The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

How to Build Trust & Deepen Connections With Your Buyer While Selling Virtually –LinkedIn

One day we’ll look back at 2020 as a turning point in the world of sales. Trends that had been percolating for more than a decade sped up and crystallized as social distancing and stay-at-home orders uprooted some of the fundamental mechanics of selling.

But the shift to virtual selling has proven that the fundamentals of a great sale are still real relationships and customer value. And we’ve seen that you can still be present for your prospects even when you can’t physically be with them. >>> READ MORE

Do You Really Need to Hold That Meeting [Quiz + Tips]–HubSpot

"This could have been an email."

Those six words can take the wind out of an office. They mean that time has been wasted, employees are frustrated, and leadership has been ever-so-slightly undermined.

Unjustified meetings are inefficient and grating. Haphazardly putting time on colleagues' calendars — only to fumble with its purpose, conduct it without direction, or spend all your time talking at attendees as opposed to collaborating with them — takes a toll on everyone involved. >>> READ MORE

Research Says There Are 16 COVID-19 Personality Types. Leaders Have to Plan for Them All–Inc.

10+ LinkedIn Profile Tips to Stand Out in 2021–Sales Hacker

1 Top Priority About Remote Work That Most Managers are Forgetting –Inc.

How To Get Your Employees Engaged, Motivated, and Performing Better–Growth Institute

When your team is full of engaged and performing employees, everything just works.

The job gets a little more fun. Your meetings become more healthy and productive. Issues on the team are brought up, discussed, and promptly dealt with.

Even more, this level of productive energy spreads throughout the entire organization to drive even more value and impact for everyone with a stake in your vision.

If this is what it’s like to work on your team, then congratulations! Only 15% of the world’s employees are actively engaged employees - and it looks like many of them are on your team. >>> READ MORE

How Sales Pros are Adapting to Remote Work–Sales Hacker

Nearly a year in and we’re still not ready to call it a new normal just yet.

With the shift to work from home, remote selling has become a cornerstone of successful sales strategies in 2020. And with a new year just around the corner, many sales leaders are wondering how to navigate the uncertainty of 2021.

Life is still very much in flux, so we decided to ask the sales community how they’re doing: what’s working, what’s not, and how WFH frontline reps and sales leaders are adjusting to moving into 2021.

Here’s a look at what they had to say. >>> READ MORE

Pandemic Proof Your Sales Organization for 2021–Forbes

Many businesses are more than happy to see the year 2020 come to an end after facing the enormous challenges of pandemic, quarantine, recession, supply chain issues, and the list goes on.

Restoring growth in revenue and net income during the year ahead will require company leaders to fundamentally change the way they think about their Sales Organization. It's clear that the world isn’t just going to return to business as usual.

That doesn’t have to be a negative, as there are opportunities the pandemic has revealed that you can capitalize on if you are paying attention. If your business relies on a direct sales organization to drive revenue, consider these strategies to Pandemic Proof your Sales Organization. >>> READ MORE

Remote Work is Lonely. Here's What Companies Can Do To Foster a Community–OpenView

Some organizations have transitioned to hybrid models since the pandemic began, but many teams are still completely virtual.

A lot of people have adapted to the “new normal,” and many love the flexibility it affords. Others struggle with imperfect at-home working conditions and keeping themselves motivated and on task without the structure of a normal day or office environment.

One challenge that’s universal—especially for teams new to working remotely—is how hard it can be to form strong relationships with colleagues when you’re not inhabiting the same real-world space. The organic connections and conversations that happen around water coolers and lunchrooms aren’t as easy to come by when the only available modes of communication are email, Zoom and Slack. >>> READ MORE

The Art of the Sales Follow-Up: 7 Ways to Keep the Conversation Going–HubSpot

Most of your business’s prospective customers will not buy from you instantly. You cannot simply introduce someone to your products or services once and expect that they will go the rest of the way by themselves. Unfortunately, this simply isn’t true.

The first point of contact is important, of course. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. But many salespeople and marketers make the mistake of crafting a perfect sales email, holding a great meeting, or running a fantastic product demo, and then sitting back and doing nothing. If you’re guilty of this, you might need to perfect your sales follow-ups. Read on to learn how to do this, and why it matters. >>> READ MORE