The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

A lot of salespeople and managers that I talk to on a regular basis often seek advice on time management and how they can better manage their time.

The truth is... it really depends. It varies depending on you, your individual style, your talents, and the way you like to process things. 

In this 3-part series, I'm going to share various time management tips and things to consider based on your style and what will work for you.

Today, I'm touching on is distractions. 

The starting point of being a thought leader on LinkedIn is to use social selling as a way to connect with high potential prospects. Through social selling, you can illustrate empathy, expertise, and problem-solving ability which helps you build trust and create value for those who want to engage with you.

I am still surprised by the number of salespeople I meet who don’t use social selling as part of their attempts to connect with a high-potential account. Many tell me they are connected with current customers, but not with prospects.

I tell every salesperson who doesn’t attempt to connect with prospects on LinkedIn that they are missing out. For every seller I talk to who doesn’t use social selling, I know of one who is, and who is successful at generating new business. So why wouldn’t a salesperson add social selling to their approach?

In this video, Kim Alexandre, VP/Senior Consultant at The Center for Sales Strategy, shares tips to get more engagement and attract great candidates from your job postings on social media. 

I can't get enough of Marie Kondo. Unless you are completely removed from social media or Netflix, you know her to be the spiritual guide to decluttering your living space on her Netlfix original series, "Tidying Up With Marie Kondo."  I am a believer and often ask myself, "Does this spark joy?" and after my recent one-on-one coaching calls with salespeople from all over the country, many seem to feel as if their Account Lists are cluttered and could use some of Marie's guidance!  

Luckily, The Center For Sales Strategy's Account List Management Strategy can help you declutter and tidy up your account list!  There are 4 categories of accounts that are likely to "spark joy" for any salesperson: key accounts, secondary accounts, target accounts, and leads.

My family and I love to take advantage of a weekend getaway with a fun road trip, but that also means we need to be ready to pack up and leave when the moment presents itself! So, even though I "maintain" my car by manufacturer standards on a regular basis, I still take my car in for a thorough inspection before every road trip. 

Just like I have a trusted and experienced mechanic examine my car prior to road trips, the same type of detailed inspection should be performed on your sales department and its performance. 

I read a recent study that shared many interesting things about music and how much it does for humans. Some things noted in the study are that music:

• Enhances intelligence, learning and IQ
• Improves memory performance
• Improves concentration and attention
• Helps work productivity
• Helps fight fatigue
• Improves mood

Whether you're motivating yourself or your sales team, I think anyone in sales would like a little bit of all of those. So with that said, I've collected a list of songs from our team and compiled a list of motivational songs to help you boost your sales productivity! 

With a blog title like that, you may be questioning my sanity. Why would you want to fire your best prospect before you've had the chance to even get a meeting? I assure you my thought process here is sane and relates to a problem I see many salespeople face. Sometimes you hang onto prospects, even the very best prospects, too long and it becomes a waste of time and misguided focus that could better serve you to work on other leads.  

Last week was an exceptionally brutal soccer game for my girls. They played a team that preferred to play with aggression verses skill. There were many times the referee should have intervened with his whistle but chose not to. The opposing team got away with foul after foul, so guess what happened? 

The opposing team became more aggressive as the game went on, and by the end of the game, we had two girls with slashes on their arms that resembled a small animal attack and another girl with a snapped collar bone. All predictable outcomes based on the opposing team’s behaviors. With many sports, as you watch behaviors, you can start to anticipate the expected outcome, and this is also how it plays out in sales.