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The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Help! My Top Performer Just Quit!

Help! My Top Performer Just Quit!

Have you ever felt like being a manager is a lot like juggling? And right when you think you’ve got all the balls in the air… whoops!

When it’s the sudden departure of a top performer, it can make you literally drop everything!  

So, what can you do?

Topics: recruitment talent bank

Five Tips for a Successful Digital Needs Analysis

Five Tips for a Successful Digital Needs Analysis (1)

So, you've successfully secured an appointment with a promising prospect! Now, it's time to prepare for a comprehensive digital needs analysis to ensure that all the effort you invested in getting that meeting bears fruit.

The key to success lies in conducting a thorough needs analysis because understanding your prospect's business, their specific needs, challenges, and expectations is paramount when crafting a solution that truly aligns with their goals.

Topics: Needs Analysis Digital

12 Expert Tips for Starting 2024 Strong

12 Expert Tips for Starting 2024 Strong

A new year brings new opportunities and a chance to set the foundation for sales success in 2024. With fresh perspectives and renewed motivation, sales teams have the potential to accomplish great things.

By learning from the wisdom of experienced professionals, managers and salespeople can map out a plan to thrive in the months ahead. This year, let's challenge ourselves to implement impactful sales strategies and adopt empowering mindsets. If we start motivated and intentional, there is no limit to what we can achieve.

Topics: sales strategy sales performance sales talent

Supercharge Your Sales Game: How AI is Fueling Effective Prospecting

How AI is Fueling Effective Prospecting

Prospecting. It's the cornerstone of a thriving sales pipeline, yet it can feel like sifting gold from sand.

But what if a powerful ally could streamline your efforts and uncover hidden gems you'd never see alone? Enter Artificial Intelligence (AI), the technological revolution transforming the sales landscape.

Topics: prospecting AI

The Team Equation: Looking at Current Team Strengths to Guide New Hire Decisions

Looking at Current Team Strengths to Guide New Hire Decisions

A spot opens up on the sales team and the hiring manager needs to fill it. Fast. They look over their talent bank, find a few candidates, look over their Sales Talent Assessments, and decide who has the sales talents they need.

One is available.

Hired.

That’s it but for the onboarding, right? Unfortunately, no. Finding new talent for a sales team involves more than just finding a talented person who wants the job. It’s also critically important to find talent that will fit on the team.

Topics: hiring salespeople hiring for culture fit

What’s Your Account List Management Strategy?

account list management strategyToo many sales organizations don't have an Account List Management Strategy (ALMS) or they have one that provides little strategic value. In mature businesses, the lack of a priority-based ALMS is often tied to the following:

  • High levels of account attrition
  • Limited new business development
  • Marginal productivity and missed revenue goals

Topics: sales performance account list management

Social Selling Tips: Using Social Media to Connect with Prospects

Social Selling Tips Using Social Media to Connect with Prospects

There’s no longer a debate on whether social media is an effective way to remain relevant in today’s busy and modern online world. Social media has come a long way since the mid-2000s, where users simply used it to share photographs and “check-in.”  

Today, smart sellers incorporate social media into their sales strategy as an additional way to connect with prospects. This allows you to:

  • Build rapport
  • Pinpoint specific prospects
  • Establish yourself as a thought leader

Through likes, comments, shares, and posts, you provide your insights to both prospects and current customers and allow for more engagement. Social media is a valuable tool for driving sales, but first, you must identify the most-used platforms for your ideal customer.

Topics: sales strategy personal brand social selling

Persistence Pays Off: 3 Ways to Secure New Business Appointments

Persistence Pays Off

Securing new business appointments is crucial for success in sales.

These days, it's quite challenging to get new business appointments. This difficulty is a key reason why many salespeople struggle and why sales organizations often miss their goals.

Research in sales indicates it typically takes eight attempts to reach a prospect. However, 92% of salespeople give up after just four tries. This explains why many are struggling to secure more appointments.

To excel in sales, it's essential to blend persistence with a clear purpose to secure new appointments. Here are three effective strategies.

Topics: increasing new business

Coaching Moment: How to Turn Any Failure into an Opportunity

How to Turn Any Failure into an Opportunity (1)

Being a great coach and developer of people is a natural talent, and those gifted with these abilities can take people far. Seeing how things CAN happen or improve motivates others to feel the same, especially in the event of a failure.

We all make mistakes and have disappointments; it's what we do with that lesson that makes a difference.

There are a few things that the best coaches do when failure occurs on their team that may also help you find success.

The best coaching is…

  • In the moment
  • Specific
  • Clear on next steps
  • Encouraging
Topics: employee development 360 coaching

Navigating Buying Committees and Identifying True Decision Makers: A Salesperson's Guide

Navigating Buying Committees and Identifying True Decision Makers (1)

B2B (business-to-business) sales often involve multiple decision-makers within a buying committee. This can make it challenging for salespeople to identify the true decision-makers and effectively navigate the sales process.

This blog post provides insights and strategies for sales professionals to successfully navigate buying committees and identify the key decision-makers who hold the power to approve or reject their deals.

Topics: sales process

Pain Points You Need to Address in 2024

Pain Points You Need to Address in 2024

In sales, nailing down your customers' pain points is key to sealing the deal. As we enter 2024, it's crucial to stay on top of the game by tackling the sales challenges that will pop up in the coming year. Whether you're dealing with price objections, trying to build trust in your brand, or struggling to connect with decision-makers, facing these issues head-on can make a difference in your sales success.

With technology advancing and customer expectations changing, salespeople need to tweak strategies accordingly. By spotting and dealing with pain points early on, you can customize your sales approach, offer spot-on solutions, and build strong relationships with potential clients that stand the test of time.

Topics: pain points

The 4 Key Performance Indicators Sales Managers Need to Track

 

The 4 Key Performance Indicators Sales Managers Need to Track

There are four key performance indicators I recommend everyone keep a weekly focus on.  If you are a manager who does weekly individual focus meetings with your AE's or if you are a manager managing managers, these four things will help you keep the focus of the individual and the team on things that are crucial in moving the needle. 

These four essential metrics will tell you if you are on track for success. 

Topics: Sales metrics