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The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Amanda Meade

Amanda Meade

Recent Posts by Amanda Meade:

Celebrating Women In Sales Month with Guest Nicki Harkrider-Probey

MicrosoftTeams-image BLOG

The Center for Sales Strategy is excited to announce the premier of Improving Sales Performance, a podcast highlighting tips and insights that help sales organizations realize and maybe even exceed goals.

This season, host Matt Sunshine and co-host Stephanie Downs celebrate Women in Sales Month by talking to some amazing women sales pros.

When it comes to improving sales performance, these ladies know how it’s done. Tune in now or keep reading for a brief overview.

Topics: women in sales

Weekly Roundup: Remote Management, Beating Gatekeepers + More

Remote Management

- MOTIVATION -

"A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit."

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

15 Remote Management Best Practices For 2022 – Yesware

Although we’re finally moving out of the pandemic, remote work is here to stay. Global Analytics reports that 25 – 30% of employees will continue to work from home even after the last reminders of the Coronavirus pandemic are long behind us.

That means that those in the remote management role need to find ways to make their role productive, sustainable, and valuable to their organizations.

In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about remote management, including the pros and cons of the role, traits of successful managers, and 15 best practices to help remote managers be the best they can be. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Weekly Roundup: Deal Velocity, Developmental Goals For Leaders + More

Deal Velocity, Developmental Goals For Leaders

- MOTIVATION -

"Where there is no vision, the people perish."

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Use These 5 Unconventional Sales Signals to Create Stickier Deal Cycles – Sales Hacker

We obsess over deal velocity. How quickly can I find deals, close them, and move on to the next one? It infects the rest of our work: BDRs batch and blast outreach to book more meetings. Reps fill out their calendars only half-prepared for the meetings. Managers ask weekly, “When’s this deal coming in?”  >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Weekly Roundup: Sales Forecasting, Inflation + More

Sales Forecasting, Inflation

- MOTIVATION -

"There are four ingredients in true leadership: brains, soul, heart, and good nerves."

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Sales Forecasting: Which Is Best For You? – LinkedIn 

Forecasts are infamously difficult to trust. 

Does your weather app say it’s going to be sunny on Saturday? You still might want to have a backup plan for your picnic.

In sales, forecasting is a practice that’s been around for a long time, but its accuracy has often failed to escape the realm of long-range temperature predictions. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Weekly Roundup: Returning To The Office, Culture + More

Returning To The Office Not So Fast

- MOTIVATION -

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Returning To The Office? Not So Fast. The Case For Remote Sales– Gong

Your team has been working remotely for 2+ years, and you are ready to bring them back to the office.

But are they ready? Do you have a plan? Do you know what your staff is really thinking? Do they want to come back in person? And if so, every day or more of a flex/hybrid? >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Weekly Roundup: Upcoming Leaders, Sales Prospecting Tips + More

Upcoming leaders

- MOTIVATION -

"If you are not willing to learn, then no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you."

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Who Are The Upcoming Leaders In Your Company?– The Great Game of Business

Most companies spend countless hours working on strategy, sales and growth plans, financial plans, and 5-year forecasts, also known as HIP (High-Involvement Planning™). They have numerous spreadsheets, presentations, and market data to support their plan. They bring in macro and micro-financial gurus to validate their information. The board approves the plan, and everything is ready to go.  

Wait a minute. The company forgot to answer the most important question. Who will be responsible/accountable for making sure this gets accomplished? Do we have enough capable and available leaders to grow the top and bottom line 10%? Who is going to open and manage the new locations or the acquisition? Who is going to lead the new product launch?

Good question/s. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Weekly Roundup: 2030s Great Depression, Sales Lessons + More

2030s Great Depression

- MOTIVATION -

"80% of success is showing up."

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

The 2030s Great Depression: You Can Prosper in the Age of Decline– The Great Game of Business

Have you found yourself talking about inflation or labor issues lately?

They were discussing these issues long before you or I started having dinner conversations about them.

However, ITR Economics' perspective isn’t the doom and gloom one might expect. The firm is adamantly teaching its clients how to prosper in what it has coined “the Age of Decline.”

But before we jump into a few of ITR's recommendations on what to do now to prepare for the future, let’s address the elephant in the room. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

Weekly Roundup: Considerations During Inflation, Sales Myths + More

Considerations During Inflation, Sales Myths

- MOTIVATION -

"Don't find fault. Find a remedy."

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

3 Things to Consider During Times of Inflation– The Great Game of Business

Prices are going up. We've all noticed it, and it's maybe even got us a little panicked. So, when can we expect to see inflation start slowing down?

Well, expert economists are expecting to enter a period of disinflation and slowed growth in 2022 and 2023. In this article, we have listed ways economists are saying inflation will impact spending and business growth — something all business leaders should take a look at. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up

How Does Social Selling Fit Into the Sales Process?

How Does Social Selling Fit Into the Sales Process

While the dreaded days of cold calling may be over in the marketing world, it could be said that it merely switched mediums from the telephone to chat apps. If your idea of 'B2B marketing' is sending unsolicited DMs, is that really any different from cold calling?

While cold outreach on social media is a popular technique in our modern world, it's not exactly the most productive, nor the most fruitful. As mentioned above, it's really just cold calling in a new medium, and while your salespeople don't have to deal with slammed phones, that doesn't make it any more viable as a sales technique.

Social selling is a modern approach to marketing that's built around existing relationships, and as such, it works much better. In this article, we’re going to explore the concept of social selling, how it fits into the sales process, and how you can leverage this sales technique to help your business thrive.

Topics: social selling

Weekly Roundup: Should Business Owners Be Raising Prices, Hiring Crisis + More

Should Business Owners Be Raising Prices

- MOTIVATION -

"I walk slowly, but I never walk backward."

 

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Should Business Owners Be Raising Their Prices Right Now?– The Great Game of Business

We asked the President of The Great Game of Business, Darin Bridges if he thinks business owners should be raising their prices right now. His response was, "hell, yes."  

Protecting Margins Now, So You Can Fund Growth Tomorrow We've always had a saying at SRC. When the economy goes down — it's not the time to be asking for price increases. You've got to do it while the economy is going up. Everybody knows costs are going up right now — they're creeping up everywhere.

You've got to be able to protect your margins to continue to fund growth, fund your people, fund the retention, and all the things necessary to see success for your business. >>> READ MORE

Topics: Wrap-up