May, 2015

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Is Your Opening Hurting Your Sales Closing?

Anthony Cole Training

(**To hear the audio version, click here! ). When I was in high school, I ran track. During my sophomore and junior years, I ran the 1-mile race. Though I normally like to take the lead early, I really wasn’t entirely focused on a “great start” because I had 5,280 feet to make up for a slow start. During my senior year, I ran the 880-yard event. Not a sprint, not the exhausting 440, but certainly a little more demanding of speed and a good start than what I needed when I ran the mile.

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The 9 Immutable Rules of Engagement in #SocialSelling [with INFOGRAPHIC]

Closing Bigger

After working with sales people, social media marketers, community managers, entrepreneurs, charities and many other professionals on five continents I have had the opportunity to see the Rules of Engagement implemented (and ignored) in almost every environment. Stephen Jagger and I sat down and penned these rules in 2008 when we were writing Sociable!

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How Marketing Is Screwing Up Social Marketing

A Sales Guy

Hey, marketers, I have a suggestion. Reach out to some of the best social sellers in the world like, Koka Sexton, Brian Fanzo , Jack Kosakowski , Jill Rowley , Eric Mitchell , Carlos Gil, etc. and take notes. You need to learn how to social market because you’re making a mess out of it. Social marketing is just like social selling. It’s about giving, not taking.

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Why You Should Test on Mobile and Desktop Separately

ConversionXL

While running A/B tests on all your traffic at once might seem like a good idea (to get a bigger sample size faster), in reality it’s not. You need to target mobile and desktop audiences separately. Here are 5 reasons why. #1: Different things work. What ends up winning for desktop audiences, often does not for mobile users. If you bucket all your traffic into a single test, it might end up as “no difference” – while actually mobile was winning big and desktop losing big,

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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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Do We Have Sales Compensation All Wrong?

Understanding the Sales Force

Earlier this week I posted an article that explored whether or not a salesperson should be punished for landing a big deal if that same salesperson had nothing else in the pipeline. It generated some heated discussion in the comments section and since there was disagreement about compensation in the comment section, I thought it would be helpful to discuss that.

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5 Ways to Handle the Prospect Who Won’t Respond

The Sales Hunter

You have the prospect who you know would benefit from working with you, but they simply will not respond to you. Question arises in your mind, “Should I continue trying to connect with them or should I instead simply move on?” This question comes up a lot when I’m working with sales teams. There is no […].

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The Skinny on Lead Nurturing - 11 Experts Weigh In (part 1 of 2)

Pointclear

This year I've been talking a lot about Nurturing. It's a critical component in the sales and marketing process; yet, most companies aren't implementing it effectively—that is, if they are at all. I feel so strongly that nurturing needs to be a focus, I asked a panel of 11 experts to weigh in on the best lead nurturing programs (and processes) and what to expect in the coming year.

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Are You Asking Enough Of The Right Questions

A Sales Guy

Make a list of all the questions you ask a prospect. Try to be as exhaustive as you can, but make it at least 10. Now, take a look at your questions and remove all the questions that aren’t “business” questions. Questions like, who are the decision makers? When are you looking to have the solution in place, etc? Once you’ve removed the non-business questions, scratch off all the non-business process questions.

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Can You Run Multiple A/B Tests at the Same Time?

ConversionXL

You want to speed up your testing efforts, and run more tests. So now the question is – can you run more than one A/B test at the same time on your site? Will this increase the velocity of your testing program (and thus help you grow faster), or will it pollute the data since multiple separate tests could potentially affect each other’s outcomes?

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Salespeople as Closers & 10 Other Sales Myths

Understanding the Sales Force

It was a beautiful spring day and while I was walking to lunch yesterday I was thinking about my slugglish metabolism. When I was young, I never stopped walking, running and bicycling and I probably burned more calories than I consumed. I was only 115 pounds when I graduated from high school! I'll turn 60 later this year, and other than the baseball coaching I do, and using the golf cart the few times I play golf each year, I am as close to inactive as possible.

Sales 105
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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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VIDEO SALES TIP: Great Salespeople Set Goals!

The Sales Hunter

I’m digging into 14 things great salespeople do that set them apart from average salespeople. Today I’m talking about goal setting! Do you set goals? Before you think goal setting is not for you, watch the video. It’s not just about setting goals, but about setting the right ones. Your ability to set goals […].

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My 4 Thoughts on Selling - Performance, Motivation, Consistency and…

Anthony Cole Training

The Dave Kurlan Blog – Understanding the Sales Force – has ben abuzz with comments about a youth baseball coach that made his team run wind sprints after they gave up a lead big enough to invoke the ‘mercy rule’. I won’t go any further into the comments made by others about Dave’s position. You can click here to follow that discussion. What I will talk about is this: Consistency – As some of you know, I played college football at UConn from 1973 to 1977, coached at the University of Cincinnati f

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Do You Respect Your People Enough To Fire Them?

Partners in Excellence

Unfortunately, one of the biggest sins I see in performance management is avoidance. Usually, we’re good at recognizing problem performers. We’re just terrible in dealing with them. There all sorts of reasons we avoid dealing with them–all bad. They include: Dealing with problem performers takes a lot of time. Dealing with problem performers is no fun–for both the manager and the problem performer.

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The Surprising Benefit Of Social Selling The Best Are Leveraging

A Sales Guy

Yeah, yeah, we all know about the value of social selling for top of the funnel selling. How it’s great for engaging your prospects, and potential clients. We know it’s awesome for sharing information and insight. We know it’s great for listening for prospect needs and complaints. But, social can be used for something else as well and it’s highly under used — learning.

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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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Iterative A/B Testing – A Must If You Lack a Crystal Ball

ConversionXL

You have a hypothesis, and run a test. Result – no difference (or even drop in results). What should you do now? Test a different hypothesis? Not so fast. A fairly common scenario. Let’s imagine that you conducted a qualitative survey , and a large number of respondents voiced concerns about your credit card payment page – they didn’t feel it was secure enough (even though it actually was secure).

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Why Half of the Sales Force Resigned This Month

Understanding the Sales Force

Copyright: 123RF Stock Photo. Half of the company's 20 salespeople have left voluntarily in just the last month and the CEO wants to know why everyone is resigning. He wants Jeff, his sales manager, coached up and needs to recruit replacements. He has tremendous urgency to get this moving and believes that Objective Management Group's (OMG) Sales Candidate Assessment will help him select good salespeople that will stick around.

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Warren Buffett, CEOs and the Importance of Culture

The Sales Hunter

Warren Buffett, in speaking at his annual shareholders’ meeting, shared about the importance of culture to a company. He spoke about how imbedded culture is at his own company, Berkshire Hathaway. He said the value of the culture will be seen in how it does after he’s gone. Culture starts at the top with the […].

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Will You Be Able to Recruit Good Salespeople in 2015?

Anthony Cole Training

A guest blog by Dave Kulran, President and founder of Objective Management Group, with an introduction by Tony Cole, President of Anthony Cole Training Group. INTRODUCTION: I’ve been working with companies for 22 years: companies of all sizes, in various business segments and across the country. One thing I’ve witnessed, discussed or heard for all of these years is the issue about talent.

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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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“Fix The Sales Problem!”

Partners in Excellence

The executive team of a large division of a very large corporation called me to “fix the sales problem.” We were to have a meeting to discuss the issues they faced and to discuss potential corrective actions. I’d asked for data to better understand the sales performance issues. I, also had short phone discussions with a few key sales managers to understand the issues.

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How to Deal With Difficult Customers and Prospects

A Sales Guy

This weeks show The Word was one of the best. It tackled a subject I think many sales people struggle with and that’s the difficult customer or climate. It can seem cliche, but it’s not. Customers and prospects need to work with sales people in order for a good sale to take place and when they won’t everything goes south. This episode of The Word tackles this challenge with Anthony Iannarino and Tim Ohai.

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The Discipline Based Testing Methodology

ConversionXL

This is the methodology that I have developed over 12 years in the industry and working with over 300 organizations. It is also the methodology that has been used to have a near perfect test streak (6 test failures in 5.5 years), even if most others do not believe that stat. Theory is nice, but pragmatic examples and real-world results are far better.

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Connecting the Dots on Sales Management

Understanding the Sales Force

Copyright / 123RF Stock Photo. Do you remember the morning that you couldn't find your keys, but they were right there on the counter? Or the time that you couldn't find an article of clothing, but it was hanging right there in your closet the entire time you were looking for it? Or the time you couldn't find your car in the airport parking garage? And yes, it was right where you parked it.

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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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5 Secrets to Making Social Selling Work

The Sales Hunter

Social selling is a process and it is a means to an end. Social selling in and of itself is not the end. It’s important to remember this. Never think for a moment you will be able to achieve 100% of your success solely due to embracing social selling. Below are 5 secrets you […].

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Two Things Breakthrough Companies Do that Others Don’t (Part 1)

Anthony Cole Training

A guest post by Tony Scelzo, President of Stringcan. We know that domino companies that move from small to big don’t all share the same characteristics 100%, but the similarities that they do share are striking, so when Tony Cole pointed out that there were at least two things he’s seen breakthrough companies succeed in—we were quick to have him elaborate.

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“The Modern Buyer Is Digitally Driven, Socially Connected….”

Partners in Excellence

There’s no doubt digital technologies and social media are changing the way we live, engage, and do business. Their influence is huge and the growth rate continues to accelerate. I read all the stuff that says everything’s moved to the web. I don’t disagree, but I don’t agree. Some would have you believe all we need to do is spend our time on the web, leveraging social sites and tools like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tinder (oops) and others.

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Why High Performance Sales Teams Are a Myth

A Sales Guy

This past week I had the absolute pleasure of hangin’ with two true sales badasses, Mike Wienberg author of New Sales Simplified and Kelly Riggs author of Quit Whining and Start Selling. These guys know selling and how to build world class sales organizations. So it was a blast spending 45 minutes freestylin’ on why sales teams aren’t performing and what it takes to get them there.

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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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Sales Tip: Give Your Sales Process a Check-Up

Engage Selling

How often are you checking up on your sales process? Learn why regular check-ups are so important for your business! Need new strategies to enhance your current sales process? Get a copy of Nonstop Sales Boom!

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Should a Salesperson be Punished after a Huge Sale?

Understanding the Sales Force

My wife and I watched with a combination of fascination, sadness and shock as the coach of our son's 12 and under AAU baseball team made them run suicides after the double header they won on Saturday, and again after the double header they won on Sunday. Why would he punish them after winning four games this weekend? And how does this apply to sales?

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Negotiation Tips: Know Their Timeline for Making a Decision

The Sales Hunter

We are on a roll looking at the critical things you need for a negotiation to go well! Already we have covered: Sell First. Negotiate Second Only Negotiate After They’ve Rejected Your Offer Twice Make Sure You Are Dealing with the Decision Maker Know their Needs! Now we have arrived at another vital aspect: […].

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Dead is Dead! (At Least in Sales and Marketing)

Pointclear

Have you noticed how many things are dead these days? Cold calling is dead. Outbound marketing is dead. Many say that even marketing as a whole is dead. I grew up during a time when it seemed like a lot of things were dead: Paul was dead. (The rumor in 1969 was that if you played “Revolution 9” from the White album backwards, you heard the band in an apparent reference to Paul say, “turn me on, dead man.

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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