The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

When it comes to sales, you might feel as if there are many factors that are outside of your control. To an extent this is true, but when it comes down to it – you actually wield more influence over the situation than you think.

Once you realize what you can control, and what you can influence, you will feel more confident approaching prospects and delivering solutions and recommendations to your clients.

Work and career are areas that are ever-evolving.

New ways of working emerge, skill sets and experiences change, and employee expectations shift. As a leader, it's important to understand where your priorities need to be and how you can position yourself to help your employees grow.

Most salespeople will claim to have many happy customers, but can they prove it?

Renewals and repeat customers are one thing, but many buyers can live with being content with their seller and stick with who they know because nothing is broken, but what evidence is there of your raving fans?

Every relationship has ups and downs, and that includes relationships between coworkers.

The members of your sales team might be going through problems at home that can cause problems at work.

There might be conflicts with other members of the sales team.

When problems exist in other areas of life, it can affect the accountability of the whole sales team or individual team members. Either way, it's possible to remedy the situation and make accountability a priority for your team.

The pandemic has brought about numerous changes in the way we work and interact within our organizations, and it has also affected the way we develop, deliver, and assess employee training.

There has long been a push to incorporate more technology into training programs and the last two years have acted as the accelerant needed to push learning and development to new levels. Coupled with the new technologies is a shift away from more formal learning delivery and methods.

While many of these ideas were already in play, they have emerged as best practices in the virtual and work-from-home environment.

As a sales leader, you can count on the fact that there will be constant change. It's all around you — in technology, the economy, your team, and industry conditions.

At times, it can seem impossible to prepare for and navigate the sea of changes you face, but successful sales managers adapt and adjust, and even embrace the changes.

Whether the change is a small adjustment or a seismic shift, leaders have the ability to reduce uncertainty and smoothly maneuver the tumult of change.

You may have heard this phrase exclaimed in many different ways: “Our people are our greatest asset”.

But what exactly does that mean? And if people truly are an essential ingredient to running a business, how do we ensure that they remain a strong and steady force?

Hiring the best without investing and nurturing their talents is one of the biggest mistakes an organization can make. Let’s take a look at some of the facts and figures on employee development.

“I never lose. I either win or learn.” – Nelson Mandela

Let’s be honest, in sales you're apt to hear the word “No” more than you hear “Yes”, and over time that can be a sense of frustration and in some cases a demotivating factor.

But it doesn’t have to be!

Believe it or not, you can embrace those failures and become a stronger and better salesperson than before. The key to overcoming the negativity of rejection is resilience and it can be built and strengthened with some effort and thoughtfulness.

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” — Henry David Thoreau

As children, we’re told many stories, some of which were created and passed down to help teach life lessons. Storytelling has been around for thousands of years, and there are many parables, fables, and legends that we share as a collective society.

Stories bring us together, bond groups emotionally, and connect them to their purpose. The use of stories also has an immense impact in the business world, increasing workplace empathy, strengthening leadership, and as a team-building strategy.

You hear it every day, “these challenging times,” “the new normal,” “the pandemic.” It’s no surprise that we are all facing adversity and uncertainty, but it doesn’t mean all doom and gloom. In fact, you can crush adversity and come out on the other side stronger, successful, and more skilled than ever. What is the secret to weathering the storm? Start with your sales culture as your foundation and proactively instill and foster resilience.