The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

If there’s one thing every inbound marketer should do in 2014 to ensure they’re set up for success, it’s incorporating a content calendar into their inbound marketing strategy. And for those who currently use one, I suggest you take it one step further and make sure you’re taking full advantage of this beneficial planning and tracking tool. 

A content calendar is your key to making sure you are consistently publishing strategic, unforgettable, and share-worthy content.

Early in my career there was a sale I never made that, after 15 years, still drives me crazy. It was a six-figure deal where I “felt” I had done everything right. But when phone calls suddenly weren’t being returned from a client with whom I had a “great relationship” (after all, we had a fantastic lunch with lots of laughs a few weeks earlier) I had a panicked feeling in my stomach. I realized I had done many things wrong. Instead of spending enough time learning about his business, I spent too much time developing the personal side of our relationship. Instead of developing a customized solution, I developed a proposal that focused on why my company was a great fit. The reality was I never had a shot, and what was worse I didn’t realize it until it was too late. The day the contract came rolling into my competitor I vowed I would NEVER put myself in that situation again with this client or any other client. 

We all know the goal of a needs analysis is to uncover a need the customer has… not just fill-up a precious appointment with a long list of questions. But when a need first reveals itself during the client needs analysis, should you change course and immediately pursue the revenue opportunity that first need might represent? 

Not so fast.

If you read a lot of blogs and do some writing yourself, you are very familiar with headlines like “The two things a business owner should never do,” “Five reasons why Facebook is a bad investment,” or “Six steps to success.”

I use titles like those all the time. I do it for the same reasons others do it, to gain attention. Given the volume of information coming at all of us, we make split second decisions to engage or not.  A good title can make all the difference. Sometimes these intriguing titles are supported with great information. Those are my favorite blogs. Other times, these pithy titles turn out to the best part of the blog (like a great trailer for a bad movie). 

We can’t remember the last time someone published a reliable answer to the question,"What Keeps Media Salespeople and Their Managers Awake at Night?" So we fielded a fairly ambitious piece of research to find out.

We started with 65 one-on-one interviews in which respondents were asked open-ended questions. We analyzed their responses, and characterized and aggregated them to produce a list of challenges faced these days by sales managers and salespeople in the media. The items on those lists—one list for managers, one for sellers—were then tested among a much larger sample.

As we welcome the New Year, a few of us at The Center for Sales Strategy were discussing some of our favorite blog posts from 2013.

We thought a great way to capture this information was to survey several of the contributors to The Center for Sales Strategy blog and asked them to provide their top posts from our blog as well as their favorite post from other blogs.  It was a difficult decision as we blog 4 to 5 times per week and cover multiple categories: Digital, Inbound, Management, Sales and Talent.

We would like to share these results with you so that you can see what’s on our mind and what we think will be important heading into 2014.   

Happy New Year and thanks for reading 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):