Tirzah Thornburg, on March 11, 2019
Your new hire has had great success in the past, but they don’t seem able to hit the ground running. You look at their talent assessment, and they should have tons of confidence and enthusiasm, but the reality is, they are a little unsure, hesitant, and they keep to themselves. What happened?! You may be dealing with the ghosts of managers past.
Shaye Smith, on March 8, 2019
-ROY BARTELL
Matt Sunshine, on March 7, 2019
One of the leading indicators for sales success is to look at the number of appointments that a salesperson has each week. (This is not the only leading indicator that you should be tracking, but it is one of them.) The idea is that if a salesperson has a significant amount of appointments each week which involve finding needs, getting assignments, presenting solutions, or delivering a proposal, that this quality sales activity will lead to good solid revenue performance.
I think it’s fair to say that everyone in sales or in sales management would agree with this, so I’m not really going out on a limb having made that statement. But here is where I think there might be a flaw. I think many salespeople are confusing "I'll follow up with you next week" with "I have an appointment." To be clear, "I’ll follow up with you next week," does not mean you have an appointment.
Kim Alexandre, on March 6, 2019
In this video, Kim Alexandre, VP/Senior Consultant at The Center for Sales Strategy, shares tips to get more engagement and attract great candidates from your job postings on social media.
Early on in my sales career, there was a prospect that I was determined to close. Everyone on my sales team had tried to gain access to this decision maker, and some had gotten as far a conversation, but it never evolved from there. When my manager suggested I try to approach this target prospect, I eagerly accepted the challenge. In my head, I confidently thought, “I can make this happen.” Ha!
I spent months calling, dropping by, leaving voicemails, and sending emails. I never managed to get through to anyone, but I remained persistent and didn’t give up until one day I was told not so politely to go away.
Often during my career, I have reflected on that cringe-worthy experience. I had been persistent (outright annoying), and at the time, I had truly thought that persistence alone should get me in the door. As I began to develop and grow as a salesperson, I began to see the power of not just being persistent, but being persistent with a purpose. I learned the importance of earning trust and offering value to the prospect. Unfortunately, I had to experience some tough lessons before I got to this point.
Kurt Sima, on March 4, 2019
There is nothing more impactful than adding the right seller to your team. Conversely, there is nothing more impactful when adding the wrong seller to your team!
Here’s a list of six scenarios managers find themselves in when hiring sellers that lead to hiring the wrong person, plus things managers can do to avoid them.
Shaye Smith, on March 1, 2019
-THOMAS JEFFERSON
Matt Sunshine, on February 28, 2019
Is it just me or does there not seem to be enough time in the day to get things done? I knew it wasn't just me! My life has been going 1,000 miles an hour lately, and I've been asked how I get it all done.
I have a method that I follow religiously to get things done, and it doesn't really have anything to do with time management.
Kim Alexandre, on February 27, 2019
There's a nursery rhyme that reads...
"I will huff, and I will puff, and then I will blow your house down!"
Kurt Sima, on February 26, 2019
Talking about price with a new business prospect can be tricky. If you do it too soon, you might scare away a prospect. If you wait too long, the sticker shock might blow your proposal out of the water because it exceeds reality.
Here’s a list of recommendations and things to consider about the topic of price along with three effective ways to prompt the conversation (including some easy to use ROI formulas).
