The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

- MOTIVATION -

"MOST PEOPLE THINK 'SELLING' IS THE SAME AS 'TALKING.' BUT THE MOST EFFECTIVE SALESPEOPLE KNOW THAT LISTENING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR JOB"

-ROY BARTELL

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

22 Questions to Ask Yourself if You Aren't Seeing Inbound Marketing Results — LeadG2

No one does marketing for marketing’s sake. We want to establish our brand, build an audience, convert leads, grow a pipeline, accelerate deals through the funnel, and ultimately grow revenue. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. Success or failure needs to be based on more than just a gut feel. Data doesn’t lie. What do the numbers tell you? Here are several questions that can jump-start a discussion and help you determine your best next steps toward getting your desired results and increasing your revenue from your inbound marketing efforts. >>> READ MORE

One of the leading indicators for sales success is to look at the number of appointments that a salesperson has each week. (This is not the only leading indicator that you should be tracking, but it is one of them.) The idea is that if a salesperson has a significant amount of appointments each week which involve finding needs, getting assignments, presenting solutions, or delivering a proposal, that this quality sales activity will lead to good solid revenue performance.  

I think it’s fair to say that everyone in sales or in sales management would agree with this, so I’m not really going out on a limb having made that statement. But here is where I think there might be a flaw. I think many salespeople are confusing "I'll follow up with you next week" with "I have an appointment." To be clear, "I’ll follow up with you next week," does not mean you have an appointment.

In this video, Kim Alexandre, VP/Senior Consultant at The Center for Sales Strategy, shares tips to get more engagement and attract great candidates from your job postings on social media. 

Early on in my sales career, there was a prospect that I was determined to close. Everyone on my sales team had tried to gain access to this decision maker, and some had gotten as far a conversation, but it never evolved from there. When my manager suggested I try to approach this target prospect, I eagerly accepted the challenge. In my head, I confidently thought, “I can make this happen.” Ha!

I spent months calling, dropping by, leaving voicemails, and sending emails. I never managed to get through to anyone, but I remained persistent and didn’t give up until one day I was told not so politely to go away.

Often during my career, I have reflected on that cringe-worthy experience. I had been persistent (outright annoying), and at the time, I had truly thought that persistence alone should get me in the door. As I began to develop and grow as a salesperson, I began to see the power of not just being persistent, but being persistent with a purpose. I learned the importance of earning trust and offering value to the prospect. Unfortunately, I had to experience some tough lessons before I got to this point.

There is nothing more impactful than adding the right seller to your team. Conversely, there is nothing more impactful when adding the wrong seller to your team!

Here’s a list of six scenarios managers find themselves in when hiring sellers that lead to hiring the wrong person, plus things managers can do to avoid them.

- MOTIVATION -

"NEVER PUT OFF TILL TOMORROW WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY"

-THOMAS JEFFERSON

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Mastering Buyer Enablement in B2B Sales — LinkedIn

When buyers win, you win. That’s the fundamental mindset behind buyer enablement and it’s one that will separate the best B2B sellers going forward. >>> READ MORE

Talking about price with a new business prospect can be tricky. If you do it too soon, you might scare away a prospect. If you wait too long, the sticker shock might blow your proposal out of the water because it exceeds reality. 

Here’s a list of recommendations and things to consider about the topic of price along with three effective ways to prompt the conversation (including some easy to use ROI formulas).