The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Most sales organizations are dealing with some hidden constraints that negatively impact revenue and cash. Here’s a list of the three most common, plus solutions to eliminate them.

I’m a sales performance improvement geek, and I admit it!

I enjoy discovering, and sometimes creating, things that help sales organizations improve revenue performance. I encountered some really cool things in 2018 — here’s a list of my top 5.

Recently, I provided five options for New Year’s resolutions for struggling sellers and managers who had a less than awesome 2018. If none of these options seemed attractive, here are five additional things you can do to reset your sales compass for 2019—plus some information to help make these resolutions part of your sales routine to improve sales performance. 

Proper preparation prevents poor performance! 

Take these five P's for a test drive, and your sale performance will improve. 

If you are struggling to uncover desired business results that lead to cash, perhaps it is time to modify your needs analysis process. Here’s a new model that is getting rave reviews — feel free to take it for a test drive during your next discovery meeting with a new prospect.

Over the years I’ve written posts about my favorite NFL team, the Cleveland Browns. Most of my previous posts reflected on their losing ways and focused on “what not to do” as a manager.

This post is different. This post sheds a positive light on the Browns related to activating talent and tells a nice story about how a new leader transformed the same players from losers to winners by changing five things. 

Imagine that: The same players being coached (managed) differently producing significantly different results!

The advertising game for traditional media is changing and evolving. In this case, change is not a good thing. It’s time for a revolution on your sales team. Are you ready? 

This sounds kind of dramatic, perhaps over-dramatic, but it is true. Some type of revolution needs to take place on your sales team in order for traditional media companies to stay in the game. 

Need proof? Here are some samples of reality:

Tethered to a mobile device, laptop, or desktop responding to emails and phone calls. Putting out fires like some help desk ninja. Drowning in reactive mode. Everything is important. Everything is urgent. Everything needs attention right now. Pronto!

Is this the role of a leader? I think not.

Many “leaders” spend too much time in reactive mode. Those who do this are not really leaders, they are highly paid help desk clerks. Don’t get me wrong, solving problems is a function of leadership; however, so is taking the time to disconnect and engage in proactive activities that produce the next big idea. The next big revenue driver. The next big thing that separates the team from the pack of reactive competitors.

Being a proactive leader requires taking a step back from the day-to-day operation to work on the business as opposed to working in the business. The business will not improve and flourish unless new thinking and new ideas evolve.

Proposals come in all shapes and sizes. Some are highly-technical and data-focused, while others are more detail-driven. Some are filled with fluff, while others are pretty worthless. The best proposals are a combination of data, solutions, and detail.

Many years ago, I talked with the owner of a specialty grocery store in Columbus, Ohio called The Hills Market. During this conversation, I learned about the term “giving customers the finger.”

This unfortunate situation occurs when a customer asks for help locating a product and an employee points in the direction of the product and sends the customer on their way. From a customer service perspective, this is a no-no! The best way to help a customer is to listen to their request (problem) and take them to the product (solution).