The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Imagine this.

You go to make a big purchase or do a major renovation such as a kitchen remodel. It's something you've been saving for now for quite some time. You've conducted exhaustive research on the colors you want, the styles you like, and the decorations you want to include. You've even made a visual board for ideas.

The time comes to get estimates and timelines from contractors. You go with the rule of 3’s for estimates, and after meeting with them, you finally make the decision. You understand that there will be a payment due upfront, and you agree to those terms.

The work finally starts, and surprise, there are costs that should have been included in the estimate that wasn’t. You feel trapped and frustrated.

Every organization wants to grow on some level – whether it’s more clients/customers, higher revenue, more locations, more product lines, etc.

There’s no one way to grow a business, but there are plenty of reasons it stops growing or slows down.

Here are some of the reasons companies stop growing.

Each week, more Americans listen to podcasts than have Netflix accounts.

Since it began in the early 2000s, podcasting has grown drastically and steadily. Just from 2018 to 2021, podcast listeners have increased by 29.5%.

Thus far in 2022, 51% of the population has listened to a podcast, with over one-third of Americans listening to podcasts regularly.

With a variety of business-related podcasts available, how do you choose which to listen to first?

The top organizations in any marketplace place a high value on their people because they are the foundation on which success is built.

They place an even higher value on managers who can develop top performers. Yet, all too often, business leaders hire people they believe in and sit back to see what they can do.

Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Mark Cuban — all agree that one habit is a key ingredient to success.

Practicing good health habits by eating right and exercising each day is what these billionaires, and 21 others, agree helped create the foundation for their businesses and financial success. Your habits and routines determine your success and your future. In order to see the true benefits of any effort, you must be disciplined and consistent.

The same holds true when developing new business. It takes that same effort and discipline to consistently create a healthy sales pipeline.

Almost 60% of all businesses lack strong leadership, causing a ripple effect that leads to 37% of workers leaving their jobs. Those who stay are less likely to be motivated or productive.

For these reasons, your employees need effective business leaders who encourage continuous and stable growth in the workplace. Leaders can accomplish this by constantly evaluating their team, acknowledging their strengths, and investing in ongoing development and support.

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.

From a management perspective, a properly deployed Customer Relationship Management (CRM) allows you to assign and reassign sales goals to your sales team, transfer responsibilities, and enhance the client and sales rep experience.

However, many organizations and sales teams are quick to dismiss CRM software’s effectiveness, and many stop using it for several reasons. Merely investing in a CRM solution will not help your business grow until your sales team effectively uses its functionalities.

Below is an example of a 10-minute strategy that will help put into perspective the effectiveness and value of the right CRM system.

Many clients at The Center for Sales Strategy are essentially in the business of helping companies grow their business. 

In order to do that effectively, we teach salespeople how to think like a business owner. Thinking like a business owner takes the focus off what you sell (your products) and puts your focus on how to help your client or prospect achieve their desired business results. 

The better a salesperson becomes at thinking like a business owner, the better they will be at asking questions, establishing credibility, and ultimately becoming trusted and valued.

There are endless amounts of podcasts out there on business development and new ones being released daily. This article isn’t about all the great business podcasts hitting the market, but rather a handful of the best podcasts that we feel will help salespeople improve their business acumen and encourage salespeople to help their clients and prospects grow their business.