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The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Five Posts on Hiring and Managing Talent You Might Have Missed

The Next Level: What It Is and How You Get There

The Next Level What it is, and how you get thereIt has become almost cliché among professionals who are no longer content with their level of success or income:  “I’m ready to take things to the next level.” 

Topics: Sales

How to Perfectly Align Your Marketing with the Prospect’s Interests

How to perfectly align your marketing with the prospect’s interestsThe Center for Sales Strategy turns 30 years old later this week , and for about 29 of those 30 years we’ve been proselytizing against cold calls. So it should be no surprise that I read with delight author Jeffrey Gitomer’s recent rant about cold calls.  (Oh, and maybe Gitomer’s enthusiastic endorsement of my book Close Like the Pros gives me another reason to appreciate his good judgment!) 

Topics: Inbound Marketing

Is Your Sales Team Full of Animals?

leadership developmentMy younger daughter started school this week and brought home her Friday Folder with what I thought was a very interesting assignment she completed. Her teacher had her class complete an assessment on their behaviors themed with animals and illustrated in an age appropriate way. This was fun for my daughter; she loved learning about herself and discovering what she knows she's good at but what she should also look out for. Turns out, my daughter is an Otter.

Five Undeniable Truths of Implementing a Lead Generation Strategy

inbound marketingAfter wrapping up four days in Boston at the INBOUND conference, our team left filled with tips and tricks, insights and inspiration – all aimed to make us better inbound marketers and even better teachers of the strategies that so many companies are utilizing to connect online with their customers, best prospects, and biggest fans. Plus, you can check out a great recap on all the keynotes here

Topics: Lead Generation Inbound Marketing

Five Posts on Inbound Marketing You Might Have Missed

inbound marketingIt's been a big week for inbound marketing, with the HubSpot INBOUND13 conference taking place in Boston and a variety of new product announcements made that affect thousands of marketers. However, with all this buzz about inbound marketing you might still be wondering what exactly it is and whether or not it can truly help you reach your revenue goals.

Topics: Inbound Marketing

The Bill Gates Lesson in Hiring the Right Salespeople

The Bill Gates Lesson in Hiring the Right Salespeople

The Time to Humanize Your Business is Now: Updates From INBOUND13

inbound marketingYesterday was the first day of HubSpot’s INBOUND conference, a gathering for some of the top inbound marketers, writers, speakers, and thought leaders in the industry – and it became evident very quickly to our team in attendance that there was an underlying theme to this year’s event.  

Topics: Inbound Marketing

Does Your Sales Strategy Set Expectations Correctly?

describe the imageCongratulations! After all of your creative efforts to stand out, establish credibility, and demonstrate expertise, your prospect has finally agreed to meet with you. Considering how many other salespeople likely call on them in your market, this is a huge win! However, what you do next could make it all worthwhile… or simply a waste of time.

Topics: Needs Analysis sales strategy Sales

Inbound 2013 and Eight Reasons Why You Need Inbound Marketing

inbound marketingTomorrow is the first day of Inbound 2013 in Boston, the international headquarters of Hubspot, who is the undisputed world champion of inbound marketing software.  It’s Hubspot’s all-in-one marketing software that powers the inbound marketing efforts of many very successful businesses. 

Topics: Inbound Marketing

Five Posts on Needs Analysis You Might Have Missed

Needs AnalysisLearning how to dig deeper and gain a better understanding of each of your client and prospect's needs is a very popular topic on our blog. We've taken a look at some of our popular articles that will help you to conduct an effective needs analysis meeting so you can focus on developing customized solutions for your clients.  

Topics: Needs Analysis Sales

A Sales Strategy to Be Persistent without Appearing Desperate!

5 ways to be persistent without appearing desperateI was in a department store looking at big screen TVs and the sales representative approached me and asked if he could help me with something. I told him I was just browsing (but I was really interested in buying).

Topics: Needs Analysis Sales

Executive Coaching: Are Your Meetings Worth $60,000?

A $10,000 MeetingThis week I had the pleasure of running a meeting with a group of department heads. The topic of our discussion was All About Meetings. Prior to the meeting, one of the b2b sales managers did the math to determine how much it costs (time off the streets) to have all of the salespeople on his team attend an hour long meeting. The title to this blog post doesn’t even begin to cut it – the cost was in the $60,000.00 range – for one hour

New Digital Marketing: What Facebook and Football Have In Common

What Facebook And The Superbowl Have In CommonFacebook is taking lessons from the NFL. According to Bloomberg.com, Facebook plans to charge $1 million to $2.5 million a day for their new TV style 15 second ad units, but will users really be willing to watch?

Topics: digital marketing Digital

A B2B Sales Strategy to Help You Ask for More Money

sales strategyYou just had what seems like a great meeting with a b2b sales prospect. You're excited because early on in the conversation you came across a need that was clearly actionable by you and your company. Cool.

Topics: Needs Analysis Sales

Ten Ways to Increase B2B Sales Performance with Successful Feedback

Leadership DevelopmentMy afternoon was filled with pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo, and that doesn’t happen very often around here! Smack-dab between my 2:00pm Sales Talent Interview and my 3:30pm talent coaching call, my daughter (who is working this summer as a nanny for an 11-month old cutie named Tripp) popped by my office with an armload of squealing energy.  

Topics: developing strengths Sales

Great Sales Managers Inspire and Motivate… Just like Great Teachers

Great Sales Managers Inspire and Motivate Just like Great Teachers“Back to School” is a highly anticipated event for both students and parents alike, albeit for different reasons… but highly anticipated nonetheless! As a kid I remember feeling a sense of nervous excitement the night before the first day of school. I couldn’t wait to see all my friends, share summer stories, wear my new clothes, find out if my best friends were in my classes, meet my new teachers, and since I grew up in the 80’s… show off my fabulous “big hair.” 

Topics: Sales

Is Your B2B Sales Team Optimized for Mobile?

Is your sales team optimized for mobile Sales managers should be preparing for the inevitable adaptation of mobility for their b2b sales departments. CTOs of today’s companies, both large and small, believe that enterprise mobility is a must for their organization. A recent report published on MarketingProfs indicates that 94% of CTOs are embracing mobile. In addition, 65% view more mobile support for employees as a critical priority and so should you.

Topics: Digital