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By Tibor Shanto. Can we agree that despite many claims to the contrary, there is no single proven method for continuous success in B2B sales? One that has proven itself in varied markets and real-world challenges. No matter what argument you may counter with, the fact you’re willing to discuss proves it doesn’t exist. That’s neither good nor bad, but an honest way to start looking at a real problem is sales today.
Stormy clouds covering the Serengeti while on game-drive on the way to Seronera. We are starting to reopen but it’s pretty clear things will be different. Things will be some kind of new but not the same as before. The good news is that some things will be better. than before. Sometimes it takes a big kick in the pants to change people and this crisis has certainly been that for many of us.
Being a quota crusher doesn’t stop at closing net new deals. Account managers, those who work with an existing book of business, are extremely valuable to organizations. Their role is critical for retention and revenue expansion.
Unleash the 10X Factor to Close the Sales Gap. Do you want to close the sales gap? Doing nothing is not an option! Businesses are starting to open, which hopefully is a good thing. You are still responsible for generating your company’s revenue, and your colleagues are counting on your efforts and that of your entire team. Now is the time to get sales on track.
Today’s buyers expect more than generic outreach–they want relevant, personalized interactions that address their specific needs. For sales teams managing hundreds or thousands of prospects, however, delivering this level of personalization without automation is nearly impossible. The key is integrating AI in a way that enhances customer engagement rather than making it feel robotic.
I listen to a lot of calls each week that my clients send me. This week, I listened to a closing call from one of their reps, and here is how the prospect opened the call: Prospect: “Let me just tell you upfront that we’re looking at a lot of different options right now of which yours is just one…”. Then: “And also, I’m not the decision maker on this, I’m just an influencer.
In sales we need to go through the motions. Our buyers are “frazzled” as Jill Konrath says. Even if you use social selling techniques that get you a referral or help you connect to a potential buyer using your mutual background, it is still likely to take some follow up before you confirm a meeting time (or virtual meeting time these days). Research from XANT looked at the optimal “cadence” for prospecting based on the masses of data available to them through companies’ usage of their software.
In sales we need to go through the motions. Our buyers are “frazzled” as Jill Konrath says. Even if you use social selling techniques that get you a referral or help you connect to a potential buyer using your mutual background, it is still likely to take some follow up before you confirm a meeting time (or virtual meeting time these days). Research from XANT looked at the optimal “cadence” for prospecting based on the masses of data available to them through companies’ usage of their software.
Most sellers will tell you that creating conversations with prospects is critical to greater success in sales, but the dynamics of how to do it can be baffling. Unfortunately, when sellers seek to understand it better, they often find conflicting advice.
The Behavioral Styles ® model is an easy-to-use tool for assessing the behavioral characteristics that fall within four distinct customer communication styles: Talker, Doer, Controller and Supporter. Does communication style matter when it comes to sales? More than you might expect. Studies show that over 80% of customer dissatisfaction is rooted in emotional issues rather than intellectual ones.
“If the only prayer you said in your life was ‘Thank you,’ that would suffice.” —Meister Eckhart (1260-1328). 2020 has been weird. For nearly a year, the pandemic has kept people mostly sheltered in their homes. Companies have gone out of business while Amazon’s value climbed to 1.5 trillion dollars, and mobile apps have become substitutes for trips to grocery stores and restaurants.
Lee Baker, one of the Sr SDRs at demandDrive, put together this email recently. With the current state of the world I don’t think it could have come at a more appropriate time.
Are you struggling with slow quoting cycles, complex product configurations, and disconnected data in your manufacturing/distribution business? This article will help. Learn how industrial companies are revolutionizing sales processes with an integrated platform that includes quoting, inventory, and service, providing real-time data and offline access for field teams.
Your referral network is your net worth in sales. “How do I ask for a referral from customers I haven’t spoken with in two years?” That’s what a client recently asked me, and I was baffled by his revelation. How can smart, experienced sales reps let their customer relationships wither? I have plenty of advice about asking for referrals , but most of it assumes that salespeople nurture their client relationships.
By Tibor Shanto. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and in sales, telephone prospecting is something worth doing and doing right. Challenge is that many don’t do it right, making the whole thing that much harder, and eventually not done. You can tell how salespeople go through these phases by the predictability of the excuses offered. One of my favorites is that the phone just doesn’t work anymore, no one answers their phone and other similar hits.
At this point in 2020, all your competitors have undergone some variation of a “digital transformation” to supplement an end-to-end data-driven, Customer Experience (CX) focused digital sales strategy. A recent study conducted by KPMG found that over 90% of companies.
We are in week 6 of lockdown, week 8 of voluntary work-from-home, while adapting, guiding and directing companies who still need to sell their products and services to generate revenue. At this point sales is about so much more than generating revenue for profit or to keep employees working. For most companies, sales is now about generating revenue to survive, as we stare down a whole new way of doing business.
Modern go-to-market teams know it takes more than one email to break through the noise. Multiple touchpoints means more ways to get your pitch right — and, potentially, more ways to be wrong. The good news? Once you know how to write compelling, one-off emails to entice prospective customers, you can easily do the same across a short sequence of emails.
The current “Social Distancing” and “Shelter at Home” requirements have resulted in millions of people conducting virtual presentations for the first time. And it shows. Which is understandable. Our first attempts at most things leave a lot to be desired. And virtual presentations have a lot more challenges and elements to be managed than typical [.].
Author: Luke Kreitner The element of surprise has been proven to be a powerful motivational tool. Scientific studies show that unexpected incentive rewards stimulate areas of the brain connected to behavior development and learning. With stay-at-home mandates causing what many reference as the “groundhog day” effect, your sales team is the perfect audience for incorporating surprise rewards as part of a sales incentive program to keep remote teams engaged and company morale high.
Urban crowds of people from above. This is entirely 3D generated image. If you didn’t believe that we humans are connected before COVID-19, you should now. As you know, the virus has been transmitting itself exponentially through populations around the world. The only thing that has slowed its progress has been implementing some form of social distancing.
In last week’s CONNECT2Sell blog post, we got an overview of why communication skills are so crucial to sales success. In fact, out of all the soft skills required for selling, communication skills may be the most important of all. The surprising takeaway is that there are a minimum of 20 specific skills under that broad umbrella of communication.
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.
You will no doubt have been in the position where you’ve been discussing purchase opportunities with your prospect and the subject of your competitors comes up. Whether it’s the price you are charging or their needs to get different quotes, or many other reasons, it can be quite deflating when the competition is brought up in the sales meeting. Should you try to by-pass the issue?
The words you choose as a seller have power - don't miss any apportunity gain a competitive edge. Choosing what you say or write can help close a deal, or lose one.
Sales Leadership Roundtable Discussion. I really enjoyed a round table discussion that I facilitated a couple of weeks ago. I had 8 senior sales executives join me for an open discussion. In part 1 of this two-part series, they shared how they have kept their salespeople productive and motivated over the last couple of weeks. We all realized that we are all in unchartered waters.
Why do you trust some people and not others? Trust is a word we use indiscriminately, but we do not trust indiscriminately. How do we define trust? How do we get our arms around such an emotional word? That’s a tough question to answer, because it depends on the person, and sometimes it depends on the times. Right now, in the midst of a global health emergency and a global financial crisis , we’re all asking ourselves who to trust.
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.
By Tibor Shanto. Sales pundits love to talk about change, and there is no shortage of opportunity brought about by the changes we face today. But having been at the game for a while the one thing that never changes is the view and approach to incentive or commissions. I am not talking about superficial changes or updates in packaging, but real substantive change, the kind you only get when you change behaviors.
Whether you are about to go on a first date or preparing for a discovery call with a prospect – first impressions matter. Regardless if it is from their initial website visit to their first discovery call, the prospects’ experience.
You're probably going to hate this article! I'm going to show you that much of what is transpiring with the Pandemic could be having a greater impact than you realize relative to the future state of your business and you might not like what I have to say. As always, if you can hang in through some of the preliminary analysis, I'll make the pivot to sales and business.
My friend Joel Comm is a brilliant author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He’s also the co-host of The Bad Crypto Podcast. In this capacity, he frequently receives requests from people who want to be a guest on his show. Recently, his inbox was graced with this request (that he kindly shared with me): Hey guys, I [.].
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.
Author: Andres Lares, Shapiro Negotiations Institute There is a small truism about connecting with people that anyone in sales can tell you, and they learned it early in their careers. When speaking to somebody on the phone, they can hear the difference when you smile. It’s true. And it demonstrates a tried and true concept that is more critical now than ever before: It’s not just what you say, but how you say it. .
It’s a really tough time for most companies to sell their products and services. Much buying is “paused.” Buyers are wondering what the future holds for their companies–and themselves–and are having a tough time committing to purchases. Deals are stuck in the pipeline and new opportunities are in short supply. 1. A time to plan. Conversely, this slow time is a great time to plan for the future.
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