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'Over the years, I have been very fortunate to work with a lot of very successful companies in many industries across the US. Over the years, I have found some very common responses to our sales and sales management training programs. Some of the responses I would consider legitimate and reasonable; others I put in the category of myths. Our standard operating procedure of beginning our work with a client is to evaluate their sales organization.
'I hear this all the time. “ Our competitor X is doing Y, we should do that too ” or “ X is market leader and they have Y, we need to have Y “ There are 2 key things wrong with it: The reason they have Y (menu, navigation, checkout, home page layout etc) the way it is, is probably random. In 50% cases it’s what their designer came up with (and most likely not because of a long, thorough analysis and testing) or they just copied another competitor.
'When I was a kid, I used to build forts. I loved it. We’d snag all the scrap building supplies from the houses going up in the neighborhood and build the elaborate forts. They were multi-story, multiroom shanties. These things were a kids paradise. You could never stand up in them, but they would have carpet from ceiling to floor. You’d be able to go from room to room through trap doors and secret cut outs.
'It’s clear we’re in a frenzy of networking and connecting. There seems to be a rush to establish connections, friends, whatever. People are reaching out, connecting, racking up the numbers. They’re using every channel possible–LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google +, and more. But then there’s this odd phenomena. . Somehow, I’m under the mistaken opinion the purpose of networking and connecting is to form some sort of relationship.
AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.
'Quit kidding yourself! You’re not making any money off the low-price customer, regardless of what you think. Let me give you 4 reasons. Reason 1: The customer who demands a lower price from you is also going to be the customer who nags at you all the way through the sales process and long afterward. Low-price customers are wired to think they can get everything cheap and they can get people to do for them whatever they ask.
'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan The NY Times posted a story on June 20 about Google, their recruiting efforts, and big data. The story really doesn''t reveal that much but there is an interesting quote (that I will get to shortly) that is relevent to hiring salespeople. When we help companies get the sales selection piece right there are several components that we tweak.
'Your sales people want to succeed! One of the best pieces of advice I''ve received about coaching came from Kim Ades, President of Frame of Mind Coaching. She said that when I am working with people and they are not performing in a way that is consistent with my expectations, the first thing I should do is "assume positive intent." This is huge! What does "assume positive intent" mean relative to the topic today?
'Your sales people want to succeed! One of the best pieces of advice I''ve received about coaching came from Kim Ades, President of Frame of Mind Coaching. She said that when I am working with people and they are not performing in a way that is consistent with my expectations, the first thing I should do is "assume positive intent." This is huge! What does "assume positive intent" mean relative to the topic today?
'At a recent high school track meet I cheered on our team in several heats of the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays and mused that we can look to track and field athletics for inspiration and tactics for marketing and sales alignment. Handoffs of qualified leads from marketing to sales can be as smooth and technically precise as those of the sprinters on a relay track team.
'Chad Malchow. I’m skipping this weeks WITCE Wednesday (I hate that name, so if someone could please offer another it would great.) to share a guest post. Chad Malchow is Sr. Vice President of North American Sales for Return Path and one smart cat. Return Path is a client and I have been working with Chad for a few months. As part of our work I asked Chad to think about leadership and the work we’re doing and put it into post form to be published here.
'The post, “ What’s All This About Social Selling,” provoked a lot of reaction. As I started reading the discussions, I started thinking more. Do the “social tools,” make us less social? As you know from the article, I believe “social selling” or “social business” starts with a set of beliefs or values about how you want to connect with, engage, and create value for the customer and prospects.
'Finding new customers is the bane of most salespeople, yet too many times, the reason it is so difficult is salespeople give up too easily. Really, I should say it’s not that salespeople give up too easily — it’s that they just don’t follow-up. For some reason, too many salespeople believe if they make one phone call, send one email or mail one letter to a prospect, then that is all it takes.
Today’s buyers expect more than generic outreach–they want relevant, personalized interactions that address their specific needs. For sales teams managing hundreds or thousands of prospects, however, delivering this level of personalization without automation is nearly impossible. The key is integrating AI in a way that enhances customer engagement rather than making it feel robotic.
'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan How many times has this happened to you? A salesperson tells you about a great looking opportunity that has been forecast to close this month. "We''re definitely getting this and it''s an awesome opportunity for us. We''re going to knock this one out of the park!". At the end of the month the deal hasn''t closed and you question your salesperson about it.
'What does sales experience have to do with sales success? "It depends" would be the most appropriate answer. If your experiences in sales - the wins, the losses and the close calls - provide you with lessons that help you grow and change, then your experiences can have a significant impact on your sales success and the rate at which you achieve that success.
'If I could give you a sales team of enthusiastic champions to build your visibility and ultimately your revenues without writing a check, would that be helpful? That is exactly what happens through the powerful strategies of connecting to the right people for the right reasons. I am convinced that with the power of connection, nearly anything is possible.
'I found this great post on the ten traits of extremely successful people. I thought the list was unique. Many of the traits were different from what we usually see. I also liked the list because it reinforced some of things I’ve talked about on this blog when it comes to hiring, making the sale, identifying talent etc. What do you think of the list?
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.
'“We don’t have the budget” strikes fear into the hearts of all sales people. Asking for budget is one of the standard BANT qualifying questions. No budget, we disqualify and move on. But in doing this, we walk away from huge opportunities. In fact, a huge number of sales result in situations where there has been no budget. If we are embracing the Insight Selling, many times we are making the customer aware of opportunities to grow, opportunities they may be missing, ways to
'If you want to close more sales, you better first do something about these 8 reasons your customers don’t care: 1. Why should they care about you when you don’t care about them? Don’t even try faking it. If you do try to fake that you care, your customer will throw you out even faster. Successful salespeople care about their customers. 2.
'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan The Pipeline, The Funnel and the Inaccurate Forecast - It gets a bit scary when people who are experts in one thing write about another. Today''s example was sent to me by OMG partner Mike Shannon. He sent along a recent BtoBonline.com post by Jeff Perkins. Jeff suggests that the sales funnel is a thing of the past but his examples, and therefore reasons, are way off base.
'What does sales experience have to do with sales success? "It depends" would be the most appropriate answer. If your experiences in sales - the wins, the losses and the close calls - provide you with lessons that help you grow and change, then your experiences can have a significant impact on your sales success and the rate at which you achieve that success.
Speaker: Jay Allardyce, Deepak Vittal, Terrence Sheflin, and Mahyar Ghasemali
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.
'In a world where business people and sellers are working to stand out and make a difference, there are a lot more people telling then showing exactly how to do so. It must have been fate that got me in front of new author Porter Gale at the IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit held recently in Nashville. She gave a wonderful keynote talk on the main stage and then I listened to her talk at the IBM Superwomen’s Group Luncheon where she was a panelist.
'It’s not uncommon for me to get emails requesting help from sales people or sales leaders. But, I got one this morning and I felt terrible for this person. They are dying on the vine and are desperate to break the sales code and start selling before they give up entirely. You can feel this person’s frustration and agony. They are clearly not happy.
'I saw a post on this topic today. It caused me to pause and reflect. I’ve been very fortunate to have had some outstanding mentors. Naturally, I thought of my Dad and Mom, they certainly are in the top 5. There have been dozens of people that I’ve considered to be mentors, they’ve been in my life for a period of time, had an important impact.
'What parts of your sales process are you still using that your customer couldn’t care less about? Below are 6 questions you must ask yourself about your selling process: 1. What percentage of my customers have done research on the internet before meeting with me? At what point during the sales process are they doing this? If they’re doing it before you meet with them, I would refer to this as exploratory.
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!
'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan A recent article in Columbus Business First discussed background checks and use of personality tests. The most important line in the article read, " Personality often is the best insight into whether a person is a good cultural fit for a specific company.". Notice that they didn''t say that personality is the best insight into whether a person will succeed in sales.
'You can read more from Jonathan over at his award winning blog The JF Blogit , which attracts thousands of visitors every day, and of course you will constantly find fresh resources on Top Sales World. I had the pleasure to sit down and chat with my colleague and friend Jonathan Farrington. Jonathan is Senior Partner for Jonathan Farrington Associates and CEO of Top Sales World, based in Paris and London.
'A common issue among newer remote (inside) sales pros is that we tend to latch on to one person within a company to call on. Oh, you might do a little research and maybe even call someone else in the prospect company, but we often stick with that one guy or gal who actually took our call or replied to our email. That’s “your” guy.
'Unless you’ve been under a rock in sales, you’re keenly aware of the growing popularity of the Challenger Selling approach. The Challenger selling approach is the result of a substantial study by the CEC (Corporate Executive Board) that showed; sales people who challenged their customers and prospects out performed those who didn’t.
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!
'I’ve been writing a several posts about social technologies and social selling (“ Hiding” Behind Social Selling and What’s All This About Social Selling ). One of the key points of the articles and the many great comments is, social selling and social technologies are different. Selling is social–regardless of the technology we use.
'Why would anyone pay more for something? Unless they see some sort of value or benefit in it, they wouldn’t. This is why customers simply won’t pay more for anything they view as a commodity or — in sales terms — ”a feature.” If that is the case, then why do so many salespeople spend their time doing nothing but selling product features to customers?
'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan World-Class Sales Organization. We hear those words a lot. Some companies aspire to it. Others claim to be there already. You are more likely to hear claims like those from a large enterprise, but you have better odds of actually finding it in a small to midsize company. World-Class Sales Organization. Some would say it''s a description of a company''s people.
'Keeping up to date on the latest innovations and opinions in sales can be time-consuming, especially in the the digital space. Sales Sphere features relevant blog articles from PointClear''s online B2B sales circles. Will Google Glass Revolutionize Buying and Selling? In this article, Gerhard Gschwandtner raises an interesting question about Google’s latest technology, Google Glass.
ZoomInfo customers aren’t just selling — they’re winning. Revenue teams using our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform grew pipeline by 32%, increased deal sizes by 40%, and booked 55% more meetings. Download this report to see what 11,000+ customers say about our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform and how it impacts their bottom line. The data speaks for itself!
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