The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

What could be more complicated than dating?

Just look at the ever-growing array of dating apps and social media stories, not to mention the adventures recounted by our single friends, family members, and colleagues, if you need any confirmation. The search for “the one” is a journey that countless people have experienced -- and many with less success than others.

Sales can feel like a similar process to dating. At The Center for Sales Strategy, we've often drawn parallels between the two. As you are out there making connections and building lasting business relationships, here are a few pitfalls we have learned to avoid.

In the world of sales, a prospect being unqualified or a salesperson being unqualified can be uniquely connected. Whether you're a veteran salesperson or new to the field of sales, we often miss the signs of why we were unable to connect and close a potential client.

This article breaks down five key steps to recognize an unqualified prospect and an unqualified salesperson.

This season on Improving Sales Performance, we’re analyzing the findings from our latest Media Sales Report. With data collected from surveys conducted in Q4 of last year, the responses from sales managers and salespeople alike will help us chart a solid path forward through the media sales landscape.     

In each episode, Matt will be joined by a rolling roster of outstanding experts from our team at The Center for Sales Strategy.   
 
Here, Matt is breaking down the Sales Process section of the Media Sales Report with VP/Senior Consultant, Alina McComas and Senior Consultant, Michael Mayer. 
 
Both Alina and Michael have such awesome takeaways on some top questions that arise from the report, like: 

• Why do you think appointments are becoming harder and harder to secure? 
• With 41% of salespeople telling us that finding qualified leads is only getting harder as well, what do you think is causing this? 
• What would you say to sales managers that are having a tough time with CRM adoption amongst their team?

Click here to listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform or keep reading as we break down the conversation from this episode. 

I'm a planner. Whether it's a project, a vacation, or my daily routine, I LOVE putting together plans that will help me execute the operation perfectly.

As a family, we love going to Disney World. We visit the most magical place on Earth about once a year, and every time, I spend hours researching where we will stay, what parks to visit on which day, and which fabulous restaurants to dine at. I create spreadsheets, calendars, and even touring plans for our day at each park.

I'm also a process enthusiast. I know the value of having a well-thought-out plan and process in place; a solid plan helps ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently. This is especially true when it comes to sales.

Buyer-first mentality is simply defined as it’s a buyer’s world, and sellers are just living in it.

In the past, traditional sellers could easily come in and build a case because they were a superstar, had great product knowledge, and were able to support the buyer’s organization. In essence, they were selling what they could accomplish for the client without ever knowing anything about them.

Technically, those days are over now. Buyers expect you to know more about what their company is all about, what they do, and potentially what they’re trying to accomplish.

It's hard to keep up with every article we publish throughout the year! So, today, we're making it easy by recapping the most popular sales process posts we've published in 2022.

Providing quality content that helps our clients and visitors improve their sales performance is our goal, and we hope this blog has brought you insight, education, and tips to get you on the path to success.

We've searched for the most popular blogs of 2022, and we've curated these lists to bring you some of the most informative content from the year. Check out these top blogs on the sales process from 2022, and let them kickstart your 2023 sales strategy.

Recently, there have been a lot of salespeople soliciting me.

Maybe, they think I could be a decision-maker for my company.  For the most part, they are mistaken. Most of the approaches are the same — the email reads like it was sent to 1,000 emails, and they hope one sticks. 

However, every once in a while, one really stands out. The ones that stand out are short and to the point of why I would want to reply to them. What’s in it for me catches my attention.

The remote and hybrid workforce offers opportunities and challenges that we may not have considered when working in a common location.

We take for granted the proximity to our coworkers and the ease with which we communicate and convey our emotions and intentions. Communication that we had in person tends to shift to digital and allows us to stay connected no matter where we are co-located.

However, we still need to be aware of the tone we are using, which in writing can be more complicated than spoken words (because our brain fills in the gaps when we lack information).

Unprecedented times call for different strategies. While there’s no real consensus as to what state the economy is in currently, signals point towards a potential economic slowdown either on the horizon or seeping its way into your industry. The disparate nature in impact on different sections of the economy makes for truly interesting (but mostly frustrating) times.  

Regardless of whether your prospects or clients feel an economic pinch, preparing your sellers to navigate these trends will only help you. As your clients adjust to changing currents, your team should too. 

Although face-to-face meetings are happening more often, being creative and using video to stay connected with customers as well as propose and close business with new prospects is still a trend that’s not slowing down.

The best sellers know it’s time to move from playing defense to playing offense because customers and prospects need help. They need solutions. They need the problem-solving expertise that a quality salesperson brings to the table.

Simply put, customers are more open to ideas and solutions than ever before because their level of pain is high.