The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

During the first 90 days at a new job, the relationship between a new hire and their employer is as vulnerable as it gets: 20% of all employee turnover happens during those crucial three months.

Leaving a job before things really get going is becoming increasingly normal, especially for younger workers: Jobvite’s oft-cited annual “Job Seeker Nation” survey reports that 34% of them have, at some point in their young careers, left a job in the first 90 days.

Stressed? Anxious? Unmotivated?

Everyone requires motivation. And, your sales team is no exception as they strive to keep up performance, reach goals, and deliver results. The constant pressure (combined with adversity and uncertainty) is physically and mentally draining.

Motivation is crucial for performance. The real purpose of a motivational speech is to get the recipient, to do something differently, because the speaker has got you to think differently. Browse through our list of 20 motivational videos, watch a few, and share the list with your team.

Everyone agrees that referrals are an essential part of growing a business. Furthermore, it's the most cost-effective way to build customer relationships and win new customers. Despite the sundry benefits of a referral program, how to ask for referrals has never been easy.

Acquiring a referred customer will cost you almost nothing, and they have a high degree of loyalty and retention. In fact, a referred client has a twice lifetime value compared to a non-referred customer.

Let's face it: asking is the best way to get customer referrals. But breaking the ice and asking directly for referrals can feel awkward, right? It might sound like you are desperately trying to ask for a favor.

_It's the beginning of the month. You're ready to help your team crush their sales goals. Sometimes they need a reminder of why they love what they do or a little help to boost their morale after a lost sale.

Well, there are many things you can do to help your team improve sales performance and reach their sales goals, and here's something that can help boost morale, inspire, and increase productivity: motivation. 

We've put together 31 motivational quotes related to sales and business success. That's one for each day of the month!

Companies with highly-engaged employees grow revenue 2.5x as much as those who don't, and engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their organization. Creating and building a company culture of engagement is vital to a healthy company and business growth.

How much time do your salespeople spend selling?

It’s been our observation that it’s probably less than you think. Data suggests that it's as little as 30% of their time. And when you talk to salespeople all the time, as we do, they confirm that. 

So, to get a bead on just how much time your salespeople actually spend selling, you should start with a definition of selling.

It’s no secret time management is one of the highest requirements for succeeding in sales. Consistent questions heard within the industry are, “What are some ways I can improve my time management?” and “How can I be more efficient?”

There are a multitude of strategies to help us be more productive, but they can be difficult to adopt because they force us to go against routines we’ve had for years. If you struggle with habit-changing productivity tips, such as going to bed with an empty inbox, check out this system that works for many.

Too many sales organizations don't have an Account List Management Strategy (ALMS) or they have one that provides little strategic value. In mature businesses, the lack of a priority-based ALMS is often tied to the following:

• High levels of account attrition
• Limited new business development
• Marginal productivity and missed revenue goals

You hear the terms "hunters" and "farmers" thrown around a lot in the sales world. Sales leaders are always looking for "hunters" — as they should. New business is the lifeblood of any sales organization. Without salespeople that know how to "hunt" for new clients, a company can and will be in trouble.

Of course, companies must also have salespeople who are "farmers." Reps need to be able to cultivate clients by building relationships and growing accounts. Organizations must ensure that their key accounts renew and develop.

Moving into 100% commissioned sales in my 30’s was one of those “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” moments in my life. Truth be told, it wasn’t a moment; it was a journey. I remember trying to learn all I could from the veteran salespeople on my team. But, when I read the book Sales Dogs I began to understand that the answer was not to be found in trying to copy the talents of other salespeople, but to learn how to leverage my own unique mix of talents.

There are core sales talents that people need to be successful in sales. Yet even the most talented salespeople will have a unique mix of those talents, and how they play out in practice is as different as one dog to the next.