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The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Why Doesn't Everyone Own a Honda Fit? [Sales Development]

sales strategyMy wife and I subscribe to Consumer Reports and recently I was leafing through the pages when I came across an interesting article outlining the best and worst values among cars. They calculated the cost of ownership over a five-year period taking into account factors like cost of acquisition, reliability, maintenance cost, fuel efficiency, depreciation, etc. Turns out the Honda Fit is THE best value on the market at a cost-per-mile of 44 cents. That's pretty impressive considering a Mercedes S550 costs $1.70 a mile to own and the vehicle I drive, the Acura RDX, costs 84 cents a mile to own, nearly twice the cost of the Honda Fit.

So, why doesn't everyone own a Honda Fit? On a cost-per-mile basis, it's clearly the least expensive vehicle to own and operate. The reality is people most often don't choose the lowest priced car because myriad other vehicles satisfy other objective and subjective needs within their lives affecting their value perception. And, so it is with the products and services you sell.

It's your job to uncover the needs truly unique to your particular prospect and to understand the subjective personal wins that might help drive their choice. Are you doing that? Well enough? What could you commit to this year to get better at that? It would be a good investment on your part.

Jim Hopes is CEO at The Center for Sales Strategy. 

Topics: sales strategy Sales

Should You Have an App for That? [Integrated Marketing Solutions]

should you have an appThere’s been a lot of talk over the last few weeks on the growth of revenue derived from apps; whether it is the adoption of subscription based apps or the in-app purchases consumers have become comfortable making. So comfortable that some say in-app purchases (a.k.a. clicking ‘buy’ in a gaming app) could reach over $4 billion in 2012- double that of 2011! 

Topics: Digital selling digital advertising integrated media solution

5 steps to start the year off selling! [Sales Strategy]

selling2012 is here! Time to start a new year. Time to start selling more! Most sales leaders and sellers agree that it is a good idea to sell more from one year to the next. Unfortunately, accomplishing this goal can be a challenge in these turbulent economic times. It's time to break the cycle. Here's a list of 5 simple steps that will help you start the year off selling:  

Topics: Sales

Whose Sales Performance Are You Talking About?

key to successGood sales people and sales managers like to talk about their sales performance, and it’s this time of year that many sales organizations stop to honor those who had the best year as the calendar starts a fresh countdown. I support that idea and have a suggestion to add. What if every salesperson in your organization picked one client who had a good 2011 and asked that client to share two things:

Topics: successful sales meetings sales performance Sales

Make Twitter your New Year’s Resolution [Professional Branding]

resolutionIf you're still looking for a New Year's Resolution, go ahead and add engaging with Twitter to that list of possibilities. By the time you're done reading this, you'll see why it's worth your time as a seller.

Topics: Social Media Digital Lead Generation branding

The Difference Between Making a Sale and Making a Customer: Measurable Results [Sales Strategy]

retention checklistLast Friday's story from Research Brief reminds us that while more executives expect measurable results from their marketing investment, relatively few of their providers are able to demonstrate that ROI.  (Click here to see that briefing.)

Topics: setting expectations integrated media solution Sales

LinkedIn is your Secret Weapon for B2B Lead Generation

Linked InI think I joined LinkedIn about 5 years ago. When I did, I really didn’t know why. I did it because someone sent me an “invite to join,” and I thought if I didn’t, I would be left out of “something important.” I certainly didn’t want to be “left out.” Then, for about 3 years, I really didn’t do much with LinkedIn. I don’t even think my profile was accurate or up-to-date. I rarely logged in; I did not join any groups, and I did not ask anyone to “join my network.”  I kind of just sat back and let my LinkedIn account develop on its own. Needless to say, it developed rather slowly.

Topics: Social Media Sales branding

Which Republican Presidential Candidate is Standing Out—in a Good Way? [Sales Strategy]

Establish sales credibilityIf you are planning to vote in the Republican Presidential primary in the coming months, you are a potential prospect for Newt, Romney and all the gang. I got to thinking about how similar this is to what we go through as sales people when we try to get that first appointment with an ideal prospect. It takes a combination of getting attention and establishing credibility. If you can do those two things, you are generally going to stand out enough to get an appointment. If you only do one, you will not sell the prospect on the value of spending time with you. 

Topics: branding