The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Earning that first appointment with a big prospect can be difficult. But you persevered. You were smart enough, creative enough, prepared enough, and persistent enough to nail it. He said yes. The date, time, and location are on your calendar and his. Getting this appointment was especially sweet because the guy has a reputation of being tough and demanding.

If you think the most difficult phase of the selling cycle is now behind you, I have some bad news. Now you need to measure up—to your claims and his expectations. I can’t tell you how often I see salespeople work hard and smart to get the meeting and then saunter in to his office, largely unprepared.

You “sold” the appointment.  Now you need to deliver.  Here are six things you can do to ensure that your first meeting with that big prospect goes well.  There are no second chances with prospects like this.

The leaves are turning beautiful shades of red and gold (well, not here in Florida, where the leaves just turn brown and it doesn’t happen until February), so it must be the time of year when thoughts turn to annual sales planning, to making next year markedly better than this year.

(Oh, the leaves don’t make you think about planning? If they trigger thoughts about turkey, click here. If they spark thoughts about skiing, look here. If the leaves prompt thoughts of romance, you must be confusing fall with spring.) 

I thought I’d approach the topic of annual sales planning by offering my favorite all-time quotations about planning. Which ones speak loudest to you?

Think before you act.

—Aesop

Have you ever started the day feeling that there was so much to do that you didn’t know where to start? If you’re in sales, it’s not uncommon to feel you have too much to sell, too many follow-up tasks, and too many deals that haven’t closed. Which activities will allow you to hit your goals?

The best advice is often the simplest. Focus on the single, next step with each client or prospect.

Focusing on just the next step is the permission you need to focus on reaching an achievable goal. And an achievable goal is motivating. We use a 7-step process in How Selling that makes it easier to decide the next step in the sales process.

I told my son a lie last night. I didn’t mean to, but it just slipped out. As a certified talent analyst, I should definitely know better.

I told him, “You know, you can be anything you want to be.”

This type of toxic talent-related advice has been handed down from generation to generation. I’m certain we have all heard some form of it:

• “Just put your mind to it and you can accomplish anything you want!”
• “Just try hard and you can be anything you want!”
• “All things are possible!”
• “You just have to want it!”

What a great week! There are some great gems from our writers here, and wonderful news from around the web. Read on!

The Center for Sales Strategy Weekly Wrap-Up

• Monday, Mike Anderson reminded us that lead generation was useless without need generation. What good are your leads if they don't need anything from you?

• Tuesday, John Henley told us to kickstart 2015 by holding a Twitter drive with your team today. What's a Twitter drive? Find out.

Going viral.

It's what a lot of people online want to do. They want a piece of their content to hit the right notes with the right people, propelling them, even for a minute, to internet fame status.

But what if you could go viral inside your key accounts?

The result would be even better than getting a million hits on a cat video. It would connect you with the people your key accounts trust and value, which would, in turn, increase the number of key accounts.

Which would increase your sales.

As we head toward the end of the year, it’s natural to start looking to 2015. Where will you find new prospects next year?

They could be on social media right now without you realizing it. Get your team to increase their use of social media (for more than just cat videos) this quarter by implementing a Twitter Drive, in order to increase business next year.

How to Start a Twitter Drive

• Have a meeting on Monday where everyone notes the number of Twitter followers they have. Some may have 100, some may have 5,000. Some, umm, may not have any.
• Set a follow-up meeting for four weeks from Monday to see what progress everyone made.
• Brainstorm ways to find the right kind of new people to connect with.

What are You Tracking?

Lead generation and inbound marketing are two (of the many) hot topics in the marketing industry right now. But to make lead generation a smart strategy instead of just another marketing buzzword, it is critical to understand its role in the marketing process.

We used to live in a purely “push” world, where sales organizations would shove their product information and sales presentations toward the customer. Now, we’ve moved into an era where “pull” is just as important as push. Your company no longer controls access to the information about a product or service; that information is readily available online (from your company, from a competitor, or from some third party). The customer has the power, the will, and the skill to find that information on their own. Lead generation could be thought of simply as your company’s effort to be the prospect’s chosen information source and resource.

What a great week! There are some great gems from our writers here, and wonderful news from around the web. Read on!

The Center for Sales Strategy Weekly Wrap-Up

• Monday, Mike Anderson asked if you were really in love, or just fooling around... with customer-focused selling, that is.

• Tuesday, Steve Marx reminded us just how painful belly flops are, and how to prevent them in sales.

For as long as I can remember, clients of The Center for Sales Strategy have been saying that one of the great benefits they derive from working with us is a sales culture, a culture that provides the foundation for success in their organization. We love hearing that compliment, but just what does it mean? What is a company culture, anyway? And why is it important?

According to Wikipedia, “Organizational culture is the behavior of humans within an organization and the meaning that people attach to those behaviors.” Author F. John Reh says it in fewer words: “Company culture is the shared values and practices of the company's employees.” It’s not complex or difficult to understand. The culture of a company or a department is simply what most employees do most of the time. While the people help form the culture by their behavior, it’s equally true—and ultimately, more important—that the culture communicates values and sets expectations that determine how people behave.