Sales and Marketing Management

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

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

Education Buyer Buyer Persona Social Media 330

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

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

Closing Quota Proposal Face-to-face 292

MTD Sales Training

FEBRUARY 11, 2019

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

Discount Margin How To Prospecting 199

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

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.

Cold Calling 308

Cold Calling Training Research Study 308

Advertisement

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.

Trends

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

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

Hiring Territories Sales Cycle Competition 263

Sales and Marketing Management

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

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

Loyalty Banking Airlines Discount 290

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 26, 2019

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

Call-back Objections ACT Prospecting 262

SBI Growth

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

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 257

ROI Industry Customer Marketing 257

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

“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.

Cold Calling 280

Cold Calling Face-to-face Research Relationals 280

Advertisement

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.

Sales Management

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

We were on a JetBlue flight from Florida to Boston and the turbulence was much worse than usual. More dramatic, longer lasting, and bad enough for the flight attendants to remain seated for the entire flight. You've probably experienced a flight like that too. Fun! The jet was probably traveling 500 MPH but it's funny how when the air is smooth, it doesn't even seem like you're moving, but when you add some serious bumps, you can feel every single one of those 500 MPH.

Travel 258

Travel How To Prospecting Meeting 258

Connect2Sell

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

In a research study with 530 B2B buyers, we gathered information about buyer experiences with sellers. In related research, we collected over 500 stories from sellers about their own personal best in selling. Every single one of the sellers’ stories had something in common. Most of the buyer examples about preferred sellers suggested the same common ingredient, too.

How To 244

How To Buyer Study Research 244

Jeffrey Gitomer

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

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.

Positioning 234

Positioning Study Groups Examples 234

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

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.

Objections 232

Objections Buyer Hiring Call-back 232

Advertisement

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.

SalesForce

SBI Growth

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

Pick five non-marketing employees at random, and ask them what value your field marketing team brings to your organization. If you’re reluctant to do this exercise, it’s likely because you want to avoid blank stares and wild guesses that humble you.

Exercises 248

Exercises Marketing Campaigns Territories 248

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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

Referrals Lead Gen Social Media Cold Calling 233

DiscoverOrg Sales

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

First days can be stressful. Especially if you’ve just been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer. Extending far beyond traditional marketing tactics, today’s CMO shoulders vast and complex responsibilities that now span technology, analytics, revenue and—above all—measurable impact. In your first few weeks on the job , it’s tempting to hit the ground running.

Lead Rank 230

Lead Rank Marketing Qualified Lead Lead Gen ROI 230

The Sales Hunter

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

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.

Prospecting 236

Prospecting Social Media Call-back Media 236

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.

Hiring

MTD Sales Training

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

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’.

Sales Meeting 224

Sales Meeting Meeting Cancellation Travel 224

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

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

SME Quota Groups Buyer 225

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 14, 2019

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 227

Hotels Consultative Selling Sales Process Sales 227

Sales and Marketing Management

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

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.

Sales Technology 218

Sales Technology B2B Sales Enablement Enterprise 218

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!

Call Monitoring

SBI Growth

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

A sales rep’s mind can be their worst enemy when it comes to pricing initiatives. You have probably heard the comments in the hall-way and board rooms. “We don’t have good products/solutions to command those types of prices” “My customer.

Sales 214

Sales Guidelines Customer Exercises 214

The Sales Heretic

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

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 [.].

Prospecting 214

Prospecting Sales 214

Zoominfo

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

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

Segment Email Marketing Marketing Buyer Persona 219

Connect2Sell

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

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

Buyer How To Referrals Benefit 203

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.

Sales

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

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.

Sales Process 211

Sales Process Exact LinkedIn Sales 211

Sales and Marketing Management

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

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

Study Intent Sales System 216

SBI Growth

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

“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

Resources Strategy Scale Buyer Persona 208