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The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Never Waste a Good Crisis

Never Waste a Good Crisis

Given the sudden health and economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the phrase, “Never waste a good crisis,” has surfaced quite a few times. Noted public figures ranging from Machiavelli and Winston Churchill to Barack Obama have all invoked the phrase in times of trouble.

It’s often viewed as an opportunist looking to advance an agenda during an unfortunate circumstance. The reality is the phrase is more accurately a challenge to commit to doing things differently and better as a result of what we experience. And that’s the challenge we have for you.

Topics: leadership COVID19 Resources

Weekly Roundup: Building a Virtual Selling Channel, Remote Metrics to Measure + More

Building a Virtual Selling Channel, Remote Metrics to Measure

- MOTIVATION -

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right."

-Henry Ford

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Building A High-Performing Virtual Selling Channel–Forbes

Virtual selling is now fundamental to growth in a market where remote selling is the “next normal” as the coronavirus pandemic has forced over 4 Billion consumers, customers, employees, and salespeople to stay at home.

Lost in the rush to enable remote sales teams, is the fact that virtual selling channels offer growth-oriented companies the potential to transform sales performance and accelerate growth. Properly designed and equipped, virtual selling channels can dramatically improve the coverage, control, and cost effectiveness of your commercial model while offering buyers the speed of response and experiences they demand. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Earn My Attention. Don’t Steal It. 7 Best Practices Using Video to Breakthrough Your Prospects' Email Clutter

prospecting with videoWhen you try to engage in a serious conversation via email, you will generally find the recipient calling you on the phone to have the conversation. If you meet other people for a livingaka work in sales—verbal communication is usually the best form of communication.

To people like us, we only prefer written text when confirming dates or answering 'yes' or 'no' questions. Most salespeople are more effective when they have a face-to-face opportunity than when they depend on their writing abilities. With those face-to-face meetings now temporarily on-hold, we need email to help us reach people we don’t know. You need to stand out from all the other emails, and here's how.

Topics: Video sales process prospecting COVID19 Resources

10 GIFs That Sum Up Working From Home in Sales

10 GIFs That Sum Up Working From Home in Sales

Taking refuge from the coronavirus, several salespeople have joined the estimated 8 million employees already working from home. Sales managers and salespeople alike are learning new skill sets that will help increase productivity, maintain relationships, and generate revenue to keep their sales pipeline strong.

Below we've gathered ten GIFs that all salespeople working from home can understand. Share these with your team or on social media the next time you need a good laugh to make a point.

Topics: COVID19 Resources

Weekly Roundup: Navigating Uncertainty, Courageous Decisions + More

Navigating Uncertainty, Courageous Decisions

- MOTIVATION -

"Be the kind of person who dares to face life's challenges and over them rather than dodging them."

-Roy Bennett

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

How B2B Sales Teams Can Navigate Uncertainty–HubSpot

When both sellers and customers hit rough times, the problems that we face can be a lot greater, and more complicated to deal with. When these situations happen, businesses need to figure out how they can survive.

It’s a lot for any company to take. So, what exactly do you do? Is it time to enter panic stations and go back to the drawing board? Search for ways to re-establish your company? Or do you just need to make a few fundamental changes to the way that you operate? HubSpot discusses a possible course of action.>>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

How to Keep a Sales Culture Intact While Working Remotely

How to Keep a Sales Culture Intact While Working Remotely

Most people would agree that their world feels as though it has recently flipped upside-down! In this brand new world of social distancing, we’re scrambling to figure out how to be productive in an unplanned work from home environment—and also remain engaged.

Even in a strong business climate (like we had just weeks ago), company culture and employee engagement are vital to the success of an organization. They have a direct impact on revenue, employee turnover, and key account retention. 

During these uncertain times, however, when most of us are forced to work in dramatically different ways than we normally would, it is paramount!

Topics: user manual culture COVID19 Resources

10 Podcasts to Help Build Your Business Acumen

10 Podcasts to Help Build Your Business AcumenMany clients at The Center for Sales Strategy are essentially in the business of helping companies grow their business. 

In order to do that effectively, we teach salespeople how to think like a business owner. Thinking like a business owner takes the focus off what you sell (your products) and puts your focus on how to help your client or prospect achieve their desired business results. 

The better a salesperson becomes at thinking like a business owner, the better they will be at asking questions, establishing credibility, and ultimately becoming trusted and valued.

There are endless amounts of podcasts out there on business development and new ones being released daily. This article isn’t about all the great business podcasts hitting the market, but rather a handful of the best podcasts that we feel will help salespeople improve their business acumen and encourage salespeople to help their clients and prospects grow their business.

Topics: business development podcasts COVID19 Resources

Managing Different Personality Types While Working From Home

Managing Different Personality Types While Working

Most of us have joined what Time calls "the World's Largest Work-From-Home Experiment." Without proper preparation, the COVID-19 outbreak has prompted business leaders everywhere to tell their team to work remotely until further notice.

Sales managers—your direct reports need your individualized coaching more than ever! The best managers have always individualized their coaching, but doing so remotely requires greater focus and intentionality. How can you help your team cope, adjust, and sell in the midst of our new normal?

Topics: talent focused management COVID19 Resources

Video for Sales and Thought Leadership: An Extensive Guide to Getting Comfortable on Camera

Video for Sales and Thought Leadership An Extensive Guide to Getting Comfortable on Camera

If you could start one new thing this month that increased the open rate of your sales emails by 5Xs and improved your open-to-reply rate by 8Xs, would you do it? The obvious answer is yes, but sadly, once most of you realize what it is, you’ll come up with at least one of these excuses as to why you won’t do it and still avoid it.  

Video. Yes, video! Video has the power to not only get your emails opened but replied to! Across platforms (not just email) it’s proven to help get higher response rates, inspire more action, and help sellers reach the C-Suite (source).

Topics: Video thought leadership sales strategy

Weekly Roundup: How Leadership is Changing Due to COVID-19

How Leadership is Changing Due to COVID-19

- MOTIVATION -

"Leadership is not a position or a title, it is action and example."

-Donald McGannon

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Leadership Will Change Forever After the Coronavirus Pandemic–Forbes

Crisis has a way of revealing, course-correcting and recalibrating what leadership really means. We are watching in real time as one submicroscopic virus renders all standards of human hierarchy meaningless. 

From British royalty (Prince Charles) to American royalty (Tom Hanks) … anyone is susceptible to COVID-19. The standards that made someone powerful in the past are irrelevant in the present. The same is true for leaders in an organization. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

24 Ways to Effectively Coach Millennial Salespeople

Effectively coach millennial salespeopleDo Millennials simply have less sales talent than prior generations?

After conducting tens of thousands of sales talent assessments, we here at The Center for Sales Strategy can assure you that’s not the case.

In part one of this two-part series, we shared four key differences in how the Millennial generation was raised, insight that was gained from Brad Karsh in an never-ending quest to learn more about how to activate Millennials. These differences explain much of the enormous disconnect between many Millennial workers and their managers today.

Topics: company culture

Avoid Sending The “Just Checking In” Email—Do This Instead

Avoid Sending The “Just Checking In” Email Do This Instead

At the core of every successful workforce management practice is communication. As managers and sellers adapt to this new normal, clear communication and scheduled talk time is more important than ever before. Talk time comes in forms such as:

  • Manager to seller talk time
  • Manager to key customer talk time
  • Seller to key and secondary customer talk time

Email is great for communicating data and confirming details, but nothing beats a conversation. Especially when the person on the other end of the line—phone or video—has a problem and needs to tap into your problem-solving expertise. Whether with your sales team, customers, or prospects, regular check-ins promote open communication and stop larger issues from festering, as well as allow for immediate feedback.

Topics: successful sales meetings active listening COVID19 Resources

3 Reasons to Update Your Marketing Strategy

3 Reasons to Update Your Marketing Strategy

Amidst the worldwide pandemic and historic economic shift, sales managers and business leaders everywhere are busy trying to adjust business models. A majority of business owners are re-inventing their business operations in a time where most people are "sheltering-in-place" and can no longer physically visit their place of business.

Once you figure out what this new world order entails for your organization, it’s time to re-examine your marketing strategy—not just your advertising and commercial messaging. COVID-19 is shifting consumer behavior and media habits, and we all need to make sure our strategy changes with them.

Topics: sales strategy sales and marketing alignment COVID19 Resources

Weekly Roundup: Free LinkedIn Courses, Why Inbound Marketing Keeps Working + More

Free LinkedIn Courses, Why Inbound Marketing Keeps Working

- MOTIVATION -

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."

-William James

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

It's Hard to Be in Sales Right Now. These Free Courses Can Help–LinkedIn

Sales, even in a great economy, can be a tough job. And, now with so much change and uncertainty, the role is even more challenging. As a result, salespeople across the world are asking themselves questions like:

  • Can I prospect right now? 
  • Is my client really going to be focused on their renewal this month?
  • How do I approach these conversations?

To answer these questions, LinkedIn unlocked LinkedIn Learning courses that cover the most pressing issues for salespeople right now. They cover everything from selling with authenticity to making the most out of working remotely and embracing unexpected change. These courses are now free to all professionals.>>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Sales Management Tips for Conducting Remote Sales Meetings

Sales Management Tips for Conducting Remote Sales Meetings

In addition to generating revenue and keeping their sales pipeline strong, sales managers are also tasked with running effective remote sales meetings. In our current work-from-home world, managers need to stay connected with sellers to conduct the following types of meetings:

  • Sales meetings
  • Training sessions
  • One-on-one meetings (revenue development focused meetings)
  • Meetings with clients

Below are some technical tips used by world-class managers to deliver a high-quality virtual experience. When the following guidelines are observed, you’ll run an effective remote sales meetings that will produce positive experiences for the entire team.

Topics: successful sales meetings sales managers COVID19 Resources Remote Team