The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. The 5 Worst Social Media Practices Brands Should Avoid— Fast Company

Whether it's to avert a social debacle or maintain a growing following, three social media experts reveal some practices to avoid in this post.

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. Developing Employees’ Strengths Boosts Sales, Profit, and Engagement — Harvard Business Review

Gallup has found that there’s a lot more potential in developing what is innately right with people than there is trying to fix what’s wrong with them. Focusing on employees’ strengths does more than engage workers and enrich their lives: It also makes good business sense. This article reports the business benefits that the study discovered and outlines how to develop your employees' strengths.

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. 4 Ways Your Sales Team Should Be Using LinkedIn (But Probably Isn't) — HubSpot

Most salespeople use LinkedIn to connect, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The platform is also a relationship-builder, brand advocate, research tool, publishing platform, and marketing asset. If you don’t know how to utilize the power of LinkedIn in all of these areas, this post will help.

From the moment I started working with the team at Zimmer Radio & Marketing Group, I had a feeling they were going to do a stellar job with inbound marketing. Then, once I met with them at their office in Columbia, Missouri for our Inbound Marketing & Sales Strategy Workshop, which kicked off our partnership, I was convinced.

Collectively, they “got it” and understood that because the advertising buyer’s experience has changed, the role of the media salesperson had to change too. As a LeadG2 and The Center for Sales Strategy Consultant, it’s always exciting to work with a company who not only wants the results but is also willing to invest their time and money to get the job done. And in this case, not only because they want to grow new revenue, but also because they care about their advertisers and the people they work with. They believe in educating them and being a true partner to small and large businesses alike. They understood that inbound marketing is more than a campaign here and there or a great keyword strategy. It’s about creating a conversation with potential and current customers. It’s about being a thought leader, making an impact in their industry, and reaching buyers appropriately in the sales process.

I’m not writing this article to simply brag about my awesome client (though they are pretty awesome). I’m writing this to let other media companies know they can improve the way they communicate with prospects, and they can get real, tangible results by implementing the right strategy and the right tools.

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, so today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. 9 Ways You're Losing Your Prospects' Trust (and the Deal) — HubSpot

Sales and trust. Not exactly two words today’s buyers think of as synonymous. According to HubSpot Research, only 3% of people consider salespeople trustworthy. Here are 9 ways to build trust with your prospect.

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, so today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. 7 Ways to Build Credibility When You're a New Leader — HubSpot

What creates trust, engagement, and confidence within the workplace? This article looks at seven ways new leaders can get off to a solid start, and how they can build essential credibility from the beginning.

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, so today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. 5 Signs Your Customer Is Ready for an Upsell — HubSpot

The upsell might be the most underrated play in sales. Once you’ve built up a customer base, you can start farming — that is, mining your existing customers for opportunities to upsell or cross-sell. This article offers five signs to look for to know when you should go for the upsell.

Today's superstar salespeople aren't doing things the way they were fifteen years ago—they've aligned their sales process with the way that people buy today. Today’s superstar salespeople are also taking advantage of today's technology, which allows them to have a significant advantage over their sales counterparts who are still practicing the 20th century sales methods. These modern day sales warriors are using what we call lead intelligence to maximize their selling effort. This advantage is making an amazing difference in sales performance and it’s worth taking note.

While many of the sales fundamentals of the 20th century still apply, the fact is that with the advancement of technology, the use of email, social media, and the mobile phone, there have been some significant changes that have allowed salespeople to improve and deliver better performance. 

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, so today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. Dramatically Improve Your Listening Skills in 5 Simple Steps — Inc.

Every successful salesperson knows how important listening is. But how can you improve your listening skills? The same way you get better at anything! First, acknowledge the problem. And then use these techniques to train yourself to become a better listener.