a ‘dashboard coach.’ While steeped in the allure of technology and real-time data, this shift risks overlooking the obvious and transformative power of observational coaching—a dynamic process that no dashboard, no matter how advanced, can replicate.

Coaching 156
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Stop Selling: How Business Conversations Improve Value Across the Buyer Journey

Force Management

If you’re leading an organization that’s selling a solution, whether in an established market or a new vertical, you’re competing for your buyers’ attention. The competition is high – we are all faced with hundreds of sales messages each day. Successful sales organizations know how to consistently rise above the noise and command greater market share.

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Managing Marketing Organizations In a Tough Economy

Sales and Marketing Management

Two marketing veterans share their insights into how CMOs should be managing through an uncertain economic climate. The post Managing Marketing Organizations In a Tough Economy appeared first on Sales & Marketing Management.

Marketing 293
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Top Salespeople are 7562% Better at Winning RFPs Than Weak Salespeople

Understanding the Sales Force

Lately, when I talk with people, the most popular topics for discussion are Politics, March Madness, and which movies and TV shows they are streaming. Personally, I substitute Baseball for the middle topic because college baseball is in full swing and we’re traveling to watch our son, in his senior year, play college baseball. He started strong which you can see here.

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Secrets of a Successful Sale: Optimizing Your Checkout Process

Speaker: David Nisbet, Everett Zufelt, and Michaela Weber

Once upon a time, in the vast realm of online commerce, there lived a humble checkout button overlooked by many. Yet, within its humble click lay the power to transform a mere visitor into a loyal customer. 🧐 💡 Getting checkout right can mark the difference between a successful sale and an abandoned cart, yet many businesses fail to make payments a part of their commerce strategy even when it has a direct impact on revenue.

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What Buyers Need From Sellers

Partners in Excellence

Just as selling has evolved, buying has evolved–but differently. Too often, there is an alignment challenge between what buyers need and what sellers do. We seem to be on diverging paths, and this creates problems for both buyers and sellers. What don’t buyers need from sellers? While it’s always dangerous to make generalizations because there are always exceptions, but with that as a disclaimer, let’s focus on what buyers don’t need from sellers.

Buyer 149
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Boost Your B2B Revenue: Strategic Marketing Approaches for Growth

SBI Growth

The marketing engine is a crucial part of a B2B organization’s branding and pipeline. While CMOs invest heavily into enhancing the customer experience and moving prospects down the funnel, their spending is often scrutinized by other functions, questioning marketing’s contribution to the company’s revenue. As a result, CMOs frequently find themselves defending their investments and share of funding.

B2B 177
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(4:41 Video) “Collaboration in Sales: The Key to Success”

Steven Rosen

In this 4:41 video , Ryan Thomas discusses the importance of teamwork and collaboration in driving business success. He highlights the significance of being a partner rather than just a customer vendor. He emphasizes the need for leaders to embrace the power of teamwork to provide the best solutions for customers. Ryan Thomas discusses the importance of teamwork and collaboration in driving business success and highlights the significance of being a partner rather than just a vendor for custome

Video 156