October, 2015

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Sales Managers - You Must Sweat the Small Stuff!

Anthony Cole Training

I’ve not read the book Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff and It’s All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson. It’s a catchy title and I’m sure a good read. If you are looking for a solution on how to keep from chasing every chicken you see then I’m sure there is good information to be gleaned from the book. But if you are a sales manager responsible for developing your people and for driving sales growth this is awful advice.

Sales 240
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Don’t Build a Sales Organization. Build a Teaching Organization!

A Sales Guy

You want to know where the biggest opportunity for sales growth is today? Do you want to know what is the one short thing you can do to blow out your numbers and crush the competition? It’s to turn your sales organization in to a teaching organization. Times have changed and so has your job. As a sales leader it used to be you had to build a sales organization that could sell by telling, pitching and closing.

Pitch 143
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18 Cognitive Biases You Can Use for Conversion Optimization

ConversionXL

Persuading completely rational people to make a certain decision or take a specific action would be quite easy. Unfortunately, you’re stuck dealing with irrational thinking , fuelled by cognitive biases and emotions. [Tweet It!]. So, how do you persuade effectively when people are so heavily influenced by subjective (and contextual) factors? That’s a complicated question with no definitive or universal answer.

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Social Selling and The Art of Failing Forward (Seminar Notes)

Closing Bigger

A big thanks to the BCITMA for inviting me to speak at your event this evening. I know I covered a lot in our brief time together so I thought I would post my slides and some links for your reference. Here are some quick links for you: Shane Gibson’s Online Professional Sales Certification Program. The Vancouver Sales Performance Meetup. The 2014 Sales Quota Attainment Study by A Sales Guy Inc. and Kitedesk.

Sell 128
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Smart Tools & Strong Teams: A People-First Approach to AI in Sales

Speaker: Matt Sunshine, CEO at The Center for Sales Strategy

AI isn’t replacing salespeople—it’s empowering them. The most forward-thinking sales organizations are using AI to enhance human performance rather than eliminate it. From coaching and messaging to prospecting and pipeline accountability, artificial intelligence is giving managers and SDRs the new tools they need to work smarter, sell better, and close more.

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Is It Time to Step Up Your Sales Game?

Engage Selling

The best salespeople are constantly looking for ways to improve. They are not staying static for extended periods of time because, let’s face it, if you’re not moving forward – you’re moving backwards! There’s almost nothing better than reaching (or exceeding) all of your sales goals for the year. A certain feeling of accomplishment is […].

Gaming 123
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When Things Dry Up!

Partners in Excellence

Marketing has been developing fantastic content. They are leveraging every analytic tool imaginable, they’ve got marketing automation tools, they’re active on social channels, doing everything possible to generate demand. Sales people wait for the coveted SQL–the Sales Qualified Lead. Regardless of what’s been agreed between marketing and sales, to a sales person the SQL is a buying ready (hopefully PO ready) lead.

SQL 117

More Trending

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Are You Using Social Media Yet?

A Sales Guy

So, where are you on this social media thing? Do you have a Twitter account? Are you on LinkedIn? Do you use Google +? Or are you one of those people sitting on the sidelines still trying to figure out why social media even matters, because you have too much to do to be bothered with what someone is eating for lunch. Let me help you out. Consider this a Sales Guy Public Service Announcement: Social media makes quota!

Quota 121
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When “Free” Converts (and When It Doesn’t)

ConversionXL

If I asked you, “what’s the most persuasive word in the English language,” what would you say? Many would say “free” – and that may or may not be accurate. It’s one of those CRO ‘best practices’ that is often repeated but rarely discussed in detail. There are studies that support its power, but there is also plenty of data that supports the idea of ‘free’ being detrimental to optimization.

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Price Quotes and the Inability of Salespeople to Sell Value

Understanding the Sales Force

Last week I was training a sales force to sell value - an absolutely revolutionary concept - when the unthinkable happened, not once, but twice in the same training. As incredible as it was to me, it clearly illustrates why it is so darn hard for companies to get their salespeople to sell value.

Sell 112
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10 Ways to Increase Your Motivation and Your Sales

The Sales Hunter

Does your level of sales drive your motivation or does your motivation drive your sales? Yes, it is a chicken or egg type of question. In my mind they drive each other, but in the end I want to close as many sales as possible, so it means my motivation needs to be at […].

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How to Coach Reps on Overcoming Sales Objections with Confidence

Speaker: Brendan Sweeney, VP of Global Sales and David Phelan, Account Executive

In a world where buyers are more informed and objections are more nuanced, confidence isn't optional—it’s a competitive advantage. In high-stakes conversations, knowing how to handle pushback can make or break the deal. Join industry experts Brendan Sweeney and David Phelan for a behind-the-scenes look at how teams are transforming sales coaching with real-time feedback, objection-handling role plays, and pre-call preparation that actually sticks.

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Paying Attention

Partners in Excellence

Perhaps it’s because it’s early Fall (for us in the Northern Hemisphere), but a couple of things have happened this weekend that have caused me to stop and reflect–actually to pay attention. I have just rediscovered “Vinyl.” What I mean, is that I’ve rediscovered physical record albums and the pleasure of listening to music.

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Sales Management: Want More Success? Set New Standards for Success

Anthony Cole Training

One of the problems facing many companies today is getting more from what they have. In a time of economic pressure to manage the profits companies have become very creative in finding solutions to manage the burn rate of their cash. The solution that many, if not most, struggle with is how to get the cash generation rate to meet and exceed the burn rate.

Sales 203
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Can’t

A Sales Guy

You “Can’t” It’s not that you can’t get ahold of the CEO. It’s not that you can’t make Presidents Club. It’s not that you can’t find more “A” players. It’s not that you can’t penetrate that big account. And it’s not that you can’t get your team to use a CRM. It’s that you haven’t yet ; and that is an entirely different situation. The minute you say you can’t it’s over.

CRM 118
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Does Offering More Choices Actually Tank Conversions?

ConversionXL

More choice equals freedom, right? Well, yes, but there’s a good body of evidence that the more choices we are presented, the less happy we are with the one we make. What does that mean for conversions, though? Retention? Revenue? The Psychology of Choice. The most famous, and I believe the first, study that pointed to the adverse effects of choice was in 2000 and the subject was jam.

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Welcome to the Future of Hospitality: Smart Rooms Start Here

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

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Great Selling Lessons in The Martian - But Should You See the Movie?

Understanding the Sales Force

Most of the great books I read are disappointing, at best, when they become movies. The Davinci Code, Gone Girl, Absolute Power, Lone Survivor, Hunger Games, The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, The Lincoln Lawyer, 127 Hours, and Heaven is for Real are just some of my recent disappointments. Unbroken, The Blind Side and Moneyball didn't get botched up too badly.

Sell 110
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10 Ways to Close Deals Faster Without Cutting Your Price

The Sales Hunter

We all want to close deals faster. Too many times the way salespeople close a deal faster is by cutting the price, thinking a lower price will create a faster decision. Here are 10 things you can do right now to close deals faster, and not one of them involves changing your price: 1. […].

Price 108
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The Weak Spot in Your Sales Organization

Engage Selling

After a week of touring ancient cities on the Rhine including visiting a good selection of castles, fortresses and churches, I discovered that I most enjoy them! They offer a complete glimpse into the way entire towns lived, the ways families came together and went about their daily lives, and how they protected their lives. One […].

Sales 105
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Are You Aligned With Where Your Customer Is In Their Buying Process?

Partners in Excellence

A friend called me for advice today. He’s a great sales person, a big deal hunter. He wanted to review a deal strategy and call plan he was making on a CTO at a very large, fast growing prospect. His colleagues had been working with the CTO’s team. By far, they were the front runners for their first piece of business with this customer.

Process 102
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Breaking The Commerce Bottleneck: Your SAP Exit Plan Starts Now

Speaker: Jason Cottrell and Gireesh Sahukar

Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.

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#heykeenan Take 14 Coaching vs Training, What’s The Difference?

A Sales Guy

Hey peeps, #heykeenan 14 is up and cranking. In this Take, I answer a great question by the great Gabe Villamizar , social media king of Utah. There is a big difference between coaching and training. Yet few people understand it. Great question Gabe. Send me your questions for #heykeenan, if you shout out, and I’ll shout back.

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Retention Optimization: How to Increase the Value of a Conversion

ConversionXL

Are you familiar with the expression, “The most valuable customer is the one you never lose”? In the CRO industry, it’s easy to focus on simply converting more leads all day, every day. More visitors to the landing pages, more emails submitted, more phone numbers captured, etc. A higher conversion rate is great, but as Peep says, “If you want to increase conversions, make everything that you sell one cent, conversions go way up, but you go out of business.

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Sales Selection Case History - The Fix for This Insanity Works 99% of the Time

Understanding the Sales Force

If you had a crystal ball to predict whether or not your next sales candidate would succeed in a difficult selling role at your company, wouldn't you want to use it? Heck, you would want to look into that thing even if it wasn't a difficult selling role. But what if you were recruiting kids right out of college? What would you do then? Would you just recruit a whole bunch of kids and keep the ones who didn't quit?

Sales 106
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10 Ways to Increase Your Value as a Salesperson with Your Customers

The Sales Hunter

Recently after a conference where I spoke, a salesperson asked for ideas on how he could increase his value. The question got me thinking, so here’s my list of what you need to be doing to become a top-performing salesperson: 1. Ask your customer questions both you and your customer can’t answer. Salespeople are famous for […].

Customers 103
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Automation, Evolved: Your New Playbook for Smarter Knowledge Work

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.

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Is Your Sales Team Missing this Key Ingredient?

Engage Selling

It really has been a crazy few months here at Engage Selling. Working with so many different clients in such a short span really opens your eyes to new ideas, strategies and insights. I’m always open to embracing fresh new thinking! With that in mind, I want to share with you an important point which […].

Clients 105
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Solving The Customer’s Problem

Partners in Excellence

Yesterday, I had one of those “Aha” moments. I realized that much of what I’ve been talking about for years has been wrong. Well not completely wrong but off target enough to be significant. I’ve written and advocated about helping customers buy, facilitating their buying process, or even leading them through buying when they don’t know how to buy.

CRM 101
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Wow! What an Awesome Email I Got Today.

A Sales Guy

It’s not uncommon for me to get calls from business owners, CEO’s, heads of sales, etc. asking for help. In some cases, there is a good need to work together, and we enter into a contract. Other times, for whatever reason, it just doesn’t make sense. In these cases, the person or company isn’t ready, they don’t have the money, they have resource issues, etc.

Quota 117
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The Advanced Guide to Qualitative Research

ConversionXL

You spend most days analyzing and interpreting numbers, right? You’re constantly sifting through Google Analytics dashboards, Formisimo reports, Mixpanel data – the list is endless. When you spend so much time focusing on the numbers, it’s easy to forget about the people generating those numbers. That’s where qualitative conversion research comes into play.

UX 122
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Get Higher-Quality B2B Leads That Convert!

B2B marketers face a number of challenges, including: continuously generating great leads converting leads to active sales prospects finding vendors that deliver real results Aggregage has proven content syndication, webinar, online advertising and intent signal marketing programs that deliver higher-quality leads. More than 700 companies have already benefited from our programs.

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Is Benchmarking or Perfect Fit Analysis More Predictive for Selecting Great Salespeople?

Understanding the Sales Force

Last week I published a case history on a company that we nicknamed, BigBrains. Many readers emailed asking if we could perform this analysis for them (yes, in most cases) and whether this would be considered benchmarking (no). In this article, I will actually show you the difference between benchmarking and the Perfect Fit Analysis that we use as proof to clients and to customize Objective Management Group's (OMG) Sales Candidate Assessments.

Clients 104
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10 Ways to Prospect Effectively with Senior Level People

The Sales Hunter

1. Don’t ignore the gatekeeper. Treat them the same way you would the senior level person you are trying to reach. Ask the gatekeeper the same questions you would the senior person you’re trying to reach. Many times the gatekeeper is the one who in the end will determine whether you merit time on […].

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Your Prospects Don’t Believe You | Sales Tips

Engage Selling

What makes your business unique? Don’t let your answer be bland and similar to what your competition would say, you need real facts and data to drive your point home. Get your copy of Nonstop Sales Boom for in-depth strategies for creating sales success.

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What Is The Most Important Problem To Solve Now?

Partners in Excellence

I had an interesting conversation with Pam Hege this morning. It started with a discussion of clients asking to solve a particular problem–but the wrong problem. As consultants, we see this issue a lot. People call having an issue that’s urgent, but it’s not THE problem. It seems to be human nature to focus on crises. We ignore something that may be a problem or are oblivious to it until a crisis occurs.

Consult 101
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New Research-Backed Strategies to Empower Managers as Culture & Engagement Leaders

Speaker: Beth Sunshine, SVP, Up Your Culture

When culture isn’t consistently lived out across the organization, engagement suffers—and it often starts with a disconnect at the top. In this session, Beth Sunshine, SVP of Up Your Culture at The Center for Sales Strategy, will reveal how HR and executive leaders can close the gap between vision and execution by equipping frontline and mid-level managers to become culture carriers.