August, 2012

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3 Ways to Improve Interviewing Your Next Sales Candidate

Anthony Cole Training

So far in this series of articles about hiring sales people I've covered the following: Why is recruiting so damn hard. 4 Mistakes in Hiring. 2 steps to avoid unnecessay interviews. Typically when we work with sales organizations to upgrade their sales force through improved hiring we help them first map the recruiting process. This is done so that there is a more consistent approach to hiring.

Sales 163
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How to Tell if Your Prospect is Blowing You Off [Sales Advice]

A Sales Guy

“Thanks Jen, I have received the information, I just haven’t had the time to take a look at it yet. Do you mind calling back next week?” “Thanks for setting us up on the demo, we’ll play with it and get back to you in a few weeks. We’re looking forward to it.” “Great meeting, we’re going to huddle together and go through the info you shared today.

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10 Sales Competencies of Steve Jobs

Understanding the Sales Force

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan I read the Steve Jobs biography and although he was a very talented designer, innovator and inventor, it was clear to everyone who worked with him, and even to Jobs himself at the end of his life, that he was an a **e. A simply horrible human being. Despite his miserable people skills, he was on a mission to design products that would change the world.

Negotiate 117
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Intuitive Web Design: How to Make Your Website Intuitive to Use

ConversionXL

The easier your website it is to use, the more people use it. An essential part of “easy to use” is intuitive. Intuitive design means that when a user sees it, they know exactly what to do. The main thing about intuitive design is that it’s invisible. Design is intuitive when users can focus on a task at hand without stopping even for a second.

Contact 111
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AI Strategies for Sales Managers: How to Cut Down on Tedious Admin Work

What if you could help your sellers stop wasting 72% of their day on non-selling activities and focus on bringing in revenue? Incorporating AI in your enablement workflows can help you cut down on busy work, get projects done faster, and let your team (and you!) focus on making a bigger impact. We put together this guide to show you how to use AI to cut time and costs for projects, including collateral creation, development of training videos, and automating tedious processes.

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Stop Letting Your Competitor Define Your Sales Strategy!

Partners in Excellence

Recently, I was doing some reviews with a sales team. We were talking about some of their deals and they were consumed with a specific competitor. They complained, “How do we deal with this competitor? How do we respond to the things they are doing?” With those questions, I could see they were in deep trouble. But they were in a position that too many other sales people fall victim to.

Sales 99
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B2B Lead Generation: Are You Killing the Golden Goose?

Pointclear

This is the first in a series of four blogs about B2B Lead Generation marketing and sales metrics, and proverbs. There are plenty of expressions or proverbs you hear every day that are familiar and understood (such as “a penny saved is a penny earned”). Other expressions contain useful advice that you don’t really get—because you don’t understand. Something else not well understood in many marketing and sales departments is the importance of certain metrics.

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I Don’t Give a @#$& About Sales Status – [Message to Sales Managers]

A Sales Guy

I don’t give a rats ass about a sales opportunities status and as a sales manager you shouldn’t either. What is “status?” Status is the lame update sales people share during the weekly pipeline meeting. It’s the pathetic review we sales managers accept from sales people when we don’t have a strong cadence and pipeline review process in place.

Pipeline 115
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Why Your Lowest Price Can Be a Barrier to Closing Sales

Understanding the Sales Force

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan It's not really the price as much as it's the context for which that price is provided. Let's take mobile apps for example. $9.99 on its own seems very inexpensive, but with apps available for $3.99, $1.99, $.99 and even free, it's expensive - by comparison. Look at the moon - we think it's fairly large, but when you look at it in comparison to Earth and Mercury's moon, it's a blip in the sky!

Price 101
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3 Underutilized B2B Sales Strategies in Social Media

Score More Sales

People we know in midmarket companies tend to do what works – until it doesn’t work so well any more. Most companies are not proactive to research what is on the horizon – they simply don’t have time or resources to do so. When it comes to integrating online and social activities into their marketing and sales strategies it seems like there are two camps – those that “get it” and those who will wait till there is more “proof” that social selling actually works.

B2B 93
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Time Management, Some Thoughts

Partners in Excellence

My friend, Anthony Iannarino, wrote a great post, The Key To Time Management, Stop Wasting It. It struck a chord, and I wanted to add a few thoughts. . What are you stopping? As Anthony points out, we do all sorts of things, trying to figure out how we fit everything into our busy days. We find excuses to avoid the most critical, highest priority things.

Quota 95
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Prepare Now: 2025s Must-Know Trends For Product And Data Leaders

Speaker: Jay Allardyce, Deepak Vittal, and Terrence Sheflin

As we look ahead to 2025, business intelligence and data analytics are set to play pivotal roles in shaping success. Organizations are already starting to face a host of transformative trends as the year comes to a close, including the integration of AI in data analytics, an increased emphasis on real-time data insights, and the growing importance of user experience in BI solutions.

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Average Salespeople Talk About Their Products. Great Salespeople Talk About Their Customer’s Business.

The Sales Hunter

Do your customers really care about what it is you sell? Sorry, but more times than not, the customer’s interest level in what you’re selling is at best top-level only. If this is the case, then why do you spend the limited amount of time you have with your customer talking about things your customer really isn’t interested in? Conversely, if you are spending time discussing with your customers their business and the things they are truly interested in, then you’re behavi

Product 96
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Hire more Successful Sales People -4 Candidate Profiles Mistakes

Anthony Cole Training

What is it that you want your sales candidates to accomplish as successful sales people? If you identify that then you can now use that information to create a profile of the ideal candidate. Create that profile and you will begin to attract more of the right people for you evaluate, interview, hire and on board. It starts with getting to talk to more of the right people.

Pipeline 155
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Why You Never Sell the Same Thing Twice

A Sales Guy

You want to be an amazing sales person? Have you ever wondered what the best of the best do to connect with their customers and prospects? How is it some sales people always make quota, are labeled ”rain makers” and are continually in the top 5% of sales organizations? Like most things, there are many reasons, but one of the key reasons starts with the solutions they create.

Sell 115
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Is SELLING an Afterthought in Today's Sales Model?

Understanding the Sales Force

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan I believe that the blog at Harvard Business Review believes that it is. Once again, HBR was nice enough to run another article for me to dig into. This year, their authors consistently wrote articles on selling despite not really knowing enough about what's going on in the real world. They are many levels removed from the field and rely on interviews with academics and corporate types (insulated executives in large companies) for their opinions of wha

Sell 87
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Don't Let AI Pass You By: The New Era of Personalized Sales Coaching & Development

Speaker: Brendan Sweeney, VP of Sales & Devyn Blume, Sr. Account Executive

Are you curious about how artificial intelligence is reshaping sales coaching, learning, and development? Join Brendan Sweeney and Devyn Blume of Allego for an engaging new webinar exploring AI's transformative role in sales coaching and performance improvement! Brendan and Devyn will share actionable insights and strategies for integrating AI into coaching and development - ensuring personalized, effective, and scalable training!

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Sales Game Shares 17 Helpful Tips to Reach C-Level

Score More Sales

Image courtesy of InsideView. I like good infographics about sales and marketing. It’s primarily because I am a visual learner, and because I love the art and science of business-to-business selling. So it did not go unnoticed that the Game of Sales , a clever Infographic created by Inside View has been viewed and shared thousands of times since it just debuted hours ago.

Gaming 85
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Performance Management–A Question Of Leadership

Partners in Excellence

I’m tough on sales, marketing, and business professionals. I have high expectations on how each of us performs. I’m proud of the professions of selling and marketing and constantly want to see improvement. In many posts in this blog, I’m critical of what we do, how we act, how we perform. We should constantly be seeking to perform at the highest levels possible.

Up-sell 95
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Customer Requests a Discount? Ignore it.

The Sales Hunter

I know it may seem odd to ignore something your customer says, but when they request a discount, this tactic is worth trying (at least initially). It is not unusual for a customer to challenge you on price or even to make a general comment about the price being “too high,” simply because they think that is what they are supposed to do as a customer.

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Recruiting Your Way to Sales Success - Why is it so HARD?

Anthony Cole Training

I've decided to hit you all with a very focused month of blog posts. The topic will be on recruiting and upgrading your current sales team. In our Sales Management Environment Program we focus on 5 primary components: Setting Standards and Accountability, Coching for Success, Motivation that Works, Growing by the Numbers and Upgrading Your Sales Staff.

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How to Optimize Call Monitoring: Automate QA and Elevate Customer Experience

Speaker: Laura Noonan, Chief Revenue Officer at CallFinder + Angie Kronlage, Director of Program Success at Working Solutions + April Wiita, Vice President of Program Success at Working Solutions

Are you still manually reviewing calls? 🤔 It's time for a change! The traditional method of manual call monitoring is no longer cutting it in today's fast-paced call center environment. Industry experts Angie Kronlage and April Wiita from Working Solutions are here to explore the power of innovative automation to revolutionize outdated call review processes!

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How to Get Your Team to Use the CRM

A Sales Guy

One of the most common sales leadership complaints is sales people don’t use the CRM. Getting sales people to use the CRM has been an on going challenge for sales leaders for far too many years. To get sales people to use the CRM, I’ve seen sales leaders try all types of cohersion; everything from withholding commissions, not providing credit for a sale to threatening to fire offenders.

CRM 115
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Selling Styles - How Many Styles Should Your Salespeople Have?

Understanding the Sales Force

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan We were invited to see and hear a friend's son perform in the Royal School of Church Music of America. We were very impressed with the voices, performance and beautiful church service - it was very memorable. While we were there, I noticed that some of the choristers appeared to be in trances; lost, disengaged, almost catatonic.

Sell 86
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Collaborative Thinking Closes B2B Sales

Score More Sales

Now is the time to be thinking about new and strategically creative ways to bring some deals to closure. Q3 is 2/3 over, for those working off of a calendar year. In some companies, larger sales opportunities need to be wrapping up to even be able to deliver products or services by the end of the year. This is not a discussion about tricks or old-school tactics.

B2B 85
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Why Questions Are A Sales Person’s Best Tool–It’s Not Because Of The Answers

Partners in Excellence

Art Petty wrote a great post, 4 Reasons Why Questions Are A Leader’s Best Friend. It inspired this post–it’s been something I’ve spoken about often, but never written about. . Much has been written about questioning and it’s importance, particularly in the discovery phase of the sales process. It’s through effective questioning that we determine what the customer is trying to achieve, why, what they are looking for, how they will evaluate alternatives, and h

Pitch 94
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How to Improve Email Deliverability and Optimize Each Send

Learn how to optimize email deliverability and drive greater email ROI. What lands your email in the customer’s inbox? Understanding those factors, otherwise known as email deliverability, is critical to getting the most return on your campaign investments. But the “rules” around which factors land you in the spam folder aren’t always easy to keep up with.

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10 Secrets to a Successful Sales Meeting

The Sales Hunter

A successful sales meeting is possible, and these 10 secrets will help: 1. Spend time focused on one hot issue. Don’t try to cover every single issue. If you try to cover everything, you really won’t be digging into the important issues to the degree that you need to. 2. Recognize performance. Salespeople love recognition. Have a process in place that people can look forward to as being their time to shine. 3.

Meeting 85
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Hire More Successful Sales People - 4 Candidate Profile Mistakes

Anthony Cole Training

What is it that you want your sales candidates to accomplish as successful sales people? If you identify that, then you can use that information to create a profile of the ideal candidate. After you create that profile, you will begin to attract more of the right people for you evaluate, interview, hire and on-board. It starts with getting to talk to more of the right people.

Pipeline 133
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The PERFECT Sales Business Review Agenda

A Sales Guy

THE PERFECT SALES BUSINESS REVIEW AGENDA. 8:00 What did you say you would do? 8:10 What did you do? 8:20 What worked? 8:40 What didn’t work? 9:00 What did you learn? 9:15 What are you going to do moving forward? -NEXT PRESENTER-. It’s really that easy. Here is the problem. Most sales leaders don’t create a culture of accountability.

Cold Call 115
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6 Keys to Make All Sales Calls Easy Sales Calls

Understanding the Sales Force

Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Some sales calls just go so well, flow so smoothly, and have little to no resistance. Some have no competition, others have plenty of money and a few allow unlimited access to senior decision makers. Some of your sales happen so quickly that you wonder why they can't all be that easy. Your salespeople can have more easy calls but you'll have to change up a few things.

Sales 85
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Brick & Mortar Retail Relevance: How to Stay Ahead of the Curve

Speaker: Jay Black, Senior Account Executive

Let's set the record straight: in-store retail isn't dead - it's evolving! Faced with the digital age and the demands of omnichannel shopping, some retailers are thriving while others are struggling to adapt. Join Jay Black in this exclusive session as he explores the strategies that set successful stores apart, including: Crafting unique and unforgettable in-store experiences 🛍️ Mastering the art of retail demands 🛒 Navigating inventory challenges in today's climate 📦 an

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Growing Your Sales Influence as Sales Person

Score More Sales

Growing one’s visibility in their industry niche is something many sellers are working to do now. Last month over at the Inside View blog, Koka Sexton wrote a great post called How to Generate Expert Credibility (highly recommend you read this). It is so true that by positioning oneself as a subject matter expert raises visibility. Once you have raised your visibility as a top influencer – hopefully through talking online about subjects and issues on the minds of your clients and pot

Niche 80
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How Are You “Showing Up” To Your Prospects And Customers?

Partners in Excellence

I know you think I make these stories up, they are so preposterous, they can only be fiction! Well, I wish I were that creative (I’d start writing a novel), but I’m simply not smart enough to make this stuff up. I’m sitting in my office, catching up on stuff. The phone rings, it’s on our main line, so it’s most likely a sales person or a prospect.

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Voicemail Messages that will Kill a Sales Lead

The Sales Hunter

You’re excited over the lead you just received. You know it’s a good one. In fact it’s the type of lead where you know you can make it a one, at best a two, call sale. Problem is your calendar is hammered. You’ve got a ton of other things you’re already working on, plus you’re on the road the entire week. Does this sound like you at one time or another?

Sales 76
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PowerViews with Craig Rosenberg: Growth Hacks & Consumerized B2B Software

Pointclear

My guest today is Craig Rosenberg, Vice President, Sales and Marketing and Co-Founder at Focus. He is also author of a popular sales and marketing blog, Funnelholic , where he shares B2B content with an edge. Craig specializes in lead generation, lead qualification, and B2B marketing and sales. Below, you can read highlights from our discussion or use the links to start the video from different parts of the conversation. 2012 Trends: Social Marketing Gaining Real Traction & Growth Hacks.

Growth 74
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How to Prove Marketing Value: Demonstrate Content ROI and Contribution to Sales

Every marketer knows how important it is to prove their efforts drive sales opportunities, but that’s easier said than done. When problems like sales and marketing misalignment, lack of data, and wasted efforts persist, marketers can’t measure, prove, or increase their impact on revenue at a time when demonstrating marketing value is critical. Using analyst and expert data, this guide to marketing impact and content attribution explains: How B2B buyers use content The most common types of conten