The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

The media sales industry faces a significant challenge: securing quality appointments with prospects ready to do business.

Media salespeople excel when engaging with prospects, identifying needs, and selling solutions, but the current system forces them to spend excessive time cold calling. This inefficiency leads to only one or two quality appointments a week, hindering even the most talented sellers from achieving better results.

The process needs a fundamental change to improve outcomes.

Habits are routine behaviors that are repeated enough to become automatic. Habits help enhance productivity, build relationships, and increase overall performance.

Many AEs need to add new habits to their priorities. Adding some or all of the below will help improve your chances of closing deals and achieving your sales goals. Take a look!

The initial encounter with a prospective client can feel like navigating a minefield of uncertainty. This delicate phase is fraught with what we call relationship tension—a natural byproduct of unfamiliarity and the inherent skepticism that accompanies interactions with sales professionals.

Understanding and effectively managing this tension is paramount to fostering productive conversations and building trust, which are essential ingredients for successful sales outcomes.

Achieving excellence requires more than just closing deals—it demands a unique blend of talents that propel individuals to greatness.

As sales managers strive to curate their roster of business superstars, identifying candidates who embody the following six key talents, known as the "hunter themes," is paramount to new business development.

Account List Management is easy, but many don’t see it as a priority. 

I suggest you take a few minutes to “spring clean” your account list. You will find many “Aha’s” when looking at it closely.  Here’s a simple outline of how to clean up your list.  

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.

The 5th Annual Media Sales Report asked salespeople where their jobs are getting easier and where they are harder. 31% of salespeople responded that renewing clients is more challenging than ever before.

It's indeed crucial to recognize the evolving dynamics of client renewals in today's market landscape. With the increasing options available to clients, retaining them has become more challenging and important than ever before.

Here are some effective retention strategies that can be implemented throughout the sales process.

Do you know where 80% of your revenue comes from?

Most businesses would say they have a way they manage and prioritize their accounts, but few of them do it in a way that is strategic, consistent, and is woven into every sales decision they make. Leaders who have a strong Account List Management system should prioritize the following:

• Retention of current customers
• Growth of current customers
• Development of new customers

New data from the Media Sales Report shows that 46% of managers believe less than 20% of their sales teams are underperforming. 

It’s a terrible position to be in. It sucks your energy, time, and takes your focus from where you can be making a positive impact. It’s hard on leaders and underperformers. Underperformers usually fall into two categories:

1. The one that you hired, and they just can’t get it together. They consistently underdeliver on expectations. You hired them because you were confident they could do the job, they were maybe even going to be your next superstar, or so you hoped, but they haven’t met a budget and are underperforming.

2. The one that has performed well and is now consistently underperforming against their goals. What happened to them? They were great, but now….

Your next hire is important! Right?

It’s probably one of the top reasons managers tell me their job is hard. Finding talented people is difficult, and once you find them, hiring them and getting them onboarded is time-consuming and stressful.

You have a lot to do, but investing time and energy in a few important onboarding disciplines can give you and your new hire a better chance for success.