We are only two months or so into the new year…and new decade. Sales leaders everywhere are universally optimistic. Should they be? Is your optimism justified? Fast forward 12 months. What's different? Will you have achieved your sales objectives? The research is clear, an overwhelming majority of...
A consultative selling approach is key to running a well-oiled sales team. To me, the difference between a traditional sales process and a consultative one looks a bit like the difference between a doctor and a therapist. What Is Consultative Selling? Rather than telling your prospects what they...
One of the more challenging commitments you must gain in sales is the commitment for time. To obtain that commitment, you must prospect. You might ask yourself, “How do I prospect more effectively?” You make prospecting easier when you have a framework and a strategy that produces results. Here is...
Do your marketing messages make you trustworthy? Are you using the right words and phrases? To explore how words can build trust with customers, I interview Marcus Sheridan on the Social Media Marketing Podcast. Marcus is a renowned keynote speaker and the author of They Ask, You Answer. He also...
For many organizations today, lead generation is the Achilles’ heel of business development. They spend tons of money to hire closers — salespeople who are fired up and ready to close business — but they aren’t generating enough leads to keep them busy. How can your organization build a lead...
Because marketing strategy encourages an accurate grasp of the needs of the customer, the process of developing and expanding this understanding can be complex. One tool used is personas…creating descriptions of customers in specific segments. I asked Randy Frisch, CMO of content experience...
Marketing and sales have always had an odd relationship, as they can both be synergistic and antagonistic - all at the same time. It’s not uncommon to hear marketers say that, when business is good, sales gets the credit, but when business is bad, all fingers point to marketing. And if you ask a...
Whether you are interviewing for a job or are an established CEO, the ability to sell is critical to every career and beyond. "Selling is a life skill," said Jason Patel, the founder of Transizion, a college prep company focused on closing the opportunity divide in America. Not only does his work...
An absurdly easy tweak that turns a dud strategy into a magic bullet. I'm always looking for tactics and techniques that are quick to execute but have an outsized positive result. In all the years I've been in business, I have never found a simple tweakthat's this fast, easy and effective....
The best sales teams seem to just do amazing things together. What differentiates them? Well, they do tend to work at some of the best companies, so there is that. But it’s more than that. A few factors that contribute to high-performing sales teams: High quota attainment. The best companies...
There are many parts to a high-performing sales organization – the right people, processes and strategy, to start. But today, the underlying backbone of all of it is the right data as a foundation for customer acquisition. That’s not to say there’s no art to practicing sales. Much of what defines...