The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

When we think of leadership, we often think of qualities or characteristics such as courage, inspiration, or perseverance. These qualities or traits are actually one of several ingredients in a powerful recipe for success and winning. That recipe is mindset.

Unprecedented headwinds over the past few years have created immense challenges and uncertainty. Leaders of companies big and small have faced a global pandemic; supply chain issues; inflation; and talent shortages just to name a few.

So, you've got the appointment for your Discover meeting. Good for you...now what? The Discover meeting is a critical part of the selling process, so “winging it” should never be your strategy. 

Most sellers understand that the goal of the Discover meeting is to uncover an urgent need that they can help solve, and then leave with an assignment. To accomplish this, you must ask great questions.

By “great” questions, I mean ones that: get the wheels turning inside their head, make them glad you asked, allow them to talk about what’s hot from their point of view, and make you seem valuable. Remember, every question you ask will either enhance or detract from your credibility.

An inspirational leader is someone who can motivate their team members. They can get things done by making others feel like part of the team. They can rally the team and keep them motivated and focused on the goal. They are not afraid to take charge and lead their team.

Here are some key characteristics of an inspiring leader.

Imagine you’re at the grocery store with your three-year-old son. He’s promised you he’ll behave, and you’re planning to surprise him with a treat at the checkout counter.

You’re roughly halfway through your grocery list when he starts to get antsy. He wants out of the cart and promptly begins pulling things off the shelves, so you put him back in the cart, and he begins throwing a temper tantrum. You look at your watch – it’s getting close to lunchtime, which is closely followed by naptime. It’s becoming apparent that you have a decision to make.

Do you choose to use empathy by giving him a big hug, telling him you love him, and letting him know you understand it can be tough to be patient—or do you choose to hold him accountable to his promise of good behavior? And which one is the right thing to do?

• How can sales managers better communicate and express their optimistic industry outlook to engage and inspire their teams?   
• What can sales managers do to turn a less-than-ideal company culture into one that their salespeople would evangelize about? 
• What is causing such different perceptions of what the ideal hybrid model should be? 

Across all industries, sales managers and account executives spend thousands of hours each year crafting collateral that will support them while they engage with their prospects. If they're particularly astute, they might even try personalizing some of the figures and facts they use to demonstrate why their services are the best options these prospects can choose.

However, just as often, this sales collateral ends up in the prospect's recycling bin. Sometimes, it happens as soon as the salesperson leaves the building.

The economic shifts we’re experiencing have reshaped the job market, making recruitment more challenging than ever. While some industries are tightening their budgets, the demand for high-performing talent remains fierce—and the best candidates have more choices than ever before.

Even companies that have historically received a steady flow of job applications may now struggle to attract top talent. To stay ahead, organizations must go beyond traditional hiring methods and refine their approach to recruitment. Here are five strategies to help you attract and secure top-tier talent in today’s environment.

You may not realize it, but you are setting expectations all the time. You set expectations in everything you do and in everything you don’t do.

It’s an amazing power to have. As a leader, you can have a positive impact on the lives of each person you manage based on the expectations you set for them.

This season on Improving Sales Performance, we’re analyzing the findings from our latest Media Sales Report. With data collected from surveys conducted in Q4 of last year, the responses from sales managers and salespeople alike will help us chart a solid path forward through the media sales landscape.  

In each episode, Matt will be joined by a rolling roster of outstanding experts from our team here at The Center for Sales Strategy.

Here, Matt is breaking down the Sales Enablement section of the Media Sales Report with VP/GM at LeadG2 by The Center for Sales Strategy, Dani Buckley, and Senior Consultant, Emily Hartzell.

Together, Dani and Emily give their take on some top questions that arise from the report, like:

• What would you tell those sellers and sales managers who feel as though their sales collateral pieces are lacking?
• What are the first features of a website that you look for in order to most easily communicate who your company is and what problems you solve?
• How would you suggest building a better bridge of communication between marketing and sales?

Click here to listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform or keep reading as we break down the conversation from this episode. 

What could be more complicated than dating?

Just look at the ever-growing array of dating apps and social media stories, not to mention the adventures recounted by our single friends, family members, and colleagues, if you need any confirmation. The search for “the one” is a journey that countless people have experienced -- and many with less success than others.

Sales can feel like a similar process to dating. At The Center for Sales Strategy, we've often drawn parallels between the two. As you are out there making connections and building lasting business relationships, here are a few pitfalls we have learned to avoid.