The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

- MOTIVATION -

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

Perhaps you got excited when you read the first part of the headline.

I got excited too, wishing there was a list of “magical” questions that could be asked of any prospect with a great result. The problem is, such a list does not exist.

Sorry to burst your bubble.  

Have you ever heard a seller complain that there just isn’t enough paperwork to be completed?

How about that they wish your CRM was more complex?

Or that there aren’t enough departments involved in their sales?

As a manager, it's likely that you have heard the exact opposite from most of your salespeople. Hunters like to hunt, but many don’t really like to cook or clean up after their kill. What are ways that you can let your sellers sell and minimize the roadblocks they deal with?

BBQ and business acumen.

Traditionally, those two items don't go together, but for this story, one is the key to the other.

I started in sales in 1993, straight out of college. I didn't have a lot of work or life experiences that I could draw from as I worked with business owners helping them to improve their businesses' performance.

I did my best reading the Wall Street Journal, the business section of the local paper, and reading the latest business books to help grow my knowledge of business.

We're used to hearing “it takes a village” when we're talking about family, but what if that “village” theory is true in business as well.

Well, it sure helps!

Finding the right mentor can help you navigate your career and give you a village of knowledge instead of going at it on your own.

- MOTIVATION -

"Don't find fault, find a remedy."

- AROUND THE WEB -

<< If you only read one thing >>

GOOD NEWS: 80% of professionals prefer to use email for business communication. 

BAD NEWS: With over 269 Billion emails sent every day, there's a lot of fierce competition flooding your prospects' inboxes.

So how can you, the stealthy salesperson, craft a genius prospecting email that warrants a response? 

We hear this question more than ever, "What makes a good leader?"

In the first 2022 episode of Improving Sales Performance, Stephanie Downs joins Matt Sunshine and guests Maryann Balbo and Fran Mallace of Cox Media.

Maryann and Fran are both Group Vice Presidents at Cox Media, and throughout the show, they discuss qualities of a good leader, leading in a 'people-first' company, and offer advice for sales leaders on company culture, sales management in 2022, and looking forward.

Tune in now or keep reading for a brief overview.

It’s often said that an organization’s most valuable resource is its people.

An increasing number of leaders are turning these words into action by investing in training and skill development for their workforce.

In fact, employee development is quickly becoming one of the biggest trends in the workplace for 2022. Companies who make it a cornerstone of their culture will be well positioned to hire and retain top talent in a competitive job market.

The pandemic has brought about numerous changes in the way we work and interact within our organizations, and it has also affected the way we develop, deliver, and assess employee training.

There has long been a push to incorporate more technology into training programs and the last two years have acted as the accelerant needed to push learning and development to new levels. Coupled with the new technologies is a shift away from more formal learning delivery and methods.

While many of these ideas were already in play, they have emerged as best practices in the virtual and work-from-home environment.