<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=585972928235617&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">

The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Weekly Roundup: Coaching Underperforming Sales Reps, Guide to Sales Management + More

Coaching Underperforming Sales Reps, Guide to Sales Management + More

- MOTIVATION -

"Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it."

-Harper Lee

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

How to Coach Underperforming Sales Reps–CloserIQ

Coaching underperforming sales reps is one of the biggest challenges that managers face. Too often, managers focus on the symptoms of a representative’s underperformance rather than the root causes. For example, a manager might tell a rep: “you need to prospect more,” when the rep’s problem is not knowing how to prospect effectively in the first place.

Is it possible to coach underperforming sales reps to average or even above-average performance? Yes—but that requires intentionality. To help your team succeed, you need to approach your coaching with an intentional strategy.>>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

6 Steps to Stop Your Leaking Sales Bucket

6 Steps to Stop Your Leaking Sales Bucket

We can all agree that it's easier to fill a bucket when it’s not leaking from the bottom. Seems like a pretty good rule of thumb.

In the context of managing sales revenue and keeping that bucket completely full, things can become pretty difficult when you spring a leak! We need to spend more and more time dumping new business in just to keep a minimum level insideand that is exhausting.

Topics: sales strategy sales performance Sales

Tired of Being Ghosted by Top Prospects? Try These Tips!

Tired of Being Ghosted by Top Prospects Try These Tips

As sales professionals, one of the biggest challenges we face is trying to connect with a new prospect. With so many different touchpoints, it’s easy for a prospect to avoid or ignore your voicemails, emails, texts, or LinkedIn request.

If you want your message to stand out, it’s critical that you have a solid valid business reason (VBR) that establishes you as trusted and valued. However, it’s equally important to ensure you have a strong email subject line. You can have the best valid business reason on the planet, but if the email is never opened by the intended recipient, what good is it?

Topics: email sales strategy prospecting sales playbook

Developing and Using a Talent Bank Will Improve Sales Performance

Developing and Using a Talent Bank Will Improve Sales Performance

Take this five-question quiz to set the foundation for this blog post—simply answer agree or disagree.

1. I interview sales candidates every week, even if I don’t have openings on my staff. AGREE-1

2. I find my best sales candidates when I’m under the gun and have openings on my staff. AGREE-1

3. I move out underperforming sellers often because I keep a talent bank of qualified prospects.AGREE-1

4. I am a proactive recruiter, always looking for, and evaluating talent.
AGREE-1

5. I often tell candidates that I’m interviewing even though I don’t have a position open.AGREE-1

If answered disagree to the majority of these questions; continue reading this post.

Topics: sales performance talent bank sales talent

Weekly Roundup: B2B Sales Enablement Forecast, How Sales Teams Can Thrive in a Digital World + More

B2B Sales Enablement Forecast, How Sales Teams Can Thrive in a Digital World

- MOTIVATION -

"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure."

-Bill Gates

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

B2B Sales Enablement Market 2020 Demand, Technology, Trend, Growth, Opportunities and Forecast to 2025–News Parent

This report focuses on B2B Sales Enablement market forecasts, future prospects, growth opportunities and key and key contacts. The purpose of this study is to present market developments in the US, Europe and other countries. The research analyze industry trends and marketing channels. By improving the economy, population growth in many areas of the region is a key driver of growth in the market. Increased demand for artificial intelligence in developed countries supports sales in the region. Overall, the popularity of B2B Sales Enablement is increasing with the above factors.>>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

10 Tweet-Worthy Business Quotes For You to Share and Use

10 Tweet-Worthy Business Quotes For You to Share and Use

Twitter has 330 million monthly active users and 145 million daily users. 65.8% of US companies with 100+ employees use Twitter for marketing, and 80% of Twitter users have mentioned a brand in a tweet. There are a lot of interesting statistics floating around about Twitter and it's influence on brands and consumers.  In this digital age, you are what you tweet.

Whether you're a sales manager or a business leader—we bet one of these quotes below speaks to you. Read through them, and feel free to share with your Twitter followers!

Topics: sales strategy sales performance Sales

[INFOGRAPHIC] 2019 Media Sales Report

media sales report infographic

The 2019 Media Sales Report studies the landscape over the past year, including the expectations for sales managers and the strategies employed by media sales professionals to assess their impact across five key topics:

You can see some of the highlights for the survey in the infographic below. If you'd like to read the full report, download it here.Access the 2021 Media Sales Report Here

Topics: media sales report

How to Choose Sales Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that Align With Your Business Goals

How to Choose Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Your Business Goals

Your sales team has goals. In order to evaluate the activities that are being performed in pursuit of those goals, you need measurable indicators known as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Aligning your team with the right KPIs increases productivity and enhances performance, but it also allows you to monitor the overall health of your organization and team. With KPIs, you can:

  • Measure progress
  • Analyze patterns over time
  • Make adjustments when necessary
  • Solve problems
  • Tackle opportunities

The hard part is choosing the KPIs that are most relevant to both your industry and goals. Here are some tips on how to select sales KPIs that align with your business goals.

Topics: sales managers

3 Ways to Fail Fast and Win Quickly in Sales

3 Ways to Fail Fast and Win Quickly in Sales

If you fail two out of every three at-bats in the Major League, you'll end up in the Hall of Fame. If you fail 90% of the time as a venture capitalist, you'll end up being a multi-millionaire—possibly a billionaire.

So, why are salespeople afraid to fail? And why do sales managers often berate a salesperson when they fail? If you’re never failing, then you’re probably never winning either. We tell our team to take risks and explore new opportunities, but are we reiterating that embracing failure is actually good for business?

Topics: sales process prospecting

Weekly Roundup: Sales Skills Your Team Needs, How to Shorten Your Sales Cycle + More

Sales Skills Your Team Needs, How to Shorten Your Sales Cycle + More

- MOTIVATION -

"A team is not a group of people that work together. A team is a group of people that trust each other."

-Simon Sinek

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Sales Skills Your Team Needs for 2020–CloserIQ

2020 is officially underway. If you want your team to succeed this year, you can’t expect the same old tactics to work.

Prospects are now more informed than ever. They also are more risk-averse. It is challenging to differentiate yourself on factors other than price. The ability to grow existing accounts has even become more difficult. To avoid rejection, you have to keep up with the latest trends and continue to hone your abilities.

Here are the sales skills to prioritize in 2020 to stay ahead of the curve.>>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Sales Manager's Takeaways From Talent Training

Sales Managers Takeaways From Talent Training

The majority of participants that attend a “typical” training program or workshop will forget 70% of what they were taught within two weeks. Our goal for the Talent Focused Management (TFM) workshop is to provide clients with strategies and tactics that they can actually put into practice immediately.

Here are some takeaways from sales managers that will enlighten The Center for Sales Strategy (CSS) clients, as well as others, as to why —and how—not all workshops are created equally.

Topics: sales training sales talent

Our Experts Share Their Top Tips to Perfecting the Sales Proposal

tips to perfect the sales proposal - no surprise proposalProspecting was spot on. The needs analysis meetings uncovered a clear desired business result for the prospect. And now it's time to shine—sales proposal time! 

Ask any sales rep what the hardest part of their job is, and we'll bet they’ll say “closing.” Don't be scared. Ensure your hard work (or your team's hard work) doesn't go wasted by following these tips gathered from our sales experts when creating and presenting your sales proposal.  

Topics: Proposal sales performance sales process

4 Things That Will Impact Your Sales Growth in 2020

4 Things That Will Impact Your Sales Growth in 2020

Of all the decisions and executive makes, none is as important as the decisions about people, because they determine the performance capacity of the organization." - Peter Drucker 

The new year is 1/12 complete, and January is old news. How is your organization doing so far? Are you on track to exceed your growth goals for 2020? Are you lagging behind?

Growth of a sales organization will not happen unless the people in the sales organization are growing. Here are four important elements to consider that are directly linked to growth of your people and the decisions you make in coaching and developing them.

Topics: culture talent bank sales talent

Weekly Roundup: Aligning Sales Data, Create a Social Selling Strategy + More

Weekly Roundup Social Selling-1

- MOTIVATION -

"Quality performance (and quality service) starts with a positive attitude."

-Jeffery Gitomer

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Straightening Out Your Sales Data–LinkedIn

For sales teams, scarcity of information was once a major pain point. Now we have the opposite problem. We are awash in sales data, pertaining to all elements of our operations. The data comes from a host of different sources, and we store it in a dizzying array of databases.

This presents a challenge, especially for those of us who might not consider ourselves avid number-crunchers. SPARXiQ’s VP of Sales Enablement Mike Kunkle asserted that making evidenced decisions, based on concrete information, should be a key strategic priority. In line with that guidance, here's what folks around the web are saying about sales data and analytics.>>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

The Ultimate LinkedIn Profile Checklist for Sales Professionals

linkedin checklist for sales pros From personal branding and thought leadership to prospecting, lead nurturing, and recruiting—there are many benefits to using LinkedIn as a sales professional. The problem is that sales professionals don't have time to set up or update the basics of their LinkedIn accounts to best represent them and their company. 

You can't build a great building on a weak foundation, and the LinkedIn profile is just that: the foundation that could affect the success of your social efforts. Use this checklist to ensure your profile is updated and the best representation of your personal brand, the products you sell, and what you have to offer a prospect.

Topics: Social Media sales strategy prospecting

[INFOGRAPHIC] CSS By The Numbers 2019

[INFOGRAPHIC] CSS By The Numbers 2019

At The Center for Sales Strategy (CSS), we take delivering results seriously. Our proven strategies help clients improve their company’s sales performance and increase their sales revenue by providing strategic plans and tailored solutions for their needs.

We've taken some time to dig into last year's numbers so we can analyze and improve in the coming year. Here's what 2019 looked like.

Topics: Sales

The Best Sales Negotiation Tactics

The Best Sales Negotiation Tactics

The sales pitch is delivered, objections are resolved, and the contract is sent. Now, you patiently wait for the prospect to sign, and you’ve sealed the deal. But then — the email comes through, and suddenly you’re scheduling a sales negotiation.

Even if a salesperson has properly qualified a prospect and correctly managed their expectations through the sales process, they still can find themselves shifting gears from consultant to negotiator. And while negotiations can go in an infinite number of directions, honing-in on these six sales negotiation tactics will help close the deal.

Topics: Needs Analysis sales strategy sales process

24 Time Management Hacks for Busy Sales Reps

time management hacks for sales reps

Salespeople seem to always have so much to do, yet never enough time to get it all finished. Recently, I met one-on-one with about 30 different salespeople over the course of a two-week period. During each of these meetings, the salespeople revealed that they could benefit from some priority management or time management lessons.

That got me thinking that this is something I bet many sales managers and sales teams could use. So I asked all of my colleagues at The Center for Sales Strategy (CSS) and LeadG2 for their best time management tips. Here's what we gathered.

Topics: Sales