The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

"The end depends on the beginning (and everything in between)."

Yes, we have heard this a thousand times, but no truer words have been said when it comes to developing proposals.

I had an epiphany pretty early in my sales career. I had been on a sales call to a restaurant, and they asked for a proposal. I rushed back to my desk so excited with the opportunity to get to present, only to stare at my computer for what seemed like an eternity. Crafting that proposal took a lot longer than it should have.

Later, when looking back, I realized it was because I didn’t have enough information. I had missed the mark on a number of things. Here's a little advice on how not to make the same mistake.

Season 3 of the Improving Sales Performance Series is focused on helping sales leaders make an impact on their sales performance through insight on 4 key areas: people, process, planning, and performance.

In this episode, Beth Sunshine, Partner and VP of Talent Services at The Center for Sales Strategy, discusses how sales leaders can make an impact on their people and teams through employee engagement.

Tune in now to hear the Live broadcast or keep reading for a brief overview.

Improving the performance of a sales team, or a specific seller on the team, is a top focus for any sales leader.

Often, we hear sales managers say they just need more activity or need to add more into pending, but the answer is rarely that simple. To know what is needed to improve performance, you need start by diagnosing where the problem is and what is causing the problem.

Simply said, you need to identify the bottlenecks in your sales process because adding more into pending doesn’t do you any good if your sellers aren’t closing what they propose.

2020 was one for the history books. From the outbreak of COVID-19 to heightened tensions during an election year, the sanest approach seemed to be simply taking one day at a time. However, sales professionals are forever optimists, always looking ahead, and ready to take on the next challenge.

The 2020 Media Sales Report studies the landscape over the past year, including the expectations for sales managers and the strategies deployed by media salespeople to assess their effectiveness across six key topics:

• Sales Department Structure (Size and Compensation)
• Training and Development
• Appointments and Sales Process
• Sales Enablement
• Culture and Industry
• Impact of COVID-19

You can see some of the highlights for the survey in the infographic below. If you'd like to read the full report, download it here.

- MOTIVATION -

"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”

-John C. Maxwell

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Season 3 of the Improving Sales Performance Series is focused on helping sales leaders make an impact on their sales performance through insight on 4 key areas: people, process, planning, and performance.

In this episode, Greg Giersch, Partner and VP of Client Experience at The Center for Sales Strategy gives viewers an overview and behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the Impact Leadership System, digs into the user experience side of the system to include what went into creating this system, the structure of the training, how long it took to build it, and more.

Tune in now to hear the Live broadcast or keep reading for a brief overview.

When you're starting your own company, you want to start out with the strongest foundation possible. 20% of new businesses fail in the first two years that they're open. The reasons why they fail can vary, but starting your business with the right planning will give you a better chance of success. 

If you're in the business of selling products or services to your customers, you need an effective sales strategy. A sales strategy will help you scale and grow your business and learn how to improve your sales. Each strategy devised by a business is unique to them and their customer base, but they all should include the same basic details.

This guide will go over what a sales strategy is, how your company can benefit from it, and different examples you can pull from.

When a successful salesperson is questioned on what makes them stand out above the rest, most don’t have specific answers.

The reason seems to be because these high performers are doing what comes naturally to them. These are not skills that can be taught or learned. It’s about behaviors that “fire naturally” in client-facing sales situations.

Specific traits are sales accelerators.

- MOTIVATION -

"Quality performance starts with a positive attitude.”

-Jeffery Gitomer

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