The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Salespeople are hired to sell. So the more sales they make, the more successful they must be. Right? The more they sell, the bigger their lists, the better they’re doing. Or maybe that’s not always right. Making a lot of sales does not guarantee success. Making a lot of good sales is what it takes to succeed in the long-term.

Veterans know that all sales are not created equal. Quality is often better than quantity. Some sales gallop freely ahead like a fine racehorse, and some leave a mess to clean up like ponies in a parade.

Let’s look at what makes a good sale: 

Hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and time for us to share what we've been reading online this week. Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. How to Actually Put Your Marketing Data to Use — HBR

There is little doubt that Big Data and analytics are changing the face of marketing. But that doesn’t make marketing more strategic, just more precise. Strategy is essential, now more than ever. This article takes a look at what you need to consider when crafting your marketing strategy.

All we talk about as marketers in the media industry is integrating digital strategies, the power of mobile, the online buyer’s journey, and everything in between. We tell our advertisers how important an online marketing strategy is in conjunction with their TV or Radio campaigns, and why taking ownership of your online presence is absolutely critical. We even teach our salespeople the power of social selling and personal branding in the increasingly digital world.

Being a media sales manager in 2015 is not an easy job. Chances are your sales team and every other media company you compete with sell some combination of digital solutions (search, social, mobile, video, display, etc.) in addition to your core products. To further complicate the sales process, lead generation strategies that worked well 10 years ago are now obsolete—the B2B buying cycle has changed.   

That being said, there are new strategies and tools that can be used to make media sales managers' lives (and their salespeoples') much easier. These tools help waste less time and lead to increases in revenue.

It's Friday, and time for us to share what we've been reading online this week. Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. The Case for Humble Executives— The WSJ

Humility doesn't get a lot of attention when it comes to traits that make great leaders. But servant leadership gives executives an edge that leaders with big egos don't have. Their empathy enables them to build strong teams that accomplish more. There's a difference between confidence and ego. This article explains that when you combine humilty with confidence, your leadership skills improve.

In an earlier post, we talked about being a judge on the Sales Voice and how to listen for great talent. Now let’s talk about coaching on the Sales Voice. 

So you decided to push your button and turned your chair. Now what?!

Predicting what the future will look like has become a pop culture phenomena. Movies like Tomorrowland, Terminator, Wall-E and Back to the Future have each provided us with the writers’ take on what the future holds for us and what we can change today to impact tomorrow.

As a sales manager, if you knew the future, wouldn’t you want to make changes today that drastically change the future prospects of your entire sales team?

How do you know when you have the perfect candidate for a sales position? Is it their stellar resume? Do they look professional? Do they come highly recommended? That is what most managers look for when hiring. It’s the way it has always been done, right? 

What if you looked at hiring for your next sales position differently? Pretend for a moment that you are Blake Shelton or Adam Levine on The Voice and your chair is completely turned around. Now what?

Here we are at the end of another week! (They go by so fast, don't they??) It's time for us to share what we've been reading online this week. Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. Is Display Advertising Really in Trouble? — HubSpot

Ad-blocking software has marketers worried, but is display advertising really in trouble? HubSpot has an interesting perspective to share in this blog post. Maybe all marketers need to do to see results is change the way they're using digital ads.

I passed by a drink display at the grocery store the other day and one of the Coke cans caught my eye. In big bold letters it screamed out to shoppers the word, “Superstar.” You have probably seen the Coca-Cola can labels with the descriptions on them. The “Superstar” can was sitting between a can that said, “Friend” and one that said, “Dreamer.”

At first glance, all the cans looked exactly alike, but when you looked closer, they all had a different label.

It made me think about helping managers identify sales talent. Resumes today are often built using templates or professional assistance and they can make anyone look like a superstar. And, when you meet candidates in person, they look pretty similar on the outside, but when you look closer and ask the right questions, you can get a glimpse of how the person is wired, and whether or not he or she has a natural ability for sales.