You already know the answer, don’t you? It’s both. But, I suggest as you try to do both, start by focusing on smarter… and then build in harder. If you do it the other way, you might end up making a lot of noise but not making a lot of progress (like a race car revving its engine while the wheels are not on the ground).
Matt Sunshine, on June 8, 2012
I know sometimes you probably just want to stop the conversation and say something like, "Excuse me, but I don't understand a word you are saying." But you don't because, these days, people don't ask questions. They nod and say "okay," and then change the subject... and talk about things they do know. This seems to be the situation with digital. Most people reading this did not grow up speaking digital, and while some did take digital as a second language, they still speak it with an accent.
Mike Anderson, on June 6, 2012
We live in an age that seems to encourage complexity. You can slice and dice research six ways from Sunday to build a compelling argument as to why your product or service is better than the other guys’. Spreadsheets, pie charts and white papers are only a few keystrokes away… and illustrate why the competition is inferior to the company you represent.
Sometimes our real-life experiences as customers provide those of us at The Center for Sales Strategy with great examples of how the sales process should flow. Not long ago, my air conditioner died, so I asked my trusted neighbors who they would recommend. We valued their opinion, so we called that company. The next day, this service provider came to our house. (We also called another company, and they said they would come and never did). The rest of the story is near-perfect execution of customer focused selling.
Kimberly Peek, on May 28, 2012
It's the official kick off to summer, which means it’s time to kick back and relax with a good book. You wanted to read about sales and marketing in your down time, right? We asked some of the staff at The Center for Sales Strategy for their top selections:
Kimberly Peek, on May 26, 2012
Welcome to the official kick off to summer! After you take some time this weekend to honor those who have served our country, you might want to catch up on some of these blog posts from The Center for Sales Strategy. These are some of our favorites from the past few months. If you are interested in sales, sales management, digital, talent development or inbound marketing... there is something for you here!
John Henley, on May 22, 2012
It is a safe and generally smart practice for a salesperson to under-promise and shoot to over-deliver. So why would you ever want to vary from this “under-promise” strategy? If you want to keep growing personally and discover new ways to help clients, once in a while you need to stretch a little and promise something you don’t normally deliver, but feel quite confident you can get done. There is risk involved in this, but if you get it right, you’ll delight the client and add a new capability to your tool kit.
Mike Anderson, on May 21, 2012
In almost any relationship (not just marriage), there is a period in which the parties are utterly thrilled with each other. Whether you are working with a new client, or if a recent job change makes you the new kid on the staff... there seems to be somewhat of a grace period that gives us considerable latitude early in these new relationships. Think about why that might be:
Guest Contributor, on May 16, 2012
When Boston Scientific CIO Rich Adduci attended the first iPad reveal two years ago, he instantly knew the device would be a game changer for sales and marketing teams. He described the moment watching Steve Jobs walk onto the stage like a light bulb going off in his head.
Guest Contributor, on May 11, 2012
Cold calling can be an inefficient use of a sales person’s time and talent. As a manager, I want sales people spending the majority of their time on activities that are directly tied to revenue. It’s important for our sales people to be in front of clients and prospects helping to address business challenges—which is why we at Cox Media Group Louisville recently launched an inbound marketing effort, led by our blog LouisvilleEdge.com. We believe it’s the perfect next step to elevate ourselves from our competition. It gives us the ability to provide real-time information on topics that are important to our clients. Here are six reasons that we thought an inbound marketing campaign was the right investment for us.
