The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

A great coach can impact the outcome of a game more than any player. This is why we revere great coaches like Belichek, Walsh, and Landry. Their greatness stems from their ability to transfer knowledge beyond themselves by inspiring their players to become more than the sum of their parts! 

As the sales leader in your organization, you are the coach of a high-performance sports team. Your job is not writing up plays, sitting back in the coach's box, and watching the game. Your job is to be on the field observing and helping your players be the best that they can be. Coaching is the cornerstone to achieving this.

As a sales team in the business-to-business (B2B) space, finding new leads is a never-ending challenge.

In a highly competitive market, it's essential to be creative and use unique approaches to stand out from the crowd. In this blog, we will explore some unconventional ways to find sales leads that will help you get ahead of the competition.

Salespeople who have been around long enough have seen sales training in multiple forms. They are exposed to it when they begin their career and usually, anytime they switch companies or industries.

While these training programs are always important, you cannot simply set it and forget it or try to make your offerings one size fits all. For your people (especially your best people) to grow, you need to be sure that your sales training is nurturing your Superstars.

While development is important across the board, sales superstars' training is important to maximize their potential, retain top talent, and help them adapt to changes in the market.

Have you ever tried to make chili by throwing all the ingredients together in a giant pot, stirring, and then slowly cooking all day?

If you had, you’d know that is NOT the best way to cook chili! First, you brown the meat. And if you were an onion lover, then you’d add onions during this stage to get the most flavor. 

After the meat is browned and fully cooked, drain the fat (if healthy eating is important to you), and add the chili seasoning, followed by the rest of the ingredients, which could vary depending on where you’re from and personal preferences. If you were to rush through the process and skip browning the meat first, you’d find the results are remarkably different. 

When you change the process, you change the results.

Sales leadership plays a crucial role in the success of any organization's sales efforts. As the driving force behind a sales team, sales leaders are responsible for setting targets, providing guidance, and motivating their team members to achieve their goals.

However, even the most skilled sales leaders can face challenges when it comes to improving performance and driving results.

New business meetings are exciting. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of closing deals, showcasing your product, and convincing prospects that you have the perfect solution. 

You want to start selling, pitching your product, and showing off your brilliant product knowledge. DON'T DO IT!

Just shut up and let your prospect talk.  

The secret to successful sales is not just about talking but also about mastering the art of listening.

Sales is the backbone of any successful business, and with technological advancements, it has become even more critical to stay ahead of the curve.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized how we approach sales, providing businesses with the tools they need to improve their team's performance and boost revenue. Mastering the art of sales with AI requires a combination of best practices and strategies that can help businesses stay competitive in today's fast-paced market.

Whether you're a sales manager looking to improve your team's performance or a business owner seeking to increase your bottom line, this guide will provide you with the insights and strategies you need to master the art of sales with AI. From leveraging data analytics to improving customer engagement, let’s explore the best practices and strategies to help you take your sales game to the next level.

If we think about the metaphor of flying a plane, we can all agree that there are some major headwinds tossing and shaking the plane around at the altitude of business right now. And yet, as Peter Drucker said, “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is acting with yesterday’s logic.”

Often the best solution in severe turbulence is not to ground the plane or fly around in repetitive circles but instead shift the course to rise above it.

The word for 'crisis' in Japanese, 危機 (Kiki) is written with the words 'danger' and 'opportunity,' meaning that a crisis can be seen as a dangerous time but equally as a time for opportunity.

And this is certainly an unprecedented and historical time of opportunity for innovating, trying new things, thinking outside the box, and driving the growth of your organization.

Sales management is tough. On top of the economic uncertainties and dynamic changes in the market they need to deal with, sales leaders must also grapple with people issues like employee turnover, waning engagement, and time pressures that get in the way of onboarding, training, and coaching.

When sales leaders are especially time-starved and overwhelmed, I often share something I once heard Naval Ravikant (investor and entrepreneur) say that stayed with me. He said, “Don’t let the complexity of the world distract you from the simplicity of your goals.”

When managers focus on their goals and the strategies designed to achieve them, it can clear away the clutter in a powerful way!

As a Senior Consultant with The Center for Sales Strategy, I’ve reviewed a lot of proposals from salespeople over the years.

As I analyze the ideas sellers plan to present to clients, I often push them to make their proposals stronger by asking, “Where’s the plan to achieve the desired business results? How can you make it easier to buy?”

These prompts often create the awareness that we need to do a little more fishing. So, grab a fishing pole and have a seat on the dock. Today we are taking a virtual fishing trip!