The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

There are millions of salespeople around the world… and every one of them is impacted by the simple law of supply and demand. When supplies are low and demand is high, prices are forced upward. When the supply of a product or service is plentiful, buyers on the demand side start chiseling you on price, which has the effect of turning your offering into little more than a commodity.  

So how can you adjust your sales strategy when the supply of almost everything is limitless? 

All of us here at The Center for Sales Strategy have much to celebrate as we close out the year. We celebrated our 30th Anniversary in 2013 with much to be thankful for. We appreciate all of the clients who allow us to play a part in their success. We are particularly gratified when we have a chance to play a role in helping someone improve—because they come to understand more clearly the importance of talent or the power of a sales process focused on creating specific value for clients.

As 2013 comes to a close and we reflect on the blog posts that we have posted throughout the year, it’s always enlightening to see which were the most read and shared. Since we blog regularly about digital, inbound, management, sales and talent there are a lot of blog posts that could make this top 10 list, but of course, only 10 could make our list of top viewed blog posts of 2013.

Think of the thousands upon thousands of sales associates out there; those you compete with directly, as well as those who sell in a product or service category outside your own.

And you want the prospect to meet with… you. 

How to Take Advantage of your Awesomeness

Seems like a daunting request to justify, especially when dozens of those other sellers are clamoring for the appointment you want. Placed in that context, it is easy to understand why—just like any other product or service—it is important that your brand stands out in comparison to the other alternatives. So let’s think of a few ways you’re special (just for starters):

Most inbound marketers think the hardest part about their lead generation plan is actually getting the leads to come in, and while this is no easy task, it’s equally important to strategize and prepare for the process of following up with your inbound leads. With these five steps you’ll be able to more effectively determine whether leads are worthy of sending to sales and ultimately increase your likelihood of converting leads into new customers.

Are you a gambler? I have never been a big risk taker myself, but every once in a while I have fun at a dice game or maybe a little Blackjack. I do know people who love to gamble though, and there are a lot of opportunities to do that these days.

Is recruiting and hiring salespeople one of them?  We do not think so! Games of chance do not mix well with finding, qualifying and vetting good potential sales candidates.

Keeping your Talent “Pipeline” filled with good, potential salespeople is important to your continued success as a manager but we know sales recruitment is challenging. As a Talent Analyst with The Center for Sales Strategy, my job is to use our validated talent instrument to measure the innate talents of potential sales candidates before our clients make their hiring decisions. They don’t want to take chances – and they don’t have to!  Neither do you.

Regardless of race, religion or creed, people all over the world are celebrating during this holiday season. It’s a magical time of year for us all to reflect on what’s important to us, celebrate our beliefs, and join in festivities with our friends and family! 

In sales, this time of the year is also the season for forecasting, budgeting, annual planning, and closing out the year with a bang! Sales directors, managers and salespeople must plan and focus if they’re going to successfully finish out the year, develop their growth strategy for the following year, AND enjoy the holiday season.  

If you work for a media company that sells digital advertising, you no doubt are following the buzz around Native Ads. There is an important point for all salespeople related to Native Ads that I don’t want you to miss. The dictionary shows several definitions for the word native. A few that are relevant for this conversation are; belonging to a person since birth, living or growing naturally in a particular region. 

I don’t know how you use your email inbox, but here’s how I use mine. Nothing gets filed until I have responded to or acted on the message in some way. Then, it’s placed into a folder where I know I can refer back to the note later. Usually, I try to keep my inbox down to under fifty active conversations or tasks. 

Recently, I’ve had a hard time getting my email inbox down to a manageable level. In fact, I’ve been hovering near 100, even at the end of the day. It occurred to me that I had several messages that were not pressing at all. They were just interesting, and I told myself, “I’m going to reply to this note or use it in some way when I get time. Eventually, of course, notes like these wind up at the bottom of my email stack (I sort my messages by most recently received). 

Recently after writing a blog post about how inbound marketing isn't rocket science, a few clients asked me to boil down inbound marketing to its most simplistic nature.

So here it is… inbound marketing as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Create Content

The most common form of content creation that we are used to with B2B is blogging. So, the first step is to create a blog and start blogging. Yes, you need a plan and yes, you need to create content that's relevant to your persona... but don't hesitate to get started writing blog posts and doing it consistently 2 to 3 times per week, EVERY week!