The Pipeline

MARCH 6, 2012

Stored in Attitude , Book Notice , Price , Proactive , Sales Leadership , Sales Success , Sales Technique , execution. All sales aren’t created equal. Sales Bloggers Union. Sales Compensation. Sales Cycle. Sales eXchange. Sales Force Alignment. Sales Leadership. Sales Tool.

Pipeline 212

Pipeline Hiring Top of Funnel Cold Calling 212

Anthony Cole Training

OCTOBER 20, 2014

I’ve been in the sales and sales management consulting business for 21 years. Prior to that, I was an insurance wholesaler, an insurance agent, a Nautilus Regional Sales Manager, a Nautilus Regional Sales Rep and collegiate athletic coach. I will illustrate this “secret” based on my last 4 sales.

Insurance 163

Insurance Insurance Margin Hiring 163

Partners in Excellence

MAY 26, 2014

I’m not sure anyone looks forward to the Sales Management Review (sometimes these are called QBR’s, but there are other reviews). It’s unfortunate, because there’s a huge amount of value in the review process–both for sales people and managers.

Sales Management 109

Sales Management Forecasting Top of Funnel Sales Cycle 109

Understanding the Sales Force

APRIL 16, 2012

32% reported that their sales cycle is too long. 29% reported that they don’t convert enough leads to sales. 27% reported that their sales forecasts are not accurate enough. Despite those business pressures, these initiatives were put in place: 53% want higher margins. 21% want a better sales hiring process.

Hiring 193

Hiring Territories Compensation Forecasting 193

Partners in Excellence

DECEMBER 16, 2014

As with the prior articles, I get huge numbers of requests from sales manager to help Hack their jobs. “What are the short cuts?” ” “How do I manage my time better?” Having said that, here’s a few of my favorite hacks to sales management. I’ll stop here. No related posts.

Sales Management 114

Sales Management Hiring Top of Funnel Maximizer 114

Understanding the Sales Force

APRIL 21, 2014

Group 2 is the training group and they get the optimized sales process, their sales managers are trained to coach, and the salespeople are trained on both sales process and methodology. When it comes to sales selection, make sure science is on your side. win rate.

Hiring 261

Hiring Groups Exact Face-to-face 261

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

One approach that intrepid leaders can look to is too shrink the size of territories, based on a number of factors driven by deal size, length of cycle, nature of the offering (new or mature), is the focus margin or market share, is there opportunity for organic growth, or strictly competitive account growth, and others. Sales Cycle.

Pipeline 212

Pipeline Territories Harvest Cold Calling 212

Cincom Smart Selling

MARCH 13, 2025

CPQ software has revolutionized the way organizations manage complex sales cycles by enabling sales teams to quickly and accurately deliver tailored solutions to customers. Moreover, inconsistent discounting practices can erode profit margins and create distrust among customers.

Benefit 48

Benefit Discount Scale Margin 48

Close.io

OCTOBER 1, 2018

So you want to become a sales manager ? First you’ll need to make sure you’ve got the right skills, experience, drive and track record at the helm in both selling and at managing others—in order to back yourself up. Want to get a ready-made set of resources to manage a sales team effectively?

Sales Management 115

Sales Management Hiring Lead Rank Forecasting 115

Nutshell

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

When youre ready to send a quote, simply head over to the relevant Lead page and click on the + Add a quote link in the right-hand margin. Youll be able to keep track of your quotes state and progress and manage your quote templates in the Quotes section of your Nutshell app. Need more information? Get started with Nutshell Quotes!

Closing 77

Closing CRM Margin Sales Cycle 77

The Pipeline

MARCH 2, 2012

As with all things worth doing in sales, there is some work involved, despite what some soothsayers will tell you, there is no silver bullet in sales. Sales Bloggers Union. Sales Compensation. Sales Cycle. Sales eXchange. Sales Force Alignment. Sales Leadership. Sales Management.

Pipeline 237

Pipeline Twitter Lead Rank Lead Scoring 237

The Pipeline

APRIL 8, 2011

Similarly in the market world, you have to entice a clientele base by promoting heavily without really striving for a high profit margin. Promote sales, throw out freebies, offer free shipping for certain orders. Sales Bloggers Union. Sales Compensation. Sales Cycle. Sales eXchange. Sales Leadership.

Pipeline 216

Pipeline Meeting Webinar Metrics Strategy 216

Cincom Smart Selling

MARCH 29, 2025

Introduction Jerry, a sales manager at a mid-sized manufacturing company, was on the verge of closing a lucrative deal with a major client. In this article, we will take a deep dive into how quoting software enhances accuracy and accelerates sales cycles. The only thing left? Sending a final quote.

Software 48

Software Software Discount Lead Rank 48

Xactly

NOVEMBER 15, 2018

One of the most important things to consider when designing plans are the different roles on your sales team. Sales managers and their reporting reps will have responsibilities in their roles, which means your compensation plans should be tailored to different roles. Constructing Commissions in a Sales Manager Compensation Plan.

Compensation 87

Compensation Examples Sales Management Incentives 87

SalesFuel

JULY 29, 2024

It’s never too late for sellers to improve the sales cycle. To improve the sales cycle, understand it One of the biggest roadblocks to a winning sales cycle is basic lack of understanding it. At its most basic definition, a sales cycle is the process used to sell to buyers and close deals.

Sales Cycle 52

Sales Cycle Ideal Customer Profile Hiring Negotiation 52

Cincom Smart Selling

FEBRUARY 14, 2025

Align CPQ with Your Sales Strategy A CPQ system that operates in isolation from the broader sales strategy leads to misaligned workflows, inconsistent pricing approvals, and disconnected customer interactions. Implement automated discounting rules to prevent excessive price reductions that could erode margins.

ROI 48

ROI Maximizer Lead Rank Discount 48

Janek Performance Group

APRIL 15, 2025

Companies employ various sales forecasting techniques to predict future revenue. The optimal approach depends on factors like company size, industry, data availability and the complexity of the sales cycle. Generally, there are two main categories of sales forecasting methods qualitative and quantitative.

Sales Forecasts 62

Sales Forecasts Forecasting Analysis Lead Rank 62

Cincom Smart Selling

MARCH 29, 2025

In complex sales environments, quote-to-order software handles intricate pricing models, multi-level approvals, and compliance checks ensuring speed and accuracy while minimizing errors. Human Bias : Inconsistent discounting can lead to margin erosion and favoritism, impacting profitability. Multi-Currency Support : Selling globally?

Discount 48

Discount Proposal Lead Rank Margin 48

Pointclear

JUNE 12, 2018

The sales manager has only a few weeks to make his or her first-half numbers and if they’re behind, he or she is not sleeping. Also, getting a new sales manager at mid-year won’t have an impact until the following year. Offering discounts in the last quarter savages the margin and seldom solves the revenue shortfall.

Forecasting 113

Forecasting Outsourcing Services Sales Qualified Lead Discount 113

Cincom Smart Selling

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

A well-trained sales team can navigate the system effortlessly, configure products accurately, and apply pricing rules without errors. Without the right training, inefficiencies and mistakes can slow down the sales cycle, leading to lost opportunities. 5- Is CPQ training relevant for all types of sales teams?

Training 48

Training Closing Discount Lead Rank 48

Partners in Excellence

OCTOBER 31, 2013

Do we have problems closing (late cycle losses)? How Do We Compress Our Sales Cycle: As with the previous point, the pipeline gives us a macro view of what’ happening with our sales cycles. For example, with one client, Proofs Of Concepts were very critical in the sales cycle.

Pipeline 115

Pipeline Top of Funnel Revelation Sales Cycle 115

Xactly

JULY 5, 2018

One of the most important things to consider when designing plans are the different roles on your sales team. Sales managers and their reporting reps will have responsibilities unique to their roles, which means your compensation plans should be tailored to different roles. Your best sales rep is not necessarily the best leader.

Compensation 69

Compensation Sales Management Examples Commission 69

The Brooks Group

JUNE 1, 2015

In order to maintain a healthy profit margin, you must reinforce the importance of value within your sales culture. Keep in mind these 6 tips for protecting profit margin: 1. Build a sales compensation plan that focuses on gross margin, not volume. Sales Culture Sales Performance Improvement

Margin 40

Margin Compensation Hiring Lead Scoring 40

Nutshell

AUGUST 30, 2024

As a sales manager, you’re no stranger to reports and monitoring specific metrics to measure your team and company’s success. But what particular metrics are you focusing on, and are you leveraging the difference between net sales vs. gross sales to your advantage? FREE DOWNLOAD What is gross sales?

Discount 114

Discount Margin Report Revenue 114

SBI

MARCH 28, 2018

According to AMR Research, even a 3% increase in forecast accuracy increases profit margin by 2%. Continuous forecasting creates a process that is much faster, and finance is able to reduce cycle time. Final Tips: Invest in the Forecast from the Start and Make it a Team Priority.

Forecasting 139

Forecasting Analytics Sales Forecasts Margin 139

Hubspot Sales

OCTOBER 9, 2019

Plus, it can increase your sales. In a case study by Rain Group , a global sales training organization, they discovered that a client who went through sales training closed 15.2% more deals and the profit margin on sales-won improved by 12.2%. So, how can you improve your sales skills? Track your progress.

Film 144

Film Hubspot Sales Cycle Lead Scoring 144

Cincom Smart Selling

APRIL 10, 2025

Let us now understand the different types of channel sales available for organizations to adopt. Here we have listed the most common types of channel sales partners: Affiliate – Affiliates, such as bloggers and influencers promote a product or a service to boost sales and receive a commission in return.

Channels 48

Channels Retail Strategy Distribution 48

Hubspot Sales

AUGUST 8, 2019

Activity Sales Metrics. These sales metrics show what salespeople are doing on a daily basis. Activity metrics are “manageable,” meaning sales managers can directly influence them. Gauge the health of your sales pipeline with these metrics. Average length of sales cycle. Channel Sales Metrics.

Cost per Acquisition 145

Cost per Acquisition Lead Rank Churn Webinar Metrics 145

Close.io

JANUARY 23, 2020

The alternative is to apply a flat rate to net sales income, which incentivizes reps to focus more on profit than revenue. If you’re selling a simply-priced product or service that’s always in demand, easily understood by your target market, and has a short sales cycle, a flat rate would be a good starting point.

Commission 94

Commission Hiring Margin Scale 94

Partners in Excellence

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

We measure a lot of stuff in sales. We have all sorts of pipeline metrics, activity metrics, prospecting metrics, account, territory, retention, renewal, mix, margin, and endless other metrics. Let’s imagine we have two sales people with very similar territories. 85% of managers I pose this scenario to, roll their eyes.

Marketing Qualified Lead 148

Marketing Qualified Lead Churn Territories Pipeline 148

Sales Hacker

DECEMBER 4, 2020

A dashboard for frontline reps will look very different than one for a sales manager, for example. The data a manager needs to effectively keep track of their team (like onboarding metrics) would only get in a sales rep’s way. You can also align this to the selling cycle to understand what the health of the pipeline is.

Data 136

Data Lead Rank Pipeline Lead Scoring 136

Your Sales Management Guru

MARCH 19, 2012

More importantly what are you doing to lead and manage your organization and prepare of better times? In today’s economic times, the companies most likely to thrive are those that invest time in scrutinizing their strategic sales-management plans. Existing account sales as percentage of total sales, month and year to date.

Sales Leadership 70

Sales Leadership Cost per Lead Margin Face-to-face 70

Gong.io

MARCH 15, 2022

Let’s say you are in the middle of a deal that is normally a 3-month sales cycle. This is how far too many sales organizations across the world operate daily. Too few contacts involved in a deal: On average, winning deals have at least 3 people from the buyer’s side in meetings across the sales cycle.

Sales Forecasts 127

Sales Forecasts Forecasting Call-back Decision Maker 127

Gong.io

DECEMBER 30, 2022

While these are important sales KPIs, you’ll have to be more specific to create a SMART goal. For example, instead of saying that you want to bring in new clients or boost profit margins, you might say something like, “We’ll close more accounts with cold calls.” A sound sales strategy is far more important to hit your sales target.

Objections 62

Objections Examples Ideal Customer Profile Sales Management 62

Anthony Cole Training

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Sales Coaching (40). sales coaching skills (10). sales competencies (12). sales development (55). sales excuses (15). Sales Force (5). sales goals (29). sales improvement (22). Sales Jobs (5). sales leadership development (4). sales management (49). sales people (8).

Hiring 138

Hiring Ideal Customer Profile Sales Coaching Coaching 138

Partners in Excellence

DECEMBER 15, 2014

People wanted more short cuts, so I’ve put together a list for sales people. I’ll follow this with another post for sales managers. Our win rates and sales cycles for those customers are the highest, so it seems easiest if we do a great job at disqualification. I got a lot of messages on the post.

Sales Cycle 111

Sales Cycle Pipeline Call-back Maximizer 111

Partners in Excellence

MARCH 12, 2020

They were hitting their monthly proposal number, but many of the opportunities were marginally qualified, or opportunities they shouldn’t have been chasing in the first place. Within three months, the dynamics and performance of the sales team changed profoundly. Activity is important for all sales people and managers.

Proposal 108

Proposal Margin Quota Sales Cycle 108