We all want to listen better. So why do we find it so hard to do? We are often either thinking too much about what we want to say next or talking too much. 
Let’s look at 6 things we need to remind ourselves to do in order to be a better listener.
Greg Giersch, on March 16, 2016
We all want to listen better. So why do we find it so hard to do? We are often either thinking too much about what we want to say next or talking too much.
Let’s look at 6 things we need to remind ourselves to do in order to be a better listener.
Brian Hasenbauer, on March 15, 2016
The topic of sales productivity was introduced to me early on in my career when I was a Senior Financial Analyst at EDS (now HP). I can remember putting together the quarterly Strategic Business Unit (SBU) scorecards and having to come up with the sales headcounts and revenue per salesperson. I was always impressed by one business unit in particular that was able to keep their sales headcount down while maintaining a higher profit margin than any other division. The division was headed by one of the younger SBU leaders, and one late evening after reviewing his numbers I asked him how it was he could keep headcount down and sales up. His answer was very revealing.
LeadG2, on March 11, 2016
We've come to another Friday, and it's time for us to share what we've been reading online this week. Here are our "best" from around the web.
This guide will walk you through the fundamentals of qualification, five different frameworks you can use, and provide pointers on disqualification and conversational tip-offs to listen for during your sales conversations.
Tina Rice, on March 10, 2016
This morning, I walked into my daughter’s room. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, pondering which earrings to wear today.
There was only a few minutes left before leaving for school, and she still needed to collect her books, pack her laptop, and put on shoes and socks. But these priorities weren’t on her radar yet. They had been entirely eclipsed by the earring selection process.
It reminded me of my own time management skills challenges during junior high, and of a story I heard from our first online course: Customer Focused Selling.
LeadG2, on March 4, 2016
Here we are at the end of another week, and it's time for us to share what we've been reading online this week. Here are our "best" from around the web.
What do you base your decisions on, as a leader? Opinions or facts? This post provides a quiz to help you determine if you need to use more data in your decision-making process.
Emily Estey, on March 3, 2016
Imagine this. You'll be watching one of the many NCAA basketball games in the next few weeks. One particular game you'll flip to seems really out of control. It looks a little like playground basketball. Not much passing or rebounding, no plays being called, looks of frustration and fear from the players, and lots of fouls. The camera scans the benches, and something strikes you:
Loretta Lage, on March 2, 2016
We’ve seen many pictures posted that show that some people actually resemble their pets. That prompted a thought that I have noticed many salespeople with traits of either dogs or cats. And everyone knows how different dogs and cats are!
Cataloging repeatable behaviors that are part of the DNA of our pets can reveal how we view each other. Noticing behaviors that fire instinctively in humans and animals are guidelines to better understand their nature and each other. Here’s what I found that made interesting intersections between people and dogs and cats:
John Henley, on March 1, 2016
Which is more likely to drive strong sales performance: a focus on the numbers or great attention to the sales process?
I recently heard two people talking about the key to sales performance. One person started by saying that the key is to focus on sales process. Then a few minutes later, the other person described hearing a CEO of a very successful company saying he has learned that the key to driving top sales performance is to focus on the numbers.
At first, this sounded like a conflict to me. But the more I listened, it turns out they were saying the same thing. It’s not either/or. The lesson is to focus on the numbers that are tied to the sales process.
Greg Giersch, on February 29, 2016
Content marketing is already strategic when it's “relevant and consistent" and designed to "attract and retain a clearly-defined audience.” Content marketing has the goal of building relationships and impacting the decisions people make about you.
Content marketing is focused on your target persona. Content strategy looks more at managing the lifecycle of the actual content. Strategy helps you increase your impact and reduce your workload.
LeadG2, on February 26, 2016
We've come to another Friday, and it's time for us to share what we've been reading online this week. Here are our "best" from around the web.
If you're looking to set yourself apart in a competitive market, you need to find your "disruptive opportunity". Finding your brand’s disruptive opportunity means you’re not competing in the same sandbox as everyone else, which means your chances of dominating the category are much, much higher. This post digs into how to find your own opportunity.
