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The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Avoiding Wasted Time on Bogus Prospects by Evaluating These 3 Things

avoid wasting time on bogus prospectsHere are three questions for sales managers and sellers:

  1. Who has time to waste with prospects that don’t have the cash to purchase the kind of solutions you sell?
  2. Who has time to waste trying to get an appointment with a prospect that is impossible to gain access to?
  3. Who has time to waste with prospects that have a consumer base beyond the scope of your products?

Most sellers are time-starved with no time to waste… especially when it comes to developing new customers. Investing time selecting quality, new business, target prospects makes all the sense in the world because some prospects are better than others, and qualifying them will help save time in the long run.

Topics: prospecting

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Sales Team: Invest In Your People (VIDEO)

 

This is the fourth post in a series, "How to Get the Most Out of Your Sales Team." Check out other posts in this series - linked at the bottom of this blog post.

I'm back again with the "How to Get the Most Out of Your Sales Team" series, and this week, I'm talking about investing in your people

I realize that's not an "Exciting! Rah-Rah! Go Team!" sales contest-type of way, but it's important. When people know that you believe in them, support them, and that you're investing in them, they're going to be motivated to help you succeed. 

So, how do you invest in your people in a way that gets them excited and motivated? Here are three examples you can start today.

Weekly Roundup: The Best Apps for Salespeople + More

female-ceo-phone-email-020032-edited

- MOTIVATION -

"THE WAY TO GET STARTED IS TO QUIT TALKING AND BEGIN DOING"

-WALT DISNEEY

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

The 40+ Best Apps for Salespeople Who Want to Win — Sales Hacker

To win at sales, you need the right tools. And to help, we’ve pulled together more than 40 of the best apps for salespeople.

Whether you’re looking to be more productive, save time, do your job better, or simply look your best, these are the apps you’ll turn to time and time again.
 
>>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Sales Team: Building Trust (VIDEO)

This is the third post in a series, "How to Get the Most Out of Your Sales Team." Check out the rest of the posts in this series - linked in the bottom of this blog post.

I'm back again to talk about ways you can get the most out of your sales team. One of the best ways to motivate your team is to build trust with your team. A trusting team is a motivated team.

Think about it. Have you ever had a boss that you didn't trust? Did you work really hard for them? The answer is: you probably didn't.

So, how do you build trust with your sales team? 

Weekly Roundup: Keys to an Engaged Sales Team + More

thought-leadership-linkedin

- MOTIVATION -

"EITHER RUN THE DAY OR THE DAY RUNS YOU."

-JIM ROHN

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Keys to an Engaged Sales Team — LinkedIn

We’re doing better, but we still have work to do. This is the conclusion reached in Gartner’s latest research around employee engagement, which found last year that 34% of U.S. employees are engaged. That’s tied for the highest number Gartner has surfaced in its many years of tracking, but clearly there remains room for improvement.

It’s a critical consideration. Gallup reports that, “Compared with business units in the bottom quartile, those in the top quartile of engagement realize substantially better customer engagement, higher productivity, better retention, fewer accidents, and 21% higher profitability.”

Employee engagement should be top-of-mind for sales managers, especially those running a modern selling program.
 
>>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

How to Develop and Deliver the Best Campaign Recap

campaign recap“Wow, this is the best campaign recap I’ve ever received!”

As a seller, have you ever heard this from a customer? The odds of getting this type of feedback are low. Don’t feel bad because most campaign recaps are mediocre at best. Most are a bunch of data that do not tell a story. Most are forgettable at best.

Topics: selling digital advertising sales performance sales process

How to be a Thought Leader on LinkedIn

establish thought leadership on linkedinThe starting point of being a thought leader on LinkedIn is to use social selling as a way to connect with high potential prospects. Through social selling, you can illustrate empathy, expertise, and problem-solving ability which helps you build trust and create value for those who want to engage with you.

I am still surprised by the number of salespeople I meet who don’t use social selling as part of their attempts to connect with a high-potential account. Many tell me they are connected with current customers, but not with prospects.

I tell every salesperson who doesn’t attempt to connect with prospects on LinkedIn that they are missing out. For every seller I talk to who doesn’t use social selling, I know of one who is, and who is successful at generating new business. So why wouldn’t a salesperson add social selling to their approach?

Topics: Social Media

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Sales Team: Manage Them Like They Want (VIDEO)

 

This is the second post in a series, "How to Get the Most Out of Your Sales Team." Check out the rest of the posts in this series - linked in the bottom of this blog post.

Last week, I started a series on how you, as a sales manager, can get the most out of your sales team. This week, I'm focusing on working with them in a way they like to be worked with, and how they want to be managed.

NEWS FLASH: You can't do that if you don't know your salespeople. The only way you'll know your salespeople is if you spend some time with them and ask them some questions about what they like, what they don't like, and honestly... what motivates them.

Weekly Roundup: 5 Ways Automation Can Improve Your Sales Strategy + More

marketing-automation-lead-generation

- MOTIVATION -

"IF FOOTBALL TAUGHT ME ANYTHING ABOUT BUSINESS,
IT IS THAT YOU WIN THE GAME ONE PLAY AT A TIME."

-FRANK TARKENTON

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

5 Ways Automation Can Improve Your Sales Strategy and Increase Revenue — LeadG2

While the usefulness of automation technology has become relatively well-established for those on the marketing side, many neglect the potential it also holds for sales. Automation and other sales enablement tools can help your sales team find new business, communicate quicker and smarter with prospects, and increase their conversion rates throughout the sales process. This use of automation and technology is a critical part of any sales enablement initiative. Plus, when your marketing automation platform works alongside your CRM and sales enablement tools, or they can all be integrated, the potential increases drastically. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Spring Cleaning: A 10-Step Guide to Cleaning Up Your Account List

spring cleaning your sales account listSpring is in the air, and perhaps it is time for some Spring cleaning in your sales organization. A great place to start is your master account list. Is your account list a mess? Perhaps bloated and out of date? If so, follow these 10 steps to clean it up and get things back on track.

Topics: key account growth account list management

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Sales Team: Get Creative (VIDEO)

CASH IS KING… or at least that's what we've always been told

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to talk about how you can get more out of your sales team by motivating them. I'm going to focus on ways to motivate your sales team to get the most out of them.

We've always thought that cash is the way to do that. You do a sales contest, you give out money, people are happy, and BAM! You're doing great work. That's still the case, and it might be for your sales team.

But if you've found that cash isn't the motivator that you've always thought it would be, it's time to think outside the box and get creative. There's two main ways you can get the most out of your sales team by getting creative.

Weekly Roundup: The Sales Resources The Never Takes a Break + More

inbound marketing sales resource

- MOTIVATION -

"THE HARDER THE CONFLICT, THE MORE GLORIOUS THE TRIUMPH."

-THOMAS PAINE

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Inbound Marketing is the Sales Resource that Never Takes a Break [VIDEO] — LeadG2

Salespeople aren’t always very productive. In fact, according to HubSpot Research, salespeople spend just one-third of their day in sales-related activities. Imagine if you had a sales resource that never went on vacation, or took a break, or got sidetracked by unproductive activity. Inbound marketing is that resource. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

4 Tactics to Make Sure Your B2B Content is Converting and Generating Leads

b2b content convertingCreating compelling B2B content is only half the battle when it comes to a solid lead generation strategy for your sales plan and your business. While your content must be grammatically correct, educational, formatted properly, and a good representation of your brand, it must also be strategically created following proven best practices that most inbound marketers and sales teams follow. These tactics are what help ensure your content isn’t just interesting or nice to read, but ultimately driving prospects closer to doing business with you and taking some kind of action or next step.

Topics: content strategy thought leadership Lead Generation

The Case for Company Culture + Stats to Support It

accomplishment-culture-1Company culture is a vital component of a successful business -- or at least that's what 'they' say. Studies show that it affects recruitment and hiring top talent as well as retention and employee engagement. It's a baseline for productivity and can set the tone for work ethic, expectations, team camaraderie, and even brand recognition. 

You hear the words bounced around. "Company culture" is a term that a lot of people are talking about. But what are they doing about it? Is it really impacting their organizations? I decided to dig in and see what I could find as far as the impact company culture is playing in organizations. Here's what I found. 

Topics: company culture