December, 2017

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Trouble Growing Sales? Solution #2: No More Bad Prospects

Anthony Cole Training

I’ve been working on growing sales for over 30 years. First with Nautilus Exercise Equipment, then in the insurance business and for the last 23 years with Anthony Cole Training Group. It’s been at least 25 years since I heard David Sandler, on a cassette tape, say; “there’s no such thing as bad prospects, just bad salespeople.” Not bad as in character, morals or integrity- just bad a selling.

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Is the Sales Stack Destroying Your Effectiveness?

Membrain

Technology was supposed to make our lives easier, and our teams more effective. Somehow, however, most sales teams are still caught in the same old traps as ever, just with new toys.

Sales 109
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Trending Sources

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Tripwire Marketing: From Bankruptcy to Over 1 Million Dollars in Profits in One Year

ConversionXL

In 2015, 9-figure apparel retailer Karmaloop.com filed for bankruptcy. The company had been bleeding cash, losing six figures per month. That summer a private equity fund acquired the assets of the company. They brought me in as CMO. Within three months all marketing KPIs had improved. Within a year-and-a-half the PE fund sold the company to a strategic buyer.

Represent 106
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Selling to C-Level Executives: 8 Tips for Unlocking Access to the Busiest Buyers on Earth

Sales Hacker

Selling to c-level executives is a different ball game. You have to be concise, respectful of their time, and really think about how to differentiate yourself in order to break through the clutter and earn the right to ask for something. Here is a message to sellers from a real c-level buyer: Outbound tactics without strategy are sheer lunacy. We must lead with an insight-driven value narrative (‘hypothesis of value’), otherwise hammering away in blended channels is worthless.

Sell 107
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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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LinkedIn Video: A Huge Opportunity or a Waste?

A Sales Guy

I’ve started using linked in video lately, and if you’re not doing it too, you’re missing out on a GREAT opportunity. I’m all over social, most of you know that. I used Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, this blog, and LinkedIn as my primary social channels. I use each differently for different reasons, but when it comes to business, I mean straight business, nothing is performing like LinkedIn.

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34 Million Data Points Show What Type of Sales Content Performs Best

Openview

At the top of the funnel, marketers obsess over attracting, capturing, and handing off qualified leads. At the bottom of the funnel, sellers fixate over deals won and revenue attained. But what about the middle of the funnel? It’s easily the most ignored – but, arguably, the most important – stage in any sales pipeline. The middle of the funnel is where relationships with prospects are built, and where reps learn what obstacles need to be overcome.

More Trending

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All Sales Floors Should Be Loud!

Membrain

Get off Facebook. Get off LinkedIn. Get off Twitter. Get off the 3rd appendage. If aliens descended they'd be confounded with why humans have only one hand. The entire society is glued to a piece of plastic, silicon circuits, and flashing light through gorilla glass. It's unnatural, unhealthy, and sociologically inept.

Sales 106
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Uses of Cement

InsightSquared

There are different uses of cement such as to make cement mortar, cement concrete which are used in various types of masonry and concrete structures.

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Tackling the Impossible Sales Challenge

Jill Konrath

How do you get a targeted account if all your previous attempts have failed? If you want to catch a big fish, perhaps the sports fishermen of New Zealand can give you some ideas. After all, they face a very difficult, if not insurmountable, challenge that would stop most fisherman entirely.

Sports 96
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36 Apps Every Sales Rep Needs on Their Phone in 2018

Hubspot

The Best Mobile Sales Apps for Salespeople. Slack. LinkedIn. Twitter. 30/30. Profit Story. HubSpot Sales. vTie. CamCard. Keynote. Close the Sale. Mobile CRM app. Doc Scan. Dropbox. eSignature app. Evernote. Dragon. Wunderlist. QuickVoice. Mind Tools. Skill-Pill. Feedly. Pocket. SmartUp. Pulse Auto Dealer. DealApp Vantage. AutoPoint Driver Connect. NADA MarketValues.

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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 Leaders, Here’s How To Have A Great Sales Kickoff in 2018

Openview

I once attended a sales kickoff that was a big waste of time. This particular company whisked away our entire sales department to a tropical location without putting together any structured agenda. They thought leaving our days open to brainstorm as a group was a good plan of action. When in fact, it turned into a whole lot of kicking back, but not much kicking off.

Sales 89
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Managing and scaling an outbound sales team

PandaDoc

If outbound sales works for your company and product, it can be a powerful way to grow your business. Outbound sales is low cost, forecastable, relevant to almost any industry, from tech sales to small local businesses, and most importantly, almost infinitely scalable. Meaning that because you aren’t relying on inbound leads, you have the entire universe of prospects to call on.

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These 4 powers will make your sales coaches better

Membrain

Steven Rosen knows coaching. As the founder and CEO of STAR Results, he has been helping sales and business unit leaders “crush their numbers” for 14 years, by transferring focus from training to coaching.

Sales 104
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Five ways to make your reps more productive

InsightSquared

As a sales leader, you’re only as good as your team, and it starts by managing a team effectively. It’s important to create a process to systematize the way your reps generate, manage and close opportunities. To encourage the right behaviors, you must provide evidence that shows your process is effective, and straightforward. A team of some of our top customers recently brainstormed ideas for how a sales leader can institute an effective, data-backed rep management process within their organizat

Product 95
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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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How to Build an Army of Virtual Sales Assistants to Help Grow Your Business

Sales Hacker

Ever since the 4-Hour Workweek where Tim Ferriss wrote about using virtual assistants (VAs) as a way to outsource your inbox – hiring virtual sales assistants has hit the mainstream. What is a Virtual Sales Assistant? A Virtual Sales Assistant is a remote contractor that you hire as a means of outsourcing a specific task or set of tasks in order to build a more efficient sales process.

Sales 95
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5 VR Marketing Examples That You'll Want to Steal for 2018

Hubspot

The holidays are coming, and I'm feeling cheerful. So, I'll do you a solid: I won't lecture you on the importance of incorporating virtual reality into your 2018 marketing strategy. But, in the spirit of giving, I will share the following fun facts: By 2020, the economic impact of virtual and augmented reality is predicted to reach $29.5 billion. By the end of 2017, the combined total of VR software and hardware from Sony, Oculus, HTC, and others is predicted to reach 5.1 million units.

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3 Lessons that Apply to Every Sales Call No Matter What You Sell

Understanding the Sales Force

It's a family tradition that each December we attend the Boston Ballet's performance of the Nutcracker. It's truly a magical show and even though the primary dancers change from year to year, the execution of the show's script and musical score is flawless. Several years ago, during one of the performances, it dawned on me that the orchestra's role in the show correlated very nicely to an effective sales presentation.

Sell 91
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Only 1 in 7 Sellers Do This Crucial Skill

Jill Konrath

I never wanted to be in sales. I only entered the profession because I had an idea for a business. When I shared it with a consultant , he said it was a good plan and timely.

Consult 90
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1st, 2nd, and 3rd Party Intent Data: Which Is Right for You?

How do 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party intent data compare? 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party data each have specific advantages and disadvantages. It comes down to four factors: accuracy, cost, control and quantity. This infographic explains the pros and cons of each and helps you understand which one is best for meeting your business objectives. Intent data can be a great way to fill your pipeline and close more deals.

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Why having a budget isn’t always a positive qualifier

Membrain

John Holland of CustomerCentric Selling® makes an interesting point in a blog article. Many sales people who have been brought up on an over-literal interpretation of BANT may believe that the absence of a budget for a project should be a reason to disqualify an opportunity.

Up-sell 99
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Back To Basics: What Social Selling Is and Isn't

SalesforLife

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past five years, you’ve certainly heard about social selling by now. Although social selling has become table stakes for some companies, I find that there is still a lot of confusion about the term and what it is.

Sell 89
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Help your sales team succeed in 2018: Hire sales ops

InsightSquared

SaaStr founder Jason Lemkin recently discussed the reality a sales team faces on January 1: the closed/won deals start at $0. The commitment of new goals can be daunting, even for the most seasoned of sales teams. To alleviate some of the pressure of the new year, Lemkin offered a list of ideas you can implement to help your sales team succeed in 2018.

Sales 88
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6 Soft Skills Every Salesperson Needs to Get Ahead

Hubspot

To know how successful a salesperson is, just look at their numbers. Understanding why they’re succeeding is trickier. In sales, success is a reflection of two things: The strength of their hard skills and the strength of their soft skills. What are soft skills in sales? Unlike hard selling skills, which are relatively easy to teach and measure, soft skills are "fuzzy.

Quota 100
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The Battle of the Authoring Tools: A 10-Point Comparison for Picking the Right One

Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions

There are plenty of great authoring tools for developing eLearning, but the one you select could directly impact your course's outcomes. Depending upon your learners’ needs and your organization’s performance goals, you could be overlooking considerations that impact the both effectiveness of your courses and how long it takes to finish them. From general capabilities to specific workflow structures, some aspects are critical when it comes to learning objectives and deadlines.

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Which is Worse - Crappy Salespeople or Crappy Sales Managers?

Understanding the Sales Force

In his book, The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki said, "Don't Worry, Be Crappy.". That advice suggested that companies just get their early versions of software and tech products out there and they could make them better later. How are early versions of technology different from crappy salespeople and crappy sales managers? For one thing, salespeople and sales managers tend to stay crappy unless professional training, coaching and interventions occur.

Sales 90
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Top 10 Most Read Articles of 2017

ConversionXL

We publish a lot of well-researched content. Among all the new posts that were published in 2017, here are the ones that got the most attention. Starting from the 10th and moving to the number 1 spot. #10 How to Avoid Being Deceived By Data. In the hands of someone with an agenda, data can be weaponized to back up that viewpoint. Even in the hands of someone benevolent, data can be misinterpreted in dangerous ways.

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Why your buyers are focusing on the wrong things

Membrain

It’s a tale as old as time. A sales team is closing in on a deal when, at the last minute, a competitor takes home the win. Being the good salespeople that they are, the team checks in with the customer to find out why they lost the deal, and the answer frustrates them. The buyer made the decision based on utterly meaningless criteria.

Closing 92
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7 No B t Questions to Ask When Hiring a Sales Consultant

Sales Hacker

In our last article, we did a tactical tear down of when to hire sales trainer or sales consultant. In this post, we’ll explain how to find and hire the right sales consultant or sales trainer for your business. We’ll lean on our panel of experts and start by sharing their unique perspective, followed by 7 very specific questions to ask when interviewing a sales consultant or trainer candidate.

Consult 88
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How to Leverage Intent Data for Better Outcomes

Speaker: Susan Spencer, Principal of Spencer Communications

Intent signal data can go a long way toward shortening sales cycles and closing more deals. The challenge is deciding which is the best type of intent data to help your company meet its sales and marketing goals. In this webinar, Susan Spencer, fractional CMO and principal of Spencer Communications, will unpack the differences between contact-level and company-level intent signals.

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The 12 Most Popular Sales Leaderboard Songs of 2017

InsightSquared

Sales teams are notorious for their traditions that spark friendly competition among their reps — gongs, chants, spiffs and more. To up the competitive ante just a bit more, sales organizations also use leaderboards. Each time a rep wins a deal or hits a goal, the leaderboard activates on large screen TVs, triggering the reps’ “song” to play. The songs — some are more crowd pleasers than others — can be heard throughout the office, which often elicits excessive cheering and cla

Sales 87
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Sales vs. Business Development: What's the Difference? [FAQ]

Hubspot

Sales and business development. Just two different ways to refer to the same activity -- getting your company’s product into customers' hands. Right? Actually, sales and business development should not be considered the same job at all.Instead, think of the two roles as complementary halves of a whole. It’s true that both positions exist to help grow your business, but they achieve this end in different ways.

Quota 100
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Snip, Snip, Hooray! Announcing Snippets and Inbox Bump for Outlook

Outreach

We’re on a mission to bring the same delightful Outreach experience you have in our app into your inbox -- after all, the average salesperson spends half their day in their inbox. Today, we’re excited to announce two new features that will increase productivity and organization when sending emails from your Outlook inbox: Snippets and Inbox Bump. Let’s just say, unlike the ill-filling pajamagram Aunt Judy got you for Christmas, these are two holiday presents you won’t want to return 😉 Sn

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Here’s What You Should (And Shouldn’t) Do After Losing A Deal

SalesforLife

You’re in sales, and just like Babe Ruth, you will strike out! I hope that like Babe Ruth, your home runs over-shadow your strikeouts but even great ballplayers will miss a few fastballs. Now what you do right after your strikeout will dictate whether or not you’re setting yourself up for future success or a fast pass to the minor leagues. There are very few buying purchases in the world that are 1x events over a lifetime.

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5 Inspiring B2B Marketing Campaigns to Take Yours to the Next Level

Your next big B2B marketing idea starts here. Get inspired with these five successful B2B marketing campaigns. Ready to generate more leads, interest, and revenue with your B2B marketing? In this comprehensive eBook, you’ll get: In-depth studies of five successful B2B marketing campaigns spanning a wide range of industries Key takeaways and lessons from each story to implement in your own strategy Resources to help your own B2B marketing thrive By submitting this form, you agree to have your con