The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

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).

- MOTIVATION -

"SETTING THE GOALS IS THE FIRST STEP IN TURNING THE INVISIBLE INTO THE VISIBLE"

-TONY ROBBINS

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Lessons in Sales Leadership from John C. Maxwell — LinkedIn

We all know that strong sales leadership is important, and that it can dramatically improve a team’s results. But what makes a great sales leader? Which attributes can we hone to improve our positive impact? How do we go about prioritizing these efforts? A new book from John C. Maxwell may offer helpful guidance. This book, Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace, calls out three chapters (and corresponding “shifts”) that are especially pertinent for today’s sales leaders and managers. >>> READ MORE

Music can help you push through a difficult workout, it can calm your nerves, and it can even get you pumped up and geared towards success. Music can have a powerful impact on your mindset, and using music and the right rhythm to support positive thoughts could definitely get your sales performance headed in the right direction.

Abba — Money, Money, Money

Listen to it here.

“Money, money, money. Must be funny. In the rich man’s world.” What do we all work for? Money, right? To some extent, for sure! The key to this song is honing in on your motivation. “All the things I could do if I had a little money.” What are those things? What do you want to use and spend your money on? Home improvements? A new car? A family vacation? Define those things and create a visual target or vision board that you will see every day. Know exactly what you want to make, and sometimes more importantly WHY.

Where's your motivation? What lights your fire?

Pet Shop Boys — Opportunities

Listen to it here.

“I’ve got the brains, you’ve got the looks. Let’s make lots of money.” To me this song really speaks to using your resources. Who and what do you have around you to help make your ideas bigger and stronger? What could you tap into to make you feel more informed? What areas do you need to improve in or what areas do you find you are lacking skills or knowledge? How can you close that gap? Using your resources helps to ensure you are maximizing each opportunity to the fullest extent. “Oh there’s a lot of opportunities if you know when to take them.”

Are you using your resources?

As a department project, our group read the book Radical Candor by Kim Scott. Everyone had a different primary takeaway, but the one that stuck with me was the difference between Superstars and Rock Stars.

What's the Difference between a Superstar and a Rock Star?

Most managers know the definition of a Superstar. They are usually your one or two top performers, who are hardworking, ambitious, great at what they do, expect to be paid that way, and love the accolades.

But what about your Rock Stars? Rock Stars were defined as your steady performers. Not flashy, not necessarily your top performers, but the ones you can count on. Steady as a rock. Both groups are vital to a sales team. In fact, most companies would fall apart without Rock Stars, but usually, only the Superstars get the attention. Why? And why should you care?

We are now a few months into the new year. Often, at the end of the prior year, I spend time talking about the year ahead. I ask the sellers that I coach what they want to accomplish. Where do they want to be at the end of this year? We discuss their professional sales goals, and then we begin to make a plan together to help them achieve those goals.

I encourage them to make sure they understand the importance of high priority prospects or what we call target accounts. Ensuring sales teams understand how to identify, develop, and close (or walk away) is a critical part of sellers achieving their objectives throughout the year.

- MOTIVATION -

"THE MOST UNPROFITABLE ITEM EVER MANUFACTURED IS AN EXCUSE"

-JOHN MASON

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Three New Selling Skills You Need to Win with Buyers — Selling Power

Effective sales professionals are recognizing that the skills needed today look different from conventional selling capabilities. Uptiering, asserting, and aligning are all part of the new playbook. >>> READ MORE

We always talk to our salespeople about having better business acumen, and we teach them to speak like a business owner. This gives sellers leverage and credibility when talking with prospects and customers.

Growing up, my dad always told me that if you just read the front page of The Wall Street Journal, you'd be more informed than 95% of the business people out there that you'd be talking to.

I can't get enough of Marie Kondo. Unless you are completely removed from social media or Netflix, you know her to be the spiritual guide to decluttering your living space on her Netlfix original series, "Tidying Up With Marie Kondo."  I am a believer and often ask myself, "Does this spark joy?" and after my recent one-on-one coaching calls with salespeople from all over the country, many seem to feel as if their Account Lists are cluttered and could use some of Marie's guidance!  

Luckily, The Center For Sales Strategy's Account List Management Strategy can help you declutter and tidy up your account list!  There are 4 categories of accounts that are likely to "spark joy" for any salesperson: key accounts, secondary accounts, target accounts, and leads.

January is history, and some sellers are already singing the blues because their year is off to a cold start. That’s the bad news… here’s the good news; it is not too late to make some changes to accelerate revenue and improve sales performance.

Here’s a list of five things to get 2019 back on track and heat up sales revenue!

- MOTIVATION -

"THE MOST UNPROFITABLE ITEM EVER MANUFACTURED IS AN EXCUSE"

-JOHN MASON

- AROUND THE WEB -

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Why Business Acumen is Key to Sales Success (And How to Get It) — Hubspot

What sets sales leaders apart from everyday reps? Why are some salespeople more effective at closing deals? And how do some reps skyrocket their career growth? The answer is simple: Business acumen. It's a term often thrown around boardrooms and blog posts, but today, I'm breaking down exactly what it is, why it's important, and how you can develop it. >>> READ MORE

They don’t know you.
They don’t trust you.
They won’t respond to your emails.
They won’t engage in a conversation with you.
They won’t meet with you!

These are some of the challenges we face from new business prospects when it is early in the sales process. Each is a hurdle we have to overcome to connect and move the sales process to the next step. When you boil it down, the problem is linked to a lack of trust and value. Simply put, you are not valued or trusted in the eyes of new business prospects.

Ouch! How can this be when you have some much going for you?

- MOTIVATION -

"YOU WIN THE GAME ONE PLAY AT A TIME."

-FRANK TARKENTON

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One Simple Way to Improve Your Sales Process with Content (VIDEO) — LeadG2

Are you using content in the sales process? How do you use content in the sales process? Likely, your marketing team has created a large amount of great content that's not only beneficial for lead generation, but is also helpful for lead nurturing. This content could range from informational blog posts to ebooks, checklists, or industry guides. In this video, Dani Buckley, GM at LeadG2 shares one important way to utilize content in the sales process that many salespeople overlook. This one, simple tip can help improve a salesperson's sales performance. >>> READ MORE