The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

In this Quick Take episode, we’re taking a few minutes to think about the day in the life of a salesperson before and after having AI tools at our fingertips.  

Social listening is a powerful tool that can provide crucial insights to help guide decision-making.

Most businesses know this and may already have some social listening tactics. But does your current social listening strategy drive sales?

Keep reading as we explore how social listening is linked to sales and offer some tips to help you grow your sales by improving your social listening.

You're a closer! It's what you do...close deals.

You know, that sweet moment when the handshake seals the deal, and you walk away knowing you’ve added another win to the board.

But what if I told you that you could boost your closing ratio with just a small tweak to your proposals? It’s not rocket science—just a simple addition that can make a world of difference. I’m talking about adding a section called “Measures of Success.”

B2B sales can sometimes feel like a never-ending marathon, especially when those sales cycles stretch on and on.

As a CRO or sales manager, your job isn't just about closing deals—it's about keeping your team's spirits high through the inevitable ups and downs and understanding what is closed lost and simply something that is taking time to move through the prospect's processes.   

The first step is to ask questions early and often in the sales process; here are some great ones.

Did you know that only a quarter of all sales are successful?

HubSpot reported that its average win and close rates are 21% and 29%, respectively. This means that about three-quarters of all sales negotiations usually fail.

As a sales professional, you seek to improve your performance and fill the sales pipeline. However, in the entire process, the negotiation part is the most important.

Why? It can make or break the deal!

What are the do’s and don’ts, then?

This article is a basic guide to sales negotiation. Read on to learn what steps to take and what to avoid for a successful closing deal.

As sales leaders, we've all noticed a shift in buyer behavior over the past few years. At The Center for Sales Strategy, we've been tracking this trend closely, and it's clear that the landscape has changed dramatically.

Recent studies, including one from HubSpot, suggest it takes anywhere from 12 to 15 touches before a prospect is ready to meet with sales.

This might sound alarming, but it's our new reality. The question is: how do we adapt our strategies to meet this challenge head-on?

• You’ve worked with your marketing team to develop your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
• You’ve built a database of target companies that match your ICP characteristics.
• You’ve researched to identify the key decision-makers of your target prospects.
• You have a great solution that has helped other similar companies.

You have a great story to tell.

Now you have one last problem. You need a chance to tell your story.

You can’t sell anything until you first talk to a decision-maker. But you can’t get a decision-maker to pick up the phone or even open your emails.

How do you break through to seemingly unresponsive decision-makers?

Even when you are excellent at closing a sale, your numbers can be down due to natural ebbs and flows in the economy or product demand. But there are other reasons why you might not see the sales you want and deserve: you might not be doing your homework.

We get it; not everything your sales team does results in sales. And that’s okay, as long as you are prepping for future sales.

For some salespeople, the concept of pre-planning lasts as long as it takes to enter a new target persona in their contact list. The reality is that sales, especially sustained sales, is a minimum 90-day process and one that a sales team should always repeat.

Here’s a quick look at how you should be approaching your sales for next quarter.

Studies show that reaching out to leads within an hour of them contacting you makes you seven times likelier to have meaningful conversations, and up to 50% of sales go to the vendor who responded first.

There’s also a tenfold decrease in your odds of making contact with a lead if you wait more than five minutes to reach out after they submit a web form.

Whether from clients, management, or themselves, salespeople are under a lot of pressure to perform faster in their sales processes. We live and work in a fast-paced, “want it now” culture that can feel overwhelming at times. Sometimes, there’s only one solution to closing more deals, and that’s to SLOW DOWN!

When selling a product or service, not all outreach efforts should be directed directly at the decision maker, who has the final word on what will be bought.

Instead, it's more effective to engage with the people around them—influencers from whom they seek advice, people nearby who can speak favorably about your company, and sources of information they trust.

This is an even more vital strategy in B2B sales efforts. After all, the decision maker may not be the one using your product, adjusting workflows to accommodate it, or even engaging with the product directly at all. Instead, your sales teams need to develop a comprehensive approach for identifying and engaging with influencers who will ultimately lead you to decision makers (or lead the decision makers to you).

Start by clearly understanding the role of decision influencers in today's sales and buying experiences, how to reach out to these decision influencers, and, ultimately, how to leverage that connection to get in front of decision makers more effectively.