November, 2013

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Hire Better Sales People, Part 2

Anthony Cole Training

'In my previous post, I discussed the cause and effect of hiring better sales people and generating sales growth. I took a dive into the first step of correcting that recruiting problem by creating a profile that attracts more of the right people. This next part will deal with finding those people. In today''s world, communicating nearly everything is done online.

Pipeline 175
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But My Manager Doesn’t Coach!

Partners in Excellence

'If you are the sensitive sort, particularly about this topic, you may just want to skip this post, I’m a little angry. After writing, Who Benefits Most From Coaching , I was deluged with emails and comments on various forums. All had the same basic theme: “The managers in my company don’t seem to care about coaching.” Or, “It is non existent in my company, how do I get coaching when managers don’t want to coach?

Follow-up 129
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Trending Sources

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How to Know You’re Interviewing an “A” Player

A Sales Guy

'You want a killer way to know if you’re talking to an “A” player during an interview? There is one thing that the best of the best sales people do during an interview that others don’t. They ask the questions that matter. Let’s stop and think about it for a minute. What is an interview? An interview is a way for an employer to evaluate the ability of a candidate to do a job.

Quota 120
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Top 10 Ways Salespeople are Selling in the Dark

Understanding the Sales Force

'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan Did you happen to see the movie Gravity? Early in the movie the two astronauts, played by Sandra Bulluck and George Clooney, lose communications with Houston. From that point on, they don''t stop talking to Houston, they don''t stop reporting in, they don''t change protocol. What they do change, is they add a phrase to the beginning of each message.

Sell 125
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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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Case Study: How We Improved Landing Page Conversions by 79.3%

ConversionXL

'It took us 6 rounds of tests until we landed on a variation that was doing 79.3% better than the version our client had before coming to us. Background. TruckersReport is network of professional truck drivers, connected by trucking industry forum. It’s a great community for drivers to share information and assist each others careers. I guess it’s what you would call a niche site – but that niche is bringing them over 1,000,000 visits each month (close to 5 million pageviews).

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How Intent and Focus Drive our Success

Closing Bigger

'Today’s Podcast is on the power of intent in sales, leadership and marketing. We are being constantly told that what we focus is on is vital, yet the intention behind that focus determines the quality of our results. In his life-long study of Micro-Expressions Paul Ekman, Ph.D has proven that whether we realize it our not we are constantly telegraphing our intent and emotional state to those around us.

More Trending

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Insight Without Action Is Just Idle Chatter!

Partners in Excellence

'Today, we are all trying to engage our customers with Insight. But so much of what people think of as Insight ends up prompting no reaction from the customer. Perhaps, they might say, “Thanks for sharing.” Maybe you’ve gotten them more interested and they respond, “That’s interesting stuff.” Or you’ve gotten them hot and lathered and they say, “Wow, I’ve never heard that before!

Up-sell 127
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What to Do When You’re Prospects Don’t Keep Their Word

A Sales Guy

'We’ve all been there. Prospects say they will buy or they want your service or they will call you back and they don’t. They just disappear, in spite of their promises. Ray is a sales person with a client and he was struggling with this very challenge. I asked him to share his experience with this community, because his story is solid. You’re going to enjoy this.

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How Frequently Does Fear Play a Part in Sales?

Understanding the Sales Force

'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan One of the many things that hold salespeople back, prevents them from reaching their potential, stops them from crashing through quotas, doesn''t allow them to exceed expectations and never has them succeeding beyond everyone''s wildest dreams is their fear of failing. Fear of failing doesn''t affect everyone that sells.

Finance 110
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An Agency Presentation that Surprised Me

Pointclear

'James Obermayer, Executive Director and CEO of the Sales Lead Management Association and President of Sales Leakage Consulting is a regular guest blogger with ViewPoint. The agency came with all the right people: the creative director looked appropriately creative, the account manager appropriately agreeable, the agency founder and CEO appropriately serious and driven by a combination of the other two.

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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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How to Build Trust in Selling

Score More Sales

'It takes time to build trust. That’s why there is a buying cycle– why most people don’t buy on the spot. Buyers and sellers are doing a dance where the buyer has gotten research and ideas online or through another trusted source – perhaps even narrowed their choices down, and now work to find what they believe is the best value for them. If you are selling remotely – by phone, email and even video chat – you need to demonstrate to your potential buyer that your solution will

Trust 94
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Motivate Yourself by Motivating Others

The Sales Hunter

'One of the best ways I’ve found to motivate myself is to spend time motivating others. When we focus on helping others succeed, it is amazing how it rubs off and winds up impacting us. Putting effort into someone else requires focus and attention. If you think about it, these are two requirements when it comes to motivation. Being motivated means you’re focused and giving a significant amount of attention to a dedicated outcome.

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Does Your Customer Understand Your Differentiation?

Partners in Excellence

'I’m often amazed by the discussions–or absence of discussions on differentiation. In order to win, we have to differentiate our solutions, but we have to differentiate them in the areas the customer cares about. Most of the time, it’s long lists of features, comparing our solutions to the competition–with the goal being more boxes checked in our column than the competitors.’ We overwhelm and confuse customers with long lists of features, benefits, and whatever we

Customers 126
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Why Deals Get Stuck

A Sales Guy

'Deals get stuck for one reason and one reason only. Someone doesn’t believe what your selling is worth the effort, time or money at the moment. Deals get stuck because they lack urgency. Yes, your product or service solves a problem. It may make your customer’s world easier. It may help them launch a new product, reduce profits, minimize waste or whatever, but regardless of all that the buyer or someone else just doesn’t think that’s enough.

Launch 117
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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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Some Truths (You May Not Like) About Relationship Selling

Understanding the Sales Force

'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan I''ve heard this stated so many ways and so many times. "Dave, you need to know that our business is all about relationships!". There are four possible relationship scenarios: Strong relationship and you have the business. Strong relationship but you don''t have the business. Lack of relationship and you have the business.

Sell 102
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PowerViews with Matt Heinz: The Quality of Marketing Leads is Abysmal

Pointclear

'Who has control over when a sale is complete? Is it the salesperson? The marketing team? The client? Every situation is unique. But for a strategy to be consistently successful, a company’s sales and marketing teams need to be operating with shared goals — which is easier said than done, says my latest guest and longtime friend, Matt Heinz, president of Heinz Marketing.

Closing 100
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Are You Embracing Social Business

Score More Sales

'Click here to view the embedded video. There has been a lot of talk about the value of social business lately from a lot of sources. One sales expert I know recently went on a rant about how social selling has not affected KPIs in any of the companies they have talked with. They went so far as to say that many of us “other sales experts” don’t know what we are talking about when it comes to understanding business improvement and revenue increases.

B2B 91
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9 Things Your Last Customer Forgot to Tell You

The Sales Hunter

'Regardless of how you felt your last sales call went, there are a few things your customer just called me about and asked me to share with you. The customer said there’s no need to say “thanks,” but they do want you to adhere to these things the next time you come by: 1. Next time you visit me, would you please shut up and quit talking so much?

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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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“Let’s See How Much We Can Confuse Our Customers!”

Partners in Excellence

'I actually wanted to title this, “Let’s See How Much We Can Screw With Our Customer’ Minds,” but decided against it. I know no company would purposefully try to confuse it’s customers, making it very difficult for them to understand their offerings and buy. Unfortunately, that’s an unintended consequence of a lot of what I see happening in too many Go To Customer Strategies.

Customers 124
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When an Opportunity Arises, Can You Deliver?

A Sales Guy

'Last week I bought a new dining set for my home in the mountains. Because I’m not there often, I didn’t schedule a delivery date. I wasn’t sure when I was going to be up there to take delivery. The salesman told me that wasn’t a problem and to just call at least two days in advance to schedule the delivery. Well, I’m going this weekend, so I called them on Wed.

Service 115
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Opinion: Why Sales Win Rates Have Reached an All-Time Low

Understanding the Sales Force

'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan One of the findings in the most recent Sales Performance Optimization Study , from CSO Insights, revealed that the win rate for deals has reached an all-time low. Does that surprise you? Does this represent a change in buyer behavior? Is it a result of more competition? Are salespeople less effective ? Is it the economy?

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PowerMinute: [Video] Why Measuring Success on Cost Per Lead is a Huge Mistake

Pointclear

'Do you measure success on the basis of your cost per lead (CPL)? If so, you might want to think again. Measuring success through CPL is a mistake for three reasons. First, you can’t create the same umbrella lead for different solutions. Second, not everyone who visits your website and fills out a form is a lead. Third, actively nurturing long-term leads can halve your cost per deal closed.

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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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For LinkedIn holdouts – 30 Day Action Challenge

Score More Sales

'Are you one of those sales people or company leaders who has resisted LinkedIn but now you want to learn more? Do you have a profile but you have no strategy in place to leverage LinkedIn as one of the ways you build visibility and ultimately revenues? Every week I run into executives who are saying to me, “OK, I’m ready to put up my profile” or “I have a profile but don’t really know what to do next”.

Niche 90
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Sales Motivation and the Holidays

The Sales Hunter

'We all know how important sales motivation is. The level of sales motivation a person has is going to be reflected in the level of sales they make. Conversely, the more sales a person makes, the greater their level of motivation. This time of year it seems as if there is some holiday we have to work around, whether it be due to days off or a complete closing of a business.

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“No Decision Made” Is Still A Competitive Loss

Partners in Excellence

'Depending on the research you look at, “No Decision Made” has a huge impact on results we produce. The lowest levels I’ve seen with leading market research firms is a little more than 20% of forecast deals end in no decision made. Other reports have it going up from there, some as high as 50% of forecast deals. Recently, I’ve noticed a weird kind of psychology around these types of deals.

B2B 122
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Who Do You Learn From?

A Sales Guy

'Quick, name 4 blogs you subscribe to and read frequently. Me: Seth Godin . Partners in Excellence (David Brock). Sales Solutions Architect (Townsend Wardlaw). The Sales Blog (Anthony Ianarino). Jill Konrath. Now quick, name just two sales webinars you attended in the last 3 months: Me: Forecasting Accuracy Savo Group. Inside Sales Virtual Summit. Now, what are the last 5 videos’ you watched?

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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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Sales Candidate Shortage - More Proof That Sales Isn't Dead Yet

Understanding the Sales Force

'Understanding the Sales Force by Dave Kurlan As you probably know, many people have been writing premature obituaries about the impending death of selling. Of course, that''s been going on since at least 2006 when I posted my first rebuttal to this silly claim, and as recently as last month when I posted my latest rebuttal. It''s being perpetuated by extremist marketers who are claiming that inbound will become the be-all end-all.

Sales 98
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PowerMinute: [Video] Take Sales from Chaos to Kickass

Pointclear

'Too often, sales leads are dropped and business isn’t closed. 70-94% of all leads generated are ignored by sales reps because few leads sent to sales are sales-qualified. In all this marketing and sales chaos, little to no ROI can be measured from marketing investments. In an optimized salesforce, however, sales executives focus on closing business rather than finding business and virtually 100% of leads sent to sales are sales-qualified.

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Important Words in Sales – Tenacity and Optimism

Score More Sales

'In talking with many sales reps this week I’m hit with two words that come up when I talk with the most engaged, most passionate, and most financially successful. These two words are tenacity and optimism (with a reality check). 1 – Tenacity: n : persistent determination [syn: doggedness, perseverance, persistence, persistency, tenaciousness, pertinacity].

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Great Salespeople Don’t Settle for Average (Part 2 of a series!)

The Sales Hunter

'I’m continuing on my quest to tell you 14 things great salespeople do. 2. Great salespeople don’t settle for average. They are continually looking to not just make a number but blow past the number. At the end of a year, they don’t shut down because a number is in the bank. They keep going! It’s the last quarter of the year and you know you are going to make your number.

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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