Sales Hacker

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Proposals are often the least favorite parts of the sales process for many people – partially because they are a pain, and partially because they’re a mystery. There have probably been countless times you’ve sent out a proposal and the prospect is never to be heard from again. Why your prospect hates your proposal.

Proposal 136

Proposal Prospecting Vendor Follow-up 136

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

While the RFP Checklist isn’t exhaustive, it provides a good starting point for developing a winning sales strategy. Take note – an RFP is not a mechanism for vendor selection. What An RFP really Is: A mechanism for vendor de -selection. What An RFP is Not : A mechanism for vendor selection. What is an RFP – Really?

Strategy 282

Strategy Vendor How To Proposal 282

Sales and Marketing Management

MARCH 30, 2020

That is why Shapiro Negotiations Institute has taught for decades how to plan for successful sales and negotiations while maintaining and enhancing the relationship for future deals. If a goal of your sales team is to make better deals, faster and at better margins, then you must read (and follow) these five tips: . Use W questions.

Negotiation 279

Negotiation Margin Proposal Maximizer 279

Understanding the Sales Force

JANUARY 14, 2014

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan According to FreeDictionary.com , the original definition of Methodology is, "the theoretical analysis of the methods appropriate to a field of study or to the body of methods and principles particular to a branch of knowledge." I''ve written about Sales Methodology before. Current Vendor.

Sales Methodology 271

Sales Methodology Negotiation Proposal Analysis 271

Cincom Smart Selling

FEBRUARY 25, 2025

Quote and proposal software has generated a lot of buzz. Postings on social media, commentary from industry analysts, as well as user and vendor blog posts and white papers, all offer advice and information about automating the quote and proposal functions within the enterprise. Not everyone needs the most feature-rich systems.

Proposal 48

Proposal Software Software Scale 48

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

Last week I saw a piece on LinkedIn, that questioned the accuracy of predictions about the future of B2B sales and selling made in the past decade. The piece pointed to a prediction by Forrester around 2015 about the size and nature of B2B sales in 2020. Is sales is making the most of their newfound time and resources?”

Revenue 370

Revenue Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank 370

Understanding the Sales Force

JANUARY 22, 2024

That exact same thing happens to salespeople on their sales calls. You probably ended the call with a mind-blowing, spectacularly biased perspective on your likelihood of getting the business and, if forty years in the sales development business has taught me anything, your perspective could be completely wrong. What did you miss?

Closing 220

Closing Proposal Discount Decision Maker 220

Understanding the Sales Force

JANUARY 22, 2014

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan This is the 8th article in a January series on the Architecture of the Sales Force. Here are the others: Organic Sales Growth and Its Impact on Sales Architecture. Overlooked Conversation Between Sales Managers and Salespeople. Why is that?

Proposal 235

Proposal Sports Sales Qualified Lead Scale 235

Mr. Inside Sales

NOVEMBER 27, 2017

In my new book: Power Phone Scripts: 500 Word-For-Word Questions, Phrases, and Conversations to Open and Close More Sales , I teach you exactly what to say in the hundreds of selling situations you get into, including this competitor situation. Option #4: “What don’t you see with our proposal that you see in others?”.

Proposal 124

Proposal Competition How To Insurance 124

Sales Gravy

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

Ask Jeb: How to Sell When Your Customer Has to Sell First Welcome to another Ask Jeb segment on the Sales Gravy Podcast! Im Jeb Blountbestselling author of Fanatical Prospecting, Objections, Sales EQ, and INKED. By helping them present stronger bids or more compelling proposals, you become integral to their success.

Customer 81

Customer Licensing Proposal Government 81

Selling Energy

JULY 15, 2022

The one-page proposal format is remarkably effective. Hundreds of our graduates have taken the time to share with me how they’re getting higher closing ratios and shorter sales cycles using this simple approach. It's definitely the wave of the future.

Proposal 83

Proposal Vendor Sales Cycle Closing 83

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Do you see the two pictures? Isn't that a lot like the sales calls your salespeople are conducting? Their prospects are very nice, say a lot of the right things, express interest in your offerings, request proposals, presentations and quotes, and promise to follow up.

Decision Maker 215

Decision Maker Vendor Banking Call-back 215

Understanding the Sales Force

OCTOBER 16, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan You may remember the book and later the movie, The Blind Side. They claim to be happy with their current vendor. They would love to get a proposal from us. This marks two posts in a row with a football metaphor. What''s happening to me?].

Decision Maker 202

Decision Maker Proposal Vendor ACT 202

Sales and Marketing Management

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Responding to proposal requests is a slow process that adds time to the sales cycle. Manual processes tie up the sales and marketing team for weeks as they sift through previous answers to repetitive questions, chase responses to new questions, verify the information and seek approvals, over and over again.

Benefit 217

Benefit Proposal Software Software 217

Hubspot Sales

MARCH 13, 2025

According to a 2023 survey of over 450 sales leaders, 91% of their teams missed quota that year. And even with revenue up in 2024 , reps are still struggling to meet their sales goals. Getting stuck on YTD sales. Projecting a sales cycle ahead of time gives sellers a better chance of making their numbers.

Revenue 95

Revenue Meeting Top of Funnel Forecasting 95

SBI Growth

AUGUST 11, 2013

The sales QBR (Quarterly Business Review) is a convention that needs to be revamped or reconsidered. Oftentimes the QBR becomes a soapbox for vendors to tout what they have done. In this blog, I address a sales strategy to enliven QBRs and improve account management. It also helps with sales development.

Exercises 257

Exercises Face-to-face Vendor Churn 257

Score More Sales

JUNE 25, 2014

Many of the same ideas are rehashed daily within sales and customer service – and in accounting and operations. If you have an open environment where ideas can be shared your company has a good chance of using collaboration for sales growth. In sales and business building – execution is where it is at. Blurred Lines.

Marketing 217

Marketing Airlines Ideal Customer Profile Construction 217

Sales and Marketing Management

OCTOBER 14, 2019

However, the higher you move in the hierarchy of an organization, or the closer you get to sales activities, the more your day-to-day life becomes about interacting with people – colleagues, bosses, investors, board members, employees and customers. Ask the Right Questions Before You Make Your Proposal. What should you ask about?

Customer 239

Customer Closing Proposal Decision Maker 239

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 27, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan One of the findings in the most recent Sales Performance Optimization Study , from CSO Insights, revealed that the win rate for deals has reached an all-time low. Is sales process having an impact? Does that surprise you? Does this represent a change in buyer behavior?

Travel 251

Travel Decision Maker Insurance Insurance 251

SBI Growth

MAY 31, 2013

Here’s a great example: Rick, a sales rep with a wholesale coffee company, calls on a new prospect. Last year our customer, Solid Grounds, ( Hero ) places an special order based on holiday internet sales. You might wonder how exactly stories apply to the sales process. Switching shipping vendors at this point wasn’t an option.

Infusion 335

Infusion Decision Maker ACT Follow-up 335

Sales Hacker

SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

Requests for proposals are a mixed blessing. Completing them can be a tedious, unpleasant task, but they can’t be completely ignored because they can lead to significant sales revenue. And there is normally a period in which all vendors are allowed to submit questions for additional information. Don’t rely on sales puffery.

Proposal 121

Proposal Government Vendor Hiring 121

DiscoverOrg Sales

FEBRUARY 6, 2018

B2B sales pros and marketers swim in an ocean of information. We asked over 200 sales and marketing professionals about 78 data points (and “secret sauce” combinations of data points) in a comprehensive survey, Breaking Open the Predictive Black Box: Which Data Points Actually Lead to Higher Conversion Rates and More Sales?

Ideal Customer Profile 238

Ideal Customer Profile Data Intent Data Lead Rank 238

SBI Growth

AUGUST 11, 2013

The sales QBR (Quarterly Business Review) is a convention that needs to be revamped or reconsidered. Oftentimes the QBR becomes a soapbox for vendors to tout what they have done. In this blog, I address a sales strategy to enliven QBRs and improve account management. It also helps with sales development.

Exercises 221

Exercises Face-to-face Vendor Churn 221

Sales and Marketing Management

JUNE 20, 2017

That research is now complete, and the results, taken together, reveal something critical about challenging the customer in your sales conversa­tions: There is a proper time to provoke and challenge the customer, but it’s not when you’re trying to keep them or get them to pay more. The goal was to increase that to 80 percent — the benchmark.

Vendor 166

Vendor Hiring Discount Retention 166

Sales Hacker

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

But with the rapid advancement of tech and so many options on the market, choosing the right technology for your sales team can seem like a tall mountain to climb. Vendor Consolidation. Today, we’re seeing a continuous trend of vendor consolidation across multiple software categories. The Effect of Work From Home.

Lead Rank 133

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Trends Report 133

SalesFuel

MARCH 12, 2025

Armed with the detailed co-op information provided by AdMall, I was able to propose a comprehensive marketing plan that would effectively promote both their current business and their new location. The marketing plan I proposed for [my advertiser] included a variety of advertising formats designed to maximize their reach.

Advertising 59

Advertising Advertising Campaigns Retail 59

Allego

NOVEMBER 16, 2021

Picture this: You’re VP of Sales at a large medical device manufacturer with a multinational sales force spread across five continents. You also employ channel sales partners. >> Download your All-in-One Sales Enablement RFP Kit to learn how to create a comprehensive RFP and keep the evaluation process on track.

Vendor 71

Vendor Sales Enablement Distribution Scale 71

Sales and Marketing Management

DECEMBER 14, 2020

But Kavadellas recognizes the golf course doesn’t suit everyone as an effective setting for a sales meeting. Orasi’s team of 12 field sales reps is supplemented with 10 inside salespeople who call on a second tier of prospects. What does it mean for B2B sales managers as they strategize for 2021? Trends that are here to stay.

Outsourcing Services 279

Outsourcing Services Face-to-face Travel Lead Rank 279

PandaDoc

OCTOBER 15, 2024

Deal desk software organizes a sales team’s quote-to-cash workflow. These are primarily used in B2B and SaaS companies to help manage complex sales processes, papers, and status updates. Reduce your sales cycle and improve your close rate today with PandaDoc. Sales within B2B can be complex and challenging.

Software 52

Software Software Maximizer Proposal 52

DiscoverOrg Sales

JULY 10, 2018

You are working with a decision-maker who has some skin in the game, and they’re taking your proposal seriously. We should relish objections,” says Steve Bryerton , DiscoverOrg’s VP of Sales. We already use another vendor.”. So, how do you handle sales objections? Want to Build a Sales & Marketing Lead Engine?

Objections 243

Objections Buyer Persona Study Decision Maker 243

Understanding the Sales Force

JULY 29, 2013

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan My mind doesn''t work the same as most people. I always seem to find a sales analogy buried somewhere. Frank, who writes the Sales Archaeologist Blog , has that ability too. This reminded me of the prospect that has a strong relationship with the incumbent vendor.

Groups 209

Groups Decision Maker Proposal Vendor 209

Score More Sales

OCTOBER 18, 2013

If you could wave a magic wand and make improvements for keeping track of your business contacts, their social activity, and your current and past sales opportunities, what would you change or fix? These include prospects, customers, former customers, vendors, partners, and referrers? Because stuff like this tends to get lost.

CRM 193

CRM Ideal Customer Profile Top of Funnel Lead Rank 193

Score More Sales

MAY 19, 2014

when talking to a vendor. She has a huge sales opportunity with someone who asked her for a contract – not a proposal. Sales is about give and take. By setting next actions in your sales career, you will see how helpful it is for all of your relationships – in and outside of the sales position.

Call-back 214

Call-back Ideal Customer Profile B2B Conference 214

Sales and Marketing Management

JULY 19, 2017

of the marketing messaging and sales training content — i.e. This convergence will be powered by interactive, integrated content — think sales playbooks that enable just-in-time, situational learning, giving reps specific coaching whenever and wherever they need it.

Training 214

Training Face-to-face Research Proposal 214

DiscoverOrg Sales

FEBRUARY 7, 2018

We asked over 200 sales and marketing professionals about 78 predictive data points (and “secret sauce” combinations of data points) in a comprehensive survey, Breaking Open the Predictive Black Box : Which Data Points . Actually Lead to Higher Conversion Rates and More Sales? The least predictive is Age. ).

Intent 145

Intent Data Opportunity Intent Data 145

Zoominfo

APRIL 26, 2018

In an ideal world, sales reps would spend all day sending emails, taking calls, and ultimately, doing what they do best—selling. There’s a lot more to sales than meets the eye. The best sales reps have developed an arsenal of productivity hacks to balance the administrative work with the actual sales process.

Hiring 197

Hiring Referrals Cold Calling B2B 197

Sales and Marketing Management

JANUARY 26, 2018

Your sales team knows this, and they spend the majority of their time nurturing the best accounts, following the classic 80/20 rule. Some have operational and budget responsibilities; others would be personally affected by the investment that you are proposing. Why shouldn’t marketing do the same? It’s called buying by committee.

Account Based Marketing 236

Account Based Marketing B2B Marketing Buying Cycle 236