The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

I think we can all agree that securing appointments is foundational to achieving sales goals.

However, findings from the recent Media Sales Report found a persistent gap between the expectations and reality of salespeople and their managers when it comes to the actual number of scheduled appointments.

When selling a product or service, not all outreach efforts should be directed directly at the decision maker, who has the final word on what will be bought.

Instead, it's more effective to engage with the people around them—influencers from whom they seek advice, people nearby who can speak favorably about your company, and sources of information they trust.

This is an even more vital strategy in B2B sales efforts. After all, the decision maker may not be the one using your product, adjusting workflows to accommodate it, or even engaging with the product directly at all. Instead, your sales teams need to develop a comprehensive approach for identifying and engaging with influencers who will ultimately lead you to decision makers (or lead the decision makers to you).

Start by clearly understanding the role of decision influencers in today's sales and buying experiences, how to reach out to these decision influencers, and, ultimately, how to leverage that connection to get in front of decision makers more effectively.

For as long as sellers have been selling, managers have tracked their activity. Over time, we've improved the tools we use to track that activity, from call sheets to spreadsheets to CRM.

But if all we do is capture the data and not study the data, what's the point? After all, the value is not simply in seeing how much activity we have but in understanding the trends within that data to help salespeople improve.

Studying the data allows you to identify where the bottlenecks in the sales process occur. It enables you to go beyond what you think is happening and confirm where that friction in the sales process lives. That confirmation allows you to develop specific strategies to improve your performance or the performance of your sales team.

Referrals are the lifeblood of sales success. They are the ultimate "social proof" because people trust friends and influencers more than any advertisement delivered by the brand.

A referral is someone who has a personal reason to check out your brand and who approaches your products or services with a positive-leaning curiosity. They may even be a pre-qualified lead if the referral itself was based on personal knowledge.

Therefore, inspiring and rewarding referrals is a process that every brand should master. In this post, we'll break down a five-step plan to consistently generate a high volume of quality referrals. Here's how to create a smooth-running referral machine.

Getting the first appointment with a qualified decision-maker of a target prospect can be one of the most challenging aspects of B2B selling.

The ability to set appointments efficiently can make or break a business's success. The good news is that today, sales professionals have access to a plethora of tools and resources designed to streamline the appointment-setting process.

We're tackling a crucial aspect of sales that's as important as your morning coffee: sealing more deals.

To close more opportunities, it's critical that we limit or completely remove as many objections during the presentation as possible. One way to do that is to remove the surprises. Surprises are great for a birthday party, but they can be devastating during a business meeting.

A good salesperson knows that success starts with making connections, building rapport, and creating a positive space.

Short and irritable prospects make it difficult to have any meaningful conversation and make your job much harder than it needs to be. 

Building rapport and making connections doesn't have to take long, and it's well worth the investment. Let's look at some simple techniques that you can use to improve a prospect's mindset so they're more comfortable and open to hearing what you have to offer.

There’s a whole lot more to recruiting the right person for your team than just matching resumes to job descriptions. It’s about cultivating experiences and creating an impression that goes beyond a mere transaction.

In today’s candidate-led job market, your company's reputation matters—a lot. Many of the people who have the power to influence your reputation are those you’re recruiting. It's not just about the role you’re filling anymore; it's also about building relationships.

But why should you really care?

Crafting a robust professional brand is paramount, particularly for sales professionals and leaders alike.

As a coach, I work closely with individuals at various stages of their careers, digging into their past and current experiences to understand the challenges they face and the solutions they bring to the table.

Through these discussions, I gain insights into their passions and aspirations, shaping their professional identity.

In the “old days” (5 years ago), hiring a new employee meant meeting them in person, shaking their hand, and conducting a live interview.

Today, that’s not always possible.

For many, remote and hybrid models are becoming the norm, which means leaders must adapt their recruitment strategies to meet the unique challenges and opportunities these environments present.

Here’s how leaders can fine-tune their approach to attract and assess top talent effectively.

According to the 5th Annual Media Sales Report, a staggering 81% of sales managers indicated that meeting their targets has become harder compared to the previous year.

While the goals may not be out of reach, the path to success requires concerted effort. This doesn't mean that the goals are not achievable. It just means that our work is cut out for us. 

The challenges faced by sales leaders are multifaceted, but the insights from this report offer a roadmap for navigating the path ahead.

Congratulations! You’ve just made an amazing new hire with talent, experience, and skills who aligns well with you, your team, and your organizational culture.

With all that in place, it’s safe to assume that all will be smooth sailing toward a future of success, right? Unfortunately, things don’t always turn out as we assume.

Nearly a third of new employees leave within 90 days of getting hired.

However according to a Gallup report, employees with a positive onboarding experience are almost three times as likely to feel prepared and supported in their role.

Sealing the deal is the ultimate goal of any business negotiation, but the path to get there is often fraught with obstacles and delays.

Striking while the iron is hot can make all the difference. Closing a lucrative deal within a tight one-month timeline might seem like an impossible feat. However, with the right mindset, preparation, and tactics, it's a challenge that can be conquered.

Here are some effective strategies for closing a business deal in a short timeframe.

Most of us have set goals to start and end this year strong. For many, this involves a vow to be better at self-care. I will…eat in a more healthful manner, exercise consistently, meditate, take yoga breaks, get massages, facials, pedicures… fill in the blank.

But it all boils down to better self-care. We have all been under increasing stress in the past four years, and psychologists are emphasizing self-care as a way to combat added stress.

What about professional self-care?

Right now, most coaches and leaders are looking blank and thinking, what is professional self-care? Professional self-care is about to become a hot button for you.

In order to coach and be present for your team in the best way possible, you need to take care of yourself. How?

Your salespeople are more like athletes. They are always in a constant struggle to outperform rivals and meet set goals. Salespeople, just like athletes, encounter setbacks like pressure to perform and rejection in their day-to-day work.

Given the similarities, a sales team can benefit from coaching the same way athletes do. For salespersons, coaching can help refine critical skills like negotiation, communication, confidence, and decision-making.

Discover how coaching helped transform average athletes into super-talented individuals so you understand the value of coaching.

As a leader, your time is precious. You're pulled in a million different directions, trying to drive your organization forward while also striving for some semblance of work-life balance.

The national bestseller "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferriss has captivated readers with its bold promise of escaping the daily 9-5 grind. While some of the book's ideas around minimal work may be controversial, it contains several productivity gems that every successful executive should embrace.