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Without a sales plan, the lofty goals of business plans have trouble coming to life. Business plans often contain spreadsheets filled with optimistic numbers and outrageous revenue targets. What they rarely do is outline a strategy for getting there. A…
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If all goes well, a new salesperson leaves the office after the first day of work as a new brand ambassador. When speaking with friends or on social media later that night, the new hire's mates will ask how it…
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New sales tools can bring huge advantages to sales teams: whether it’s reinvigorating their energy, streamlining their processes, or gaining an edge on the competition. But deploying sales tools is not a task to be taken on lightly: it can…
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You’ve consulted Part 1 of this guide and determined that your organization is in need of new sales tools. Now it’s time to source the right tools that will meet your needs. In this second section of our four-part guide,…
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Your sales engine – just like a real engine – can only run when the correct components are in place and functioning. In the sales world, sourcing and implementing the right sales tools is a key part of remaining competitive.…
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Just a few years ago, up to three quarters of all CRM initiatives failed. Today, CRM systems — when used correctly — are powerful tools that offer an incredible competitive advantage. Just some of the potential benefits of a CRM…
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In previous generations, salespeople were the buyer's primary source for research and education. Today's savvy buyers, however, have already scoured the Internet and studied the product before walking into the first sales meeting. Since so much of the sale is…
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Salespeople must understand and be able to articulate how their offerings differentiate from competitors. They need to be intimately familiar with their place in the market, and also that of their competition. And of course, they also have to ask…
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When President John F. Kennedy visited the NASA space center in 1962, he encountered a janitor sweeping a floor and asked him what he was doing. The custodian replied, "I'm helping put a man on the moon." Every single person…
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Relying too much on a single salesperson, a single customer–or both–can set a business up for catastrophe. Businesses should protect themselves by establishing diversity of revenue streams, both internally with salespeople and externally with customer accounts. 80/20: The Pareto Principle…
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Salespeople are the soul of a business. The single best way to give them a shot at success is to provide them with ongoing, consistent sales training. Training makes them better salespeople, better teammates and helps them understand their role…
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Accurate forecasting is the responsibility of both the MD and the salesperson. Both have a vested interest in accurate reporting and both will find it impossible to do — and ultimately to keep — their jobs if they can't consistently…
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Virtually every veteran MD has horror stories about salespeople who gave away far too much for far too little. In many cases, those salespeople thought they were benefitting the business. In many cases, they settled for too little because they…
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Sales staff unsuccessful at the end of the year? The reason is almost always the same: they spent too much time on deals that didn’t close. As Lord Sugar’s trusted advisor Nick Hewer has reminded us in season after season…
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Business speaker Jaynie Smith, states a value proposition must provide a clear answer to a single question: "Why should I buy from you and not your competition?" According to the Vistage post where Smith made that point, 95 percent of…
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You don’t need a degree in psychology to perform in sales, but knowing customer personalities can make all the difference between sealing the deal and walking away empty-handed. Industry Insights Understanding your customers is a huge asset – in negotiations,…
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The best pitches are personal. Like a job applicant's resume, a sales pitch will go nowhere if it is a boilerplate carbon copy of previous pitches. The best pitches consider the specific needs and desires of the target business —…
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If a smart business owner considers an investment, whether it is for a new refrigerator in his or her home or for the acquisition of a rival company, a strict ROI calculation precedes the purchase. Is this investment worth the…
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25 years ago, a salesperson might have been forced to unplug an entire PC and load it into a car to give a presentation to a client on the road. In today's sales technology landscape, cloud-connected mobile apps let salespeople…
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The right technologies, when implemented the right way, can streamline sales, improve customer service and free up valuable time. Technology, however, can also be expensive, confusing, unnecessary and obstructive. To determine if a new sales technology or software will add…
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When it comes to sales budget planning, every pound spent should bring value in return. Every pound that is not geared to an investment or tasked for a purpose is wasted money. There are five steps to preventing waste and…
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Yes. All the time and effort, all the marketing collateral, presentations and pitches have paid off. The lead is now a customer; you have your buy-in, your agreement. But the close is not synonymous with the end. After sales support…
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You have forged a relationship with your prospect; you’ve discussed benefits and features and overcome objections. You have demonstrated, explained and discussed. You’ve inquired about the family and the golf game. You’ve done everything but get to “The Ask”. As…
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What is the biggest competitive challenge facing salespeople today? According to the Harvard Business Review, “it’s not so much the competition’s ability to sell as it is the customer’s ability to learn.” A shift in dynamics has empowered customers; as…
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Promotions are cause for celebration; they’re transitions, a chance to start a new career chapter. Or, they’re the ideal pressure cookers for bad blood and toxic office politics. Depends on which side of the promotion one finds oneself. Sales and…
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A new title. More prestige, and perhaps a bit more money. What could be better? While highly sought-after, promotions are a great source of stress for the newly minted manager. And there’s plenty of angst to go ‘round. As a…
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Business referrals are among the highest-quality prospects available. Referrals are so valuable, in fact, that referral strategy experts earn their entire living by helping companies formulate plans to increase the number of business referrals they obtain. Salespeople can get quality…
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A sales review carries more weight in today's business climate than ever before. Good or bad, online reviews and critiques hold enormous sway over potential buyers, and businesses must take an active role in maintaining, nurturing and presenting their online…
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Businesses that sell highly technical, industry-specific products generally follow one of two sales models. The first option is to create a sales team made up of technical experts who are authorities on every aspect of the product. In the second…
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For sales divisions in larger companies that have the luxury of working in conjunction with a marketing division, the process of qualifying in sales is a team effort. Standalone sales teams at smaller businesses, however, have to get creative in…
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There are three ingredients in successful sales hiring: knowing what to look for in a candidate, understanding exactly what future roles the new recruit will be required to fulfill, and developing a sales hiring process that identifies the right recruits.…
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Hiring in sales is a group effort. The makeup of the team depends on the size of the business and the position that needs to be filled. Including all the key people, however, is only half the battle. They must…
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All too often, Managing Directors hire new salespeople in response to a change or an issue that has already occurred. This kind of reactive hiring is a recipe for drawing low-quality recruits who don't deliver maximum return on investment. Businesses…
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Company culture is infectious — whether it is good or bad. A vibrant sales culture benefits not just the employees who bask in it, but all stakeholders. When salespeople are happy, positive, fulfilled, motivated and secure, numbers rise and sales…
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There is an old adage in business that says the customer is always right. In some cases, however, the customer is not right for the business or the business is not right for the customer. It sounds counter-intuitive, but sometimes…
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In the Barclays Premiership, Juan Mata is Manchester United's hardest-working player. Covering an average of more than 11.3 km per game, he outpaces his only comparable teammate by roughly 300 meters every 90 minutes. After they stretch and warm up,…
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It’s a truism that we vote for people, not policies – and similarly, we buy from people, not products. Do your salespeople understand this insight and know how to apply it to their selling strategy? Do your hiring managers know…
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A dynamic and motivated sales team is often the difference between success and failure. Hiring ambitious, creative salespeople is half of the equation. The other half is keeping them motivated, interested and engaged. Psychometric Testing: Evaluating Personalities to Choose the…
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Good communication skills are a salesperson's most valuable asset. The best salespeople can spark casual, organic conversations with customers, gather granular, seemingly irrelevant details, and then use those details to guide a buyer over a purchasing impasse. Don't Interrogate Customers,…
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Price is a determining factor in virtually every customer buying decision process. But it should never be the single objection that prevents a sale. To get past the roadblock of cost, the best salespeople identify their buyer's real purchasing needs…
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It is always sad when talented, ambitious people leave a company because they’re convinced they will never get out of the shadow the owner — but it happens all the time. It’s natural for many managing directors to use their…
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Most new salespeople face an impossible catch-22 when they first get hired. They can't succeed until they are given the proper tools, but they often aren't given access to the proper tools until they succeed. Too many businesses hire salespeople…
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Email revolutionized communication and ushered in the digital age — but it might just be the worst possible medium for following up a sales proposal. Email simply does not encourage the kind of back-and-forth dialogue that is needed to turn…
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When a new leader asks the sales team how they were trained when they first got hired, the most likely answer is that they learned on the job. If the leader follows up by asking if they think they could…
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Some mistakes can't be un-made — especially when it comes to following up. Following up requires a salesperson to walk a delicate balance between being persistent and being annoying or overly aggressive. Countless speakers conduct seminars on what a salesperson…
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Nobody wants to be the one to announce to the board that the sales team only met 25 percent of the month's revenue forecast — again. In order to close the space between forecast projections and actual revenue, leaders must…
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Without a reliable formula for qualifying leads, businesses waste time and resources chasing prospects that were never in a position to buy in the first place. The cost of poor prospecting can crush a business, so it is critical to…
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The traits that make a successful closer are too numerous to list. But generally, the best closers don't "sell." They educate buyers and help them make fully informed decisions. From Salesman to Challenger: The Evolution of the Closer In years…
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It's good to have a maverick — as long as your maverick is a superstar. What no business can tolerate, however, is a sales team with 50 different people who do 50 different things in 50 different ways. The superstars…
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Selling is a difficult, important and undervalued skill — one part art, one part science. A good salesperson can help the client understand the granular differences between similar products. A motivated salesperson can protect customers by helping them make the…
