Anthony Cole Training

SEPTEMBER 9, 2016

18 years ago this morning. I didn't wake up.

200

200

A Sales Guy

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

A few years ago I created a list of the best books sales people should read to become a badass. You can see the list here. The list included some amazing books. What made that list so special was the surprising number of books that WEREN’T sales books. The original list of must read sales books for sales badasses included some books that address traits and skills that are critical to sales, but aren’t solely sales related.

Gate keeper 167

Gate keeper Sales Pipeline Up-sell 167

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

A Rejoiner study found that over 50% of the cart abandonment emails they send are opened on a device that is different than the one the customer originally abandoned on. A typical situation is a person browsing your site on mobile, perhaps adding items to their cart as a “wishlist”, then never completing their purchase. Wouldn’t it be great if you could email them with the exact items they’d left in their cart, and restore their cart with those items, no matter what device they use when they cl

Trust 131

Trust Sales Retail Conversion 131

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

The Buyer Journey is front and center again. Dan McDade posted the second in his 3-part series on Lies and Myths and part 2 is about the Buyer Journey. 8 Sales Experts weighed in with their thoughts about the Buyer Journey and you can read those here. Don't miss Mike Weinberg's comment - I love it! It's pretty clear where the sales experts stand, so where is all of the Buyer Journey data coming from if not the sales experts?

Sell 114

Sell Sales Closing Process 114

Speaker: Jady West, VP of Hospitality & Chris Bennett, Head of Sales & Engineering

The modern hotel room is no longer just a place to stay—it’s an experience to remember. Today’s guests expect seamless 5G connectivity, personalized comfort, and high-tech convenience. From AI-powered smart room controls to in-room entertainment and app-based services, technology is redefining hospitality from the inside out. In this new session featuring industry pros Jady West and Chris Bennett, we’ll explore how high-speed, high-bandwidth connectivity powers the innovations that are enabling

Hospitality

Partners in Excellence

SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing on the phone. It was a frustrated sales person looking for help. She had reached out after reading some blogs, asking me to be a sounding board for some deals she was struggling with. We spent some time talking about the deals, exploring what she might do to better position herself to win. At the end of the conversation, I asked, “Have you sat down with your manager to review this and get his advice?

Pipeline 111

Pipeline Territory Meeting B2B 111

The Sales Hunter

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

When you prospect with integrity, you will get customers who have integrity. Think about what the previous sentence means. Integrity is an asset that is undervalued and underappreciated in today’s business world, yet it means more than ever. Today there are too many people using stupid tactics to prospect that lack integrity. I certainly realize integrity […].

Prospecting 105

Prospecting Customers Sell Sales 105

A Sales Guy

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

For years we’ve looked at “closing” as a thing you do to someone. We’ve looked at it like an event that happens at the end of the sales cycle. Here’s the problem with that. It doesn’t work. If you’re trying to “close” someone at the end of the sales process, if you’re treating the close like an event your not selling and you’re not in a good sales place.

Closing 138

Closing Sell Process Sales 138

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

With Google processing over 40,000 searches every second and Facebook being a hub for 1.13 billion daily active users , Google AdWords and Facebook ads are obvious choices for PPC campaigns. But is one better than the other? Are the optimization processes for both similar? What about A/B testing? These are the questions optimizers need answers to before they can really reap the benefits of two very powerful advertising platforms.

A/B testing 128

A/B testing CTR Non-Profits Campaign 128

Engage Selling

SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Have you ever wondered what makes you and your business more interesting to your prospects and clients? It isn’t hourly updates on social media or a picture with a celebrity.

Clients 98

Clients Prospecting Up-sell Service 98

Partners in Excellence

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

I was struck reading the title of this article, “We Shouldn’t Be Coaching Deals, We Should Be Coaching Skills.” Its premise is so far from what I believe, that I had to read it to see if I was missing something. It was a thoughtful article, I ended up being unconvinced, but it helped reminded me how badly we misunderstand coaching.

Objection handling 111

Objection handling Territory Quota Technique 111

Speaker: Frank Taliano

Documents are the backbone of enterprise operations, but they are also a common source of inefficiency. From buried insights to manual handoffs, document-based workflows can quietly stall decision-making and drain resources. For large, complex organizations, legacy systems and siloed processes create friction that AI is uniquely positioned to resolve.

High impact

Score More Sales

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Next week I’m hosting a conference in Boston called Rev it Up – Sales Leader Summit. Our opening keynote will be best-selling author Dorie Clark speaking about building your brand as a sales leader. Dorie’s most recent book is called Stand Out – How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It.

Follow-up 97

Follow-up Up-sell Sell Sales 97

Anthony Cole Training

SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

If you’ve followed my blog for any period of time, you know that there are several phrases that I use when discussing sales outcomes, sales management, recruitment and talent development:

Sales 153

Sales 153

A Sales Guy

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

I spent Labor Day on Cape Cod, this year. I spent it on Great Island. It’s one of my favorite places to relax and enjoy myself (and not shave ). It’s absolutely gorgeous, peaceful and serene. We were supposed to shoot #heykeenan 27 before I left for vacation, but we just didn’t get it done, so I figured, what the heck. I’ll do it myself from the beach.

Drivers/motivators 127

Drivers/motivators Clients 127

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

If you’re doing it right, you probably have a large list of A/B testing ideas in your pipeline. Some good ones (data-backed or result of a careful analysis), some mediocre ideas, some that you don’t know how to evaluate. We can’t test everything at once, and we all have a limited amount of traffic. You should have a way to prioritize all these ideas in a way that gets you to test the highest potential ideas first.

A/B testing 115

A/B testing Objectives and Key Results Clients User Experience 115

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B2B

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 22, 2016

You won't have to read much in today's post because I included most of it in a short video. This is a story about a salesperson who reacted extremely badly to some great training tips and disrupted the training. His thinking is so representative of salespeople that struggle, and is the kind of thinking which, if shared with others, could derail an entire sales force!

Represent 95

Represent Sales 95

Partners in Excellence

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

I was just talking to an outstanding Vice President of Sales. The solutions his company develops address very complex issues in “manufacturing.” (I’m using that as a surrogate for what he is really doing.) It’s a complex sale. It’s an early stage company, they are starting to have great success and are closing some very large, intriguing deals.

Manufacturing 111

Manufacturing Objection handling Drivers/motivators Up-sell 111

The Sales Hunter

SEPTEMBER 24, 2016

Too many salespeople find themselves without enough opportunities to keep their pipeline filled. One of the most brilliant salespeople I know and good friend Anthony Iannarino and I recently discussed the problem people have with prospecting. If we’re not willing to hold ourselves accountable to prospect, then why should we expect our prospecting to be […].

Pipeline 94

Pipeline Prospecting Sell Sales 94

Anthony Cole Training

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

I’ve been writing about solutions to variability of performance and, as often happens, I see/find something connected to the theme of sales or sales management.

Sales 153

Sales 153

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Sales

A Sales Guy

SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

The intra-webs have brought us closer and made connecting with people easier than ever. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, you name it, you can get a message out to anyone, I mean anyone in seconds. It doesn’t mean LeBron James, President Obama or Kim Kardashian will read it, or respond, there is however, a chance they will at least see it.

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ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

What’s the value in a logo? It’s a question that’s been asked a lot lately, especially with companies like Instagram, Uber, and Google drawing both ire and admiration from their new logo changes. We all have an opinion (some have strong opinions) on these changes, but no one really measures their effectiveness – which is what matters really. How do we answer the question: is your logo actually working?

Start-ups 114

Start-ups Follow-up User Experience Trust 114

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Recently I met with a CEO whose salespeople were not closing enough business. We had just evaluated their sales force and I had the answers as to why their sales were so underwhelming. Before we could explain what was causing their problem, the CEO said something along the lines of, "We are going to create a new pitch deck and reduce our prices. That will solve the problem!".

Pitch 94

Pitch Price Sales Closing 94

Partners in Excellence

SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

I love the emerging focus on Account Based Everything. The principles of account based sales and marketing are fantastic–actually taking me back to my foundations in selling, where everything we did was account based. Since the terminology around Account Based Everything changes with every person who talks about it, let me outline what I think it is.

Drivers/motivators 108

Drivers/motivators Strategize Prospecting Technology 108

Speaker: Jesse Hunter and Brynn Chadwick

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.

Sales

Score More Sales

SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

When you are in professional, B2B sales and go to a lot of business conferences you see a lot of trade show booths and marketing tables. These tables and booths typically have large monitors or big screen displays with whatever SaaS sales tool that booth is promoting.

B2B 93

B2B Sales Promote 93

Anthony Cole Training

SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

Let’s start with the right people.

Sales 153

Sales 153

A Sales Guy

SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

The giant sales conference that is Dreamforce is coming up in just under a 3 weeks and I will speaking. My topic, coaching. If your going to Dreamforce come say high and learn how I teach sales organizations to build coaching processes that win. Register here: https://success.salesforce.com/Sessions?eventId=a1Q3000000qQOd9EAG#/session/a2q3A000000LBH9QAO.

Process 115

Process Sales 115

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016

If you’re part of a conversion optimization team, a big part of that job is communicating treatments to other specialists on your team (analysts, designers). Depending on the scope of the changes, you could use a few different tools and methods. Almost always, though, this includes wireframing – and it helps to be able to do wireframing decently well.

Conversion 108

Conversion UX A/B testing User Experience 108

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Sales

The Sales Hunter

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

Is your social media effort really making a difference? Recently, I discussed with Jack Kosakowski of the Creation Agency the problem too many people are making when it comes to social media. Social media without social connection is social stupidity! In my new book, High-Profit Prospecting, I talk about social media and how it […].

Prospecting 93

Prospecting Sell Sales 93

Partners in Excellence

SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

In a few weeks the annual migration to Dreamforce will occur. I’ve only been to a couple of events bigger than Dreamforce, but it’s an “interesting experience.” Somehow, I’m certain the city of San Francisco sits a little lower in the water with the 150-180K people that converge on Moscone Center during the few days. I was asked my tips for getting the most out of Dreamforce.

Meeting 106

Meeting CRM Start-ups Closing 106

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 23, 2016

Yesterday I posted a very short article/video where I discussed one salesperson's reaction to a great sales role play. I received a number of emails telling me how helpful the video, story and lessons were. I was also asked a number of questions and was even contacted by that salesperson's VP of Sales. The Sales VP learned a lot from that interchange and replay as well, and suggested that EQ, or emotional intelligence could have been a factor in what happened.

Contact 93

Contact Prospecting Sell Sales 93

Anthony Cole Training

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016

Earlier, I stated that eliminating the variability of performance all starts with people, right? And then, I proceeded to tell you that I thought that eliminating variability starts with systems and process. Now, it’s time to talk about people and that means talking about recruiting. Here are the big ideas about recruiting: You don’t have to like it; you just have to do it.

Sports 145

Sports Gaming Campaign Process 145

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.

Product