Emily Estey, on March 3, 2016
Imagine this. You'll be watching one of the many NCAA basketball games in the next few weeks. One particular game you'll flip to seems really out of control. It looks a little like playground basketball. Not much passing or rebounding, no plays being called, looks of frustration and fear from the players, and lots of fouls. The camera scans the benches, and something strikes you:
Loretta Lage, on March 2, 2016
We’ve seen many pictures posted that show that some people actually resemble their pets. That prompted a thought that I have noticed many salespeople with traits of either dogs or cats. And everyone knows how different dogs and cats are!
Cataloging repeatable behaviors that are part of the DNA of our pets can reveal how we view each other. Noticing behaviors that fire instinctively in humans and animals are guidelines to better understand their nature and each other. Here’s what I found that made interesting intersections between people and dogs and cats:
John Henley, on March 1, 2016
Which is more likely to drive strong sales performance: a focus on the numbers or great attention to the sales process?
I recently heard two people talking about the key to sales performance. One person started by saying that the key is to focus on sales process. Then a few minutes later, the other person described hearing a CEO of a very successful company saying he has learned that the key to driving top sales performance is to focus on the numbers.
At first, this sounded like a conflict to me. But the more I listened, it turns out they were saying the same thing. It’s not either/or. The lesson is to focus on the numbers that are tied to the sales process.
Greg Giersch, on February 29, 2016
Content marketing is already strategic when it's “relevant and consistent" and designed to "attract and retain a clearly-defined audience.” Content marketing has the goal of building relationships and impacting the decisions people make about you.
Content marketing is focused on your target persona. Content strategy looks more at managing the lifecycle of the actual content. Strategy helps you increase your impact and reduce your workload.
Loretta Lage & Patti Cochran, on February 24, 2016
Salespeople who have mastered the art of “Big Game Hunting” start at the perceived top of the mountain. Too many salespeople start at the bottom—and stay there. Why can’t you call or email a CEO or CMO with a very Valid Business Reason? Why don’t you suggest a time to meet to pursue ideas that may possibly help their company/organization/mission achieve their current marketing objectives? You can!
What stops most salespeople is the start. They limit their own opportunities by being ill-prepared with a truly Valid Business Reason and with lack of confidence to reach higher. Unpreparedness has that effect. Let’s look at the Valid Business Reason which is the key to engaging your prospect: the reason that gets the target’s attention on why they should want to meet with you—not why you want to meet with them. See the difference?
Jim Hopes, on February 23, 2016
Sales Managers have a hard job. Above them, executives are very clear about what they expect them to achieve—usually expressed as a dollar goal for the department. But, the Sales Manager is the person who has to convert what the company expects into how to accomplish it. Not easy. If the company expects the Sales Manager to reach a million dollars in sales this month simply sending that message down the line to the sales team is of little or no value. We all know certain things roll downhill with little result.
So what kind of feedback does the Sales Manager provide to translate the what (the monetary goal), to the how (the method by which we will accomplish the goal)? Here are some ideas:
Alina McComas, on February 11, 2016
Mid-February is an interesting time of the year. The stores, malls, and grocery stores are jam-packed with people shopping for Valentines Day. If you like to shop, this may be paradise… heading out with all of the other crazed shoppers, trying to find that one special thing for that special someone. But if you're not into shopping, you probably want to minimize the places you have to go.
Imagine if you only gave yourself one opportunity to find that special gift—you're determined to go to only one store. Some of you would get lucky. Others might find that is it out of stock, while others find that the one store chosen never even carried that special something. So what do you do if you weren’t lucky? Since you only gave yourself one shot, you have two options—find another gift or go home with no gift.
Don’t like those options? Me either, but when it comes to digital marketing, I see salespeople and marketers do just that all the time when using ad targeting to reach their target consumer—their someone special if you will. Instead of using multiple targeting options available to them, they make the decision to hyper-target… using just one behavior, age group, or a small geographic area. Doing that is the same thing as just going into one store to find your target gift. You might get lucky and generate results, but more often hyper targeting minimizes your chances to deliver results.
Greg Giersch, on February 10, 2016
The top three social channels being used most often by B2B marketers won’t surprise you, the ones they find most effective may. According to research from the Content Marketing Institute, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are still the top choices. YouTube and Google+ are also substantial for usage. Which channels on the top 10 list below are you using?
Loretta Lage, on February 9, 2016
You know the value of your investments. What is the value of your personal brand? It’s somewhat difficult to always control your investments due to outside forces, but controlling your brand is in your hands. As a salesperson, the value you garner from your personal brand is priceless.
“Personal branding is the process of developing a 'mark' that is created around your personal name or your career. You use this 'mark' to express and communicate your skills, personality and values. The end goal is that the personal brand you develop will build your reputation and help you grow your network in a way that interests others. They will seek you out for your knowledge and expertise." — Laura Lake, Marketing Expert
Matt Sunshine, on February 4, 2016
According to a State of B2B Procurement study from the Acquity Group, 94 percent of business buyers do some form of online research before they meet with a salesperson. Your prospects are looking online before they agree to an appointment. And if they're finding information and assistance from your competitors instead of you, who do you think they're going to meet with?
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