The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

In business, change is necessary to adapt and grow to meet the needs of prospects and clients. Many companies and business executives tend to resist change - because change is hard and uncomfortable.

As a salesperson, you probably have some good ideas to help your company achieve its goals. Maybe you want to implement inbound marketing or add webinars or videos to your marketing mix. But how can you sell your ideas to management?

Proposing your change can be a daunting task, and rightfully so—only 54% of change initiatives succeed. To increase the chances of your idea for change to be successful, use an organized change management system.

If 2021 saw everyone still reeling from the “year that shall not be named,” then 2022 seems to be one of continued adjustment.

For example, it’s clear that “hybrid work” means different things to different people. Nearly half of sales managers (49%) view their desired hybrid schedule as a 50/50 split between in-office and work-from-home.

In this new Media Sales Report, you’ll see that salespeople don’t feel the same way. Other trends from the previous year seem to persist or have worsened. Take recruitment; 65% of sales managers say that finding and hiring new talent is the hardest part of their job. That figure is up by more than 10% compared to last year.

And while you will see a contrast between sales managers and salespeople in terms of an optimistic outlook, the fact is that 87% of managers see a bright future ahead. If you'd like to read the full report, download it here.

As the second quarter continues to move in quickly, sales managers and business leaders may feel pressured to balance their short-term goals with long-term initiatives.

The complex demands often result in burnout as leaders attempt to juggle competing priorities while meeting deadlines and preparing for upcoming tasks. To help navigate this challenge, we have compiled a list of effective tips to assist sales managers and business leaders struggling to prioritize during Q2.

From allocating time management appropriately within your team or department to understanding which tasks require additional resources, you will find all the necessary information here that is needed for meeting individual and organizational goals during the second quarter.

The dreaded condition - burnout. It creeps through your office like a slow fog. It’s easy to miss at first, but once burnout sets in, it’s nearly impossible to navigate forward. A recent study by Gallup found that 70% of employees either sometimes or often feel burned out at work.

Burnout isn’t just “needing a break” from work. It’s a state of chronic job stress that results in overall frustration, exhaustion, and defeat.

One burned-out employee leads to another. And worse – burnout can lead to turnover…which can lead to additional burnout in your remaining employees. As a manager, it’s up to you to recognize the signs of burnout and ensure you have practices in place to prevent it from taking over.

For any sales manager, it's incredibly frustrating when their salespeople don’t seem to be able to close the deal. A successful sale often depends on the product and customer knowledge of the salesperson, but what happens when the hard work isn’t translating into results?

Let’s take a look at some of the top reasons why your team may not be closing deals - from common hurdles like difficulty establishing credibility and understanding client needs to more nuanced issues like forgoing preparation time before meetings or failing to ask questions throughout conversations.

Here's our breakdown on how you can help your team move past these sticking points and finally start seeing those eagerly awaited closed deals!

Success in any field is not only a matter of skills or talents but also of mindset. How we think about ourselves, our abilities, and our potential can profoundly impact our success in life.

Psychologist Carol Dweck identified two types of attitudes: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset.

Those with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities are fixed and cannot be changed, while those with a growth mindset believe that their abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication.

This blog will explore the power of a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset and how it can impact your success in life, work, and beyond.

As a former sales manager and c-suite executive leader, and now working alongside sales managers to help them grow their teams, I know that a sales management career can really make an impact.

Sales managers are your frontline leaders. They work with their teams to focus on goals and objectives for the organization. Sales managers direct expectations, show people and instruct people in ways to achieve the company goals. Being a sales manager is extremely trackable and measurable. Their job is more about administering the work and ensuring the day-to-day activities are getting done as they should.

If you're like most sales managers, driving revenue consistently and efficiently can be a daunting task. But there are ways to maximize the success of your sales efforts through managing each stage of the funnel properly - from top to bottom.

In this blog post, we'll discuss how proper management at each stage of the funnel is an essential part of developing a consistent pipeline with reliable and successful returns. You'll learn how incorporating targeted activities related to each step in the process can help ensure more satisfying results for everyone involved.