The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

For every sales manager and General Manager, November and December are always interesting months. And the reasons why: it's the end of the year and it's BONUS month. It's the months to prod, cajole, incentivize, and yes, even beg the sellers to get out there and close the year strong!  

2021 is nearly over!

If you're only a few dollars short of getting your year-end bonus, you should do everything within your power to do so.

However, the fact of the matter is that most years, that's highly unlikely, improbable, and even impossible to reach that year-end bonus money. But even if that was the case, we should do everything within our power to squeeze every dime we can out of the year. Right? 

Wrong!

How do you create a culture that attracts and retains top talent?

One lesson Arnie Malham, Founder & President of BetterBookClub and Author of Worth Doing Wrong, teaches us in this episode is that it takes time and will not happen suddenly.

Tune in now or keep reading for a brief overview.

As a sales leader, you can count on the fact that there will be constant change. It's all around you — in technology, the economy, your team, and industry conditions.

At times, it can seem impossible to prepare for and navigate the sea of changes you face, but successful sales managers adapt and adjust, and even embrace the changes.

Whether the change is a small adjustment or a seismic shift, leaders have the ability to reduce uncertainty and smoothly maneuver the tumult of change.

Everyone agrees that referrals are an essential part of growing a business. Furthermore, it's the most cost-effective way to build customer relationships and win new customers. Despite the sundry benefits of a referral program, how to ask for referrals has never been easy.

Acquiring a referred customer will cost you almost nothing, and they have a high degree of loyalty and retention. In fact, a referred client has a twice lifetime value compared to a non-referred customer.

Let's face it: asking is the best way to get customer referrals. But breaking the ice and asking directly for referrals can feel awkward, right? It might sound like you are desperately trying to ask for a favor.

- MOTIVATION -

"It's not about having the right opportunities. It's about handling the opportunities right."

- Mark Hunter

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<< If you only read one thing >>

Being a sales manager has always been a difficult job. But we can all agree that over the last couple of years, it’s gotten a lot harder.

In this episode of the Sales Leadership Series, Mike Searson, Vice President, Local Revenue at Corus Entertainment discusses sales and executive leadership tips. He also addresses some of the top KPIs he looks at and what sales managers should be focused on in the upcoming years.

Tune in now or keep reading for a brief overview.

As a sales manager, here’s an easy concept to get your head around: sales performance improves when sales managers set clear expectations with each salesperson.

Think about it, when sellers know what to do—and managers establish performance tracking metrics and leading indicators to monitor progress—life becomes easier for all involved.

Simply put, when life is easier for a salesperson, they perform at a higher level.

This past year has been full of changes due to the pandemic. More and more people prefer to shop and find their information online.

By now, you realize it's going to take more than just clever marketing and hard work to compete in this ever-changing landscape.

If you want to prepare for 2022, you must look at the pandemic’s impact and how the business landscape has changed. Otherwise, you’ll quickly fall behind. With so many shops competing for consumer attention, and 22% of businesses closing since the pandemic, the pressure is on.

- MOTIVATION -

"Expect the best, prepare for the worst, capitalize on what comes."

- Zig Ziglar

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

For most sales reps, the benefits of employing automation tools are manifest. Who wouldn’t want to hand over humdrum tasks to digital systems so they could spend more time on activities that are fulfilling. Studies have shown sales professionals typically spend only 11% of their time actively selling, which is doubtless something many workers in the profession would like to change.

However, many of these same salespeople live in fear that reliance on automation will damage their ability to build deep and meaningful relationships with their clients.

It makes sense because often times we associate the word “automated” with the impersonal. Although it may sound counterintuitive, many of the processes facilitated by sales automation software actually make it easier for sales reps to dedicate additional resources to enhancing client relationships.