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The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

18 Places to Research a Prospect Before a Sales Call + More

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We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

118 Places to Research a Prospect Before a Sales Call — HubSpot

The more you can personalize your conversation to the prospect and their business, the greater the chance that you’ll capture their interest — and hopefully their business. Here are 18 places to do your research.

Topics: Inbound Marketing Sales Wrap-up

2 Reasons Some Managers Can't Activate Their People

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Why have a manager who cannot move their people to performance?

That would be useless, right?

But the reality in today’s business is there are too many managers who fit this description. Why is that? Why would a manager, despite his or her best effort, be unable to activate their people? There are two primary reasons, and they have an interactive relationship with each other:

1. The Manager Doesn’t Have a Lever (a Powerful Relationship)

Lots of managers have a friendly, or at least cordial, relationship with their people. But not what we call a robust relationship. A robust relationship is one that’s useful to the manager wishing to improve the salesperson’s performance, and, therefore, the organization’s performance. It’s a relationship that gives the manager the power to accomplish this essential aspect of his or her job.

Topics: Leadership

Use Marketing to Generate Leads So Your Salespeople Can Focus on Revenue

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There is an old saying that goes like this: When is the best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago, of course. When is the next best time to plant a tree? TODAY! 

That saying is the perfect way to describe what is going on with sales and marketing these days. So many organizations are tasking their salespeople with 100% of the lead generation as well as having them figure out on their own the very best way to pull prospects through the sales process. 

Topics: Lead Generation Sales

The 10,000 Foot View Provides New Insights

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On my final approach into the Atlanta airport recently, I noticed how interesting the view was from 10,000 feet. The planes moving about, the cars arriving, the Porsche Experience Center, and all the surrounding hotels (the new Renaissance Atlanta Gateway is pretty cool by the way). So much to observe.  

This made me think about how the 10,000-ft. view is often more interesting and illuminating than the proverbial 30,000-ft. view. This is true when looking at a sales organization as well. The 30,000-ft. view that you tend to take with something like a SWOT analysis or other strategic exercises is good, but the 10,000-ft. view might be more appropriate.

Topics: sales strategy Sales

7 Apps That Help Salespeople Become Even Better Speakers + More

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We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

17 Apps That Help Salespeople Become Even Better Speakers — HubSpot

A natural affinity for speaking can only take you so farto become a truly skilled speaker, you’ll need to identify your weaknesses, learn rhetorical strategies, and consistently practice.

You might be wondering how you’re supposed to find time for those things when all of your work hours are spent selling. Good news: These seven apps will improve your speaking skills quickly, effectively, and best of all, in real-time.

Topics: Inbound Marketing Sales Wrap-up

Are You Missing Important Coaching Moments?

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I love this African Proverb, “If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together.” Every time you find yourself tempted to push everyone on your team aside because you can “move faster” on your own, stop and ask if the speed you are gaining is worth it. You can definitely walk faster on your own, but you can walk much further if you allow others on your team to develop and grow as opportunities come along. Instead of thinking about how to get the work done through your people—think about how to get your people done through the work.

Topics: Sales

Are You Coaching Or Just Telling?

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It happens every day in nearly every sales organization. Regardless of the industry, the size of the sales department or the complexity of the sale. It causes intense frustration for every salesperson and every sales manager. Know what it is?

It’s the uncomfortable meeting that takes place when a salesperson is not hitting their numbers. 

That meeting has to happen in order to get the seller back on the path to success, but it is filled with frustration.

  • The sales manager is frustrated because her seller is keeping her from making the team goal, and consequently, her bonus.
  • The salesperson is frustrated because he is not making as much as he wants to make and he knows that failing to make budget is not acceptable.

Those of us in sales and sales management know this situation and those frustrations all too well. You can probably guess how this conversation will go…

Have an Inspired 4th of July!

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The 4th of July is a great time for gathering with friends and family, eating food fresh off the barbecue, and, if you're lucky, going swimming in the nearest body of water. We hope you're enjoying the day off! Today we're sharing some inspiring posts that you can check out as sitting by the pool or waiting for those hamburgers to cook.

Topics: Sales

Sure, You Can CLOSE, but Can You OPEN?

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If you follow the stock market you know McDonald’s stock has been on fire of late! Maybe the secret to their success is hiring people who can open and close!  

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Closing gets all the love, and all the headlines. The big closes lead to high fives and mentions in the company newsletter, and keep you coming back for more! If you can’t close, you can’t sell. “Coffee is for closers!” 

But can you OPEN? Not open the conversation, open the door to the opportunity. One sure fire way to close more deals is to get more, higher-quality appointments. It’s tougher than ever to get attention and establish credibility, and you need to do both to get the first appointment with the very best prospects. It’s no longer sufficient to pick up the phone and leave a “get to know you and your business” voicemail, or pop in for a cold call with confidence. To be a great “opener” you have to do your homework, and your homework has to result in a valid business reason for the prospect to meet with you. 

A great valid business reason should express why the prospect would want to meet with you (not the other way around) and has three core elements:

Topics: valid business reason

How to Take a Vacation and Still Hit Your Number + More

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We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1How to Take a Vacation and Still Hit Your Number — HubSpot

Taking time off to recharge is important, but too many salespeople don't get away because they're worried they'll fall behind. Taking a vacation without missing quota is possible with good planning and collaboration. This article shows you how.

Topics: Inbound Marketing Sales Wrap-up