The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

- MOTIVATION -

"Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."

-John D. Rockefeller

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Can you identify with the following situation — and can you learn from this story?

A highly talented salesperson has a lot of natural ability, and when engaged, they're one of the company’s top performers. However, when not that engaged, they're occupied with other things outside of work and seems to lack the desire and drive to succeed in their job. 

We talk a lot at The Center for Sales Strategy about putting the right people in the right jobs and we believe that when you do that, they naturally soar with their strengths. Throw a fish in the water and it swims. Put Taylor Swift on stage and she belts it out. Hire someone who is born to sell, and they sell.

Except when they don’t.  

Sometimes to be more productive and effective, you just need to take it back to the basics. But, often, that’s what takes the most time — and most days, we don’t have enough hours in the day.  

If you could invest now to save later, would you do it? Ask yourself, if you could make a change today to reap benefits in the future, would you be willing to give it a try?  

At The Center for Sales Strategy (CSS), we value sales and marketing alignment, and a lot of our efforts overlap; and therefore, we carry tips and strategies across departments. Why? Because they work.  

In this post, you’ll find three valuable non-innovative marketing tactics that we’ve seen support the sales process. We call them “non-innovative” because it’s nothing you haven’t heard before, but the question and challenge we have for you is, have you done these things, or are you committed to putting forth the effort to adopt these tactics to boost your sales process? 

One of the most frustrating problems a sales leader encounters is managing an underperforming sales rep.

When you hire a seller, you see talent and potential. You know they’re a solid performer with a track record for success. However, they’re now in the 20-30% of sales staff that’s underperforming.

Interestingly, the pandemic has caused many successful AEs to struggle with sales performance. Seasoned reps with long term Key Accounts are suddenly finding themselves with no clients. Some of these reps now find new business development as their primary focus — and they don’t like it.

How can you help underperforming sales reps succeed?

Which skill do you think your manager needs to improve most?

When Robert Half Management Resources asked this question to more than 1,000 U.S workers, one skill clearly surpassed the rest — communication skills. Adapting your communication style based on individual and situational needs is critical to improving sales performance.

You can have the greatest business strategy and sales plan, but those plans will never get implemented if you can’t communicate effectively. Communication is key, and below are four focus areas where every leader can start improving today.

- MOTIVATION -

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."

-Vince Lombardi

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72% of Americans believe whoever is elected in the White House will directly impact their finances — and 32% are putting off a big financial decision until Election Day.

Every four years, there’s a whirlwind of uncertainty about who will win the presidential and congressional elections. This year, our economic future tops the poll of concern. The unknowns are causing leadership to take fewer risks, hold off on making necessary business decisions, and hesitant to have conversations regarding annual contracts.

While we can’t predict the future and outcome, we can take control by being proactive. When it comes to business, time is money. And every business decision you delay is costing you valuable time and money.

Your IFM's should be the most productive and most important time spent with your sales reps every week.

For those unfamiliar with the acronym IFM, it stands for Individual Focus Meeting. What is an IFM? It's what our team at The Center for Sales Strategy (CSS) calls your weekly one-on-one meetings with your salespeople (CSS loves to create an acronym for more common sales terms to keep you on your toes.)

Numerous studies support the fact that one-on-one meetings have a large impact on your team’s performance. So, if you’re struggling with IFM’s, it’s time to prioritize and improve with these three tips.

Salespeople in different industries encounter different questions and objections, right? Wrong. Your products and services may affect the minor details of objections, but Google the phrase ‘most common sales objections’ and you’ll find most sellers face the same objections from their leads.

Whether it’s price objections, the prospect isn’t interested, or “now isn’t a good time,” sellers often encounter the same types of questions and objections during the sales process. Sales enablement resources help them anticipate and overcome these objections.

Creating talk tracks and related sales collateral material helps enable sellers to respond quickly — allowing them to move the sales process forward and close business sooner.

When you think about the sales meetings you attend, are you delighted or disappointed? Are you engaged or enraged? Is your time spent in the meetings worthwhile or wasted?

Sales meetings are a staple in most every sales department. Time is money to every salesperson and sales leader. It’s up to the sales leader to make sure each meeting is positive, motivating, and worthwhile. Treat your sales team like customers who want to feel like their needs have been met and that they leave the meeting enlightened and energized.