The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

In Memory of Melissa Kelly – My First Sales Manager

I dedicate this blog in memory of my first sales manager, Melissa Kelly, who taught me so much. She lost a hard fought battle to breast cancer last year at the age of 53, but she NEVER lost a sale.

Here’s one of the main reasons why: In every stage of the sales process she used a very simple phrase, “If I (fill in the blank)?, Will You (fill in the blank)?" 

She made sure that every step she took when working with a client was a collaborative effort. Therefore, she always knew she was on the right path towards her next desired outcome in the sales process. Some examples:

Getting the Appointment

Melissa: “If I am able to share some capabilities I have to help you drive more sales from your website, will you allow me to spend an hour with you to really uncover your marketing challenges so I can determine what solutions might work best?

“Every artist was first an amateur” …Ralph Waldo Emerson. This quote perfectly describes how anyone achieves greatness in sales—or in life. You can't be a great artist, unless you have artistic talent. But we all start as amateurs, even in areas where we have natural ability. We need to develop our talents so that they become strengths.

To become an extraordinary leader, you must appreciate the importance of natural talent and also the power of developing that talent. I have seen managers who have little regard for the importance of sales talent. They tend to think they can hire anyone and just show them what to do and if that person works hard, they will be successful. That's not true.  Not if you are trying to shoot for excellence. It works to some degree, if you are shooting for average or slightly above average. Conversely, you can't hire great talent and then do nothing to develop them and expect greatness.  Again, you will likely get average.

Anyone paying attention to the news these days can find both encouraging and discouraging signs all around us.  The same is true in business. I see this in the conversations I have with sales managers about how to drive performance in their sales departments.

Most of us can think of a few great customer experiences we’ve had… and maybe a few bad ones that range from totally frustrating to completely hilarious. But for a minute, don’t think of customer satisfaction from the customer’s point of view; think of it from the seller’s perspective.

Are you satisfied with your customers?

Do you invest way too much time for the ultimate revenue that account will generate?  

When you pick up the phone to call them or get in your car to head to that appointment with them... are you stressed, or excited?

Following is a letter of thanks that makes me feel good just reading it!

Thank you for trusting in me, and thank you for allowing me to get to know you and help you grow your business the past few years. I truly appreciate the opportunity to work with you; it’s obvious that your team feels the same way. You’re a great leader and while I know our partnership has played a part in your company’s growth, it’s because of your vision, your dedication and your ability to motivate and inspire your people that your company is thriving. 

While the competition in your industry has been fierce, you’ve succeeded in creating a culture that attracts high performing employees, one that promises to promote and support the continued growth of each individual person. Your turnover is remarkably low, and you’ve experienced record sales over the past two years. Those achievements were not reached by accident! I value your business and I value the friendship we’ve forged over the years. It’s because of circumstances like this, and people like you that I forget I’m “doing my job.” Working with you has never felt like a “job.” It’s a partnership that continues to motivate and inspire me. It’s why I get excited to get up each morning, and for that I’m truly grateful! Thank you!

As we approach Thanksgiving, it’s natural for us to reflect on what we’re thankful for. 

If you’re in the position of needing to attract new and better prospects to your business, then I want to let you in on a little secret. While you may have your sales team busy cold calling or your marketing team putting together outbound marketing initiatives – both which can be extremely useful and effective when done correctly– there is still a world of B2B decision makers that are not hearing, seeing, or noticing your message. 

So, where are they? They’re in the same place you are right this very second. They’re online… searching for information, seeking solutions to their problems, and researching options for their business. The question then is, are they finding you when they search online? Or are they finding your competitor? Does your company website have valuable content that represents your areas of expertise while delivering a thought-provoking and resource-rich experience? Or is it just an online brochure of the services you offer? 

While original, keyword-rich, and relevant content written for your best prospects is what every B2B company needs in order to compete in the online world of search and social media, it’s not always easy to come up with that all-important content on a regular basis. So, here is list of 8.5 content creation ideas that you can start working on today:

Finding the right person for an open position can be really hard, and it can be very tempting to rush through the process or take short-cuts when possible. But, making the wrong hire can cost your company up to five times their annual salary – and once you finally get rid of them, you’ll find yourself back at square-one, sweating over your hiring process again.

If you don’t have time now to do it right, when will you have time to do it over again?

Save yourself the headache and do it right the first time!

Here are five sure-fire ways to either mess up your hiring process or invest a little time to do it right instead:

Social Media continues to change the way consumers and marketers connect. Marketers are getting smarter about how to use social media to interact with consumers and influence the path to purchase, but the landscape is ever changing. Keeping up with those changes, whether you sell digital media or use digital media to market your business is critical to success. 

Here is a look at some of the most recent changes that you should know about: 

When it comes to crafting a proposal, there is a very real temptation to include whatever one thinks can be sold. C’mon. Fess up.

Let's Be Honest

At one time or another, most sales folks have considered tossing something into a package that may not actually contribute to solving a client need. This temptation is driven by too much focus on income, whether to the organization in the form of revenue, or to the seller in the form of commissions or other incentives.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been put on notice by a prospect—right up front—that they won’t be buying unless they get a terrific price.  (I know every hand went up… I’m clairvoyant.) “Right up front” is the key phrase that guaranteed all the hands would go up, but more on that in a moment.

Ready for a Fight

It’s not that every prospect acts that way, but enough do so that every salesperson has heard it. Many of you tell me you hear it every week!  A lot of prospects think it’s their duty, their job, their role in the great game of negotiation to announce up front that nothing is more important than getting a low price or a good deal. Their purpose, not unlike a boxer’s, is to put you off-balance and make you more vulnerable to their next punch. But it’s not every prospect, is it? It’s telling which prospects typically make these threats and which don’t.