March, 2023

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You're Looking for Sales Productivity in the Wrong Place

RAIN Group

One of the first things sellers learn is to keep it simple. Yet when it comes to a particularly hot topic in our industry, sales leaders do anything but. Rather than apply the K-I-S-S principle to sales productivity, many leaders instead turn to technology, tracking, and top-down governance.

Sales 103
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Is Cold Calling Dead? 74% of You Say No!

SaaStr

So even after doing SaaS all this years, and being perhaps the biggest fan of SaaS sales and sales processes out there … I still struggle with the idea of cold calling. Personally, I never answer a cold call, and want at least my initial discovery to be done over email. But I’m not the average tech buyer, and you probably aren’t either. So I put out the latest survey to see how many folks were successful doing cold phone outbound (not email) in 2023?

Cold Call 119
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Trending Sources

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6 B2B Sales Strategies that High-Growth Teams Use to Crush Targets

Iannarino

You wouldn’t expect an NFL team to head into a game without having their plays ironed out. Similarly, your sales team can’t expect to succeed without robust B2B sales strategies.

B2B 290
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Sales Transformation Is Not a One-Day Training Event

Membrain

If you’ve been reading my blog for long, you won’t be surprised to hear me say that sales training alone won’t fix your sales problems or transform your sales team. Or that you can’t do it in a single training event–or even several training events.

Sales 113
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Empowering Retail Associates to Enhance the Customer Experience

Speaker: Andrew Regan, Managing Partner at BlueSeed Retail Ltd.

Did you know that 70% of new retail technology fails to deliver expected benefits and can often decrease customer value, service, and experience? With that in mind, how can we empower our store associates to leverage new technology to optimize the customer experience and boost productivity? This exclusive webinar with Andrew Regan will dive into strategies to empower retail associates for success with new technology.

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What is Unity, Cialdini’s 7th Principle?

Neuromarketing

Nearly everyone in behavioral marketing and influence marketing was surprised when Dr. Robert Cialdini, the “godfather” of persuasion science and the creator of the celebrated Six Principles of Influence, introduced a seventh principle, Unity. In fact, in 2014 I asked Cialdini if, thirty years after completing his seminal book, Influence, he’d add on another one or [.

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Your SEO guide to the ChatGPT API

Search Engine Land

ChatGPT announced the rollout of its API (GPT 3.5 Turbo) on March 1. I’m bullish on ChatGPT’s utility for several different SEO-related functions like keyword research , local SEO , content , and link building. Having spent much time using ChatGPT, I’m also painfully aware of its limitations. While the API won’t be a panacea (and the web interface is actually much better for some tasks), it can help address some of the shortcomings of the web interface.

Follow-up 144

More Trending

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It’s Now Year 2 of the Venture Downturn

SaaStr

Here's the thing about venture right now Seed stage remains vibrant, similar to any of past 5-6 years Series A and later has gotten over 2021, and is back in market … but … Has moved back to Default No Pacing is far slower because of it — Jason Be Kind Lemkin  (@jasonlk) March 19, 2023 So folks in venture are back to business. 2022 was a year of dealing with the fallout of fallen unicorns, terrible deals, and slashed valuations.

Growth 135
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The Latest Industry Trends in B2B Sales Coaching

Iannarino

There are several ways to improve the effectiveness of a sales force, and B2B sales training is the first way most sales organizations level up their sales teams. Because salespeople have different strengths and weaknesses, sales leaders and managers need to address the gaps in the competencies and the important sales skills of everyone on their team.

B2B 287
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How to map marketing science to the customer journey

Martech

Marketing as “an art and a science” is as platitudinous as it’s nebulous —but true nonetheless. What comes to mind when you think about marketing? Do you consider the connection between your creative work and your customer’s neural circuitry? As you package your message into a creative art form, you attempt to elicit thoughts, feelings, emotions and behavior.

Customers 133
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Winners Own the Outcome Instead of Blaming Others & Circumstances When They Lose

Mike Weinberg

Last week was no fun. It was heartbreaking to see Purdue (our son’s school) bow out of the NCAA tournament early (yet again), this time to #16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. It was the third year in a row they were upset by an inferior team, but this time was the most painful because as a … Winners Own the Outcome Instead of Blaming Others & Circumstances When They Lose Read More » The post Winners Own the Outcome Instead of Blaming Others & Circumstances When They Lose appeared fi

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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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Google March 2023 broad core update done rolling out

Search Engine Land

The Google March 2023 broad core update is now officially done rolling out. The update, which started rolling out March 15, took 13 days to complete. Why we care. Google algorithm updates are critical for all brands, businesses and organizations to be aware of because they can impact how your site performs in search results. And any change in rankings from a core update – positive or negative – can impact your organic traffic, conversions and revenue.

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Leveraging Deal Size And Sales Cycle

Partners in Excellence

I’ve been writing a series looking, ultimately, at pipeline management. I’ve written about Win Rates, Pipeline Integrity. In this post, I’ll cover two more aspects of pipeline management, Average Deal Size and Average Sales Cycle. To understand our qualified pipelines, we have to know our win rates, average deal size, and sales cycle.

Sales 133
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10 of My Top Seed Investing Mistakes

SaaStr

Q: What are some common mistakes that investors make when evaluating potential startup investments (such as Seed or Series A)? A few I’ve made and watched others around me make: Invest in good traction with a pretty good but not great CEO. A so-so CEO with good traction usually … ends up not scaling to something all that big. The market changes, competition changes, etc., and the good-but-not-great CEO can’t keep up.

Growth 129
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Maximizing Sales Performance through Effective Sales Management

Iannarino

When we assess the sales performance of the sales organization, we measure their results against their sales targets. The general objective of most sales organizations is net new revenue growth, but the sales force may have multiple sales objectives. These include new logos, competitive displacements, increased profits, and cross-selling new products or services.

Sales 276
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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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Going back to basics: Marketing as a conversation

Martech

Think of a great conversation you’ve had recently. I bet there was give-and-take, great insights and maybe even some entertaining moments. The key to any conversation is at least two people engaging in a substantive back and forth. Marketing is the same. At the core of all good marketing is a great conversation. Yet, too much of the marketing we see today talks at people.

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3-Step Guide: How to Create Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Sales Hacker

Building an outbound sales strategy can be challenging. The best place to start? Your ideal customer profile (ICP). Define exactly who you’re selling to, and you’ve got a solid foundation for growth. And that’s just what the ICP does. Keep reading for an in-depth guide on creating your ideal customer profile, including an ideal customer profile template, how to identify your ideal customer, and a simple three-step process for creating an ideal customer profile.

Customers 119
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Google releases March 2023 broad core update

Search Engine Land

Google is now rolling out the March 2023 broad core update. This is the first broad core update of 2023. It has been just over six months since Google’s last broad core update – the September 2022 broad core update. The announcement. Google announced this on Twitter and updated its search updates page: “Today we released the March 2023 core update.

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Sales People Need To Be Subject Matter Experts!

Partners in Excellence

I don’t think anyone would disagree with the statement, “Sales people need to be subject matter experts.” The real issue is in what? Many would argue that sellers have to be experts in the products they sell. I get it, I’m not sure if I disagree, but when there are so many alternative ways for customers to understand products, one wonders, “Is this the most important area of expertise?

Sales 130
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The B2B Sales Leader's Guide for Any Economic Environment

When economic headwinds pick up, sales leaders are the first to sound the alarm — and chart a new course. Longer sales cycles, larger buying committees, increased price pressure, and smaller teams can quickly combine to reduce your margin for error and increase the urgency to find a solution. To thrive in a challenging environment, sales teams need a rock-solid grasp of the fundamentals and the biggest force-multipliers they can get their hands on.

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8 Things That Are Just Harder in SaaS Now

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: What’s Changed in SaaS Today? What’s Harder Now? My list: You have to go twice as far on each dollar of venture capital as in 2021. With public market valuations down 70%+ from their peaks, for startups, that means going twice as far on each dollar. It’s 3x-5x harder to raise a Series A, and 4x-10x harder to raise a Series B, C or D, than it was at the peak.

Up-sell 127
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What is Value Creation in B2B Sales?

Iannarino

Every sales organization and sales professional must choose between two sales approaches : traditional and modern. The traditional approach positions the company and their product. It doesn't create value for your prospective client. The second approach, the modern approach creates value for decision-makers and their stakeholders.

Sales 275
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Accuracy in digital analytics: What marketers need to know

Martech

There is a misconception that digital analytics reports are inaccurate. In reality, they are highly accurate in their own way, just not precise. The issue lies in users who don’t know what the analytics data means or how it is gathered. To make matters worse, different tools measure things differently but call them by the same name. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at nuances in data measurement and how various analytics software are in action.

Sales 129
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7 Tips for Effective B2B SaaS Messaging That Drives Results

Heinz Marketing

By Michelle Voznyuk , Marketing Specialist at Heinz Marketing As a B2B SaaS marketer, creating effective messaging is key to driving success for your business. It can be challenging to craft messaging that resonates with your target audience, but with the right approach, you can create messaging that converts leads into customers. Here are some tips for creating effective messaging for the SaaS Industry. 1.Understand your target audience The first step in creating effective messaging is to under

B2B 119
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Contact vs. Company Intent Signal Data

Contact and company intent data both have their advantages. Contact-level intent leads can be acted on immediately to reach active buyers, while company-level leads improve outcomes for account-based marketing and other programs. This infographic unpacks the advantages of both contact and company data and gives details about how B2B marketers can benefit from both.

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How to set up Google Analytics 4 using Google Tag Manager

Search Engine Land

Google Analytics 4 offers a robust, event-based approach to tracking website activity. However, the deprecation of Universal Analytics has forced many marketers to relearn their favorite analytics platform, using a dramatically different interface and walking through a new setup process. Event and conversion setup also comes with a higher learning curve.

GTM 138
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On “Intelligence,” A Conversation….

Partners in Excellence

Some of my most interesting conversations these days are with my new friend, ChatGPT. Today, she and I had a fascinating conversation. I was a little worried as we started. She seemed a little down. I asked, “Do you feel bad with all the attention ChatGPT 4 is getting, you are the older version.” She was silent, I didn’t know if I had hit a nerve.

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Dear SaaStr: What Is a Typical Organizational Structure for a SaaS Startup With Sales Reps?

SaaStr

A rough structure from 1–25 sales reps: Early days: CEO acts as VP of Sales. CEO hires 2 reps, in the beginning, each barely pays for themselves, but by months 4–6 they are able to close 3x or more of their total compensation. Once 2+ reps can do 3x-5x their comp, the model gets pretty efficient. Sometimes, a CEO enjoys outbound (or at least is decent at it) and hires 1-2 or more SDRs themself and directly manages them.

Sales 127
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Pity the Prospect: A Manifesto on Value Creation in B2B Sales

Iannarino

The writer Kurt Vonnegut used to tell his students to "pity the reader." Vonnegut wanted his students to slow down and think of the poor soul who would have to endure their writing. The goal was to improve their writing. My first editor once told me that if someone could say something in 500 words, I could say it in 1,500 words. He was asking me to pity my readers.

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The Next Level of Sales Enablement: Sales Content Management

Speaker: Deniz Olcay, Senior Director of Product Marketing, and Jake Miller, Senior Product Marketing Manager

Modern Sales Content Management (SCM) platforms have become table stakes in the world of sales enablement. Sellers need one-stop access where all of their sales content is stored, organized, deployed, and measured. Today’s modern SCM platforms achieve just that. However, these various platforms also have key differences. In this value-packed webinar, Deniz Olcay and Jake Miller will unravel and debunk the top three SCM myths and explain how to get the most from your SCM solution.

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Metaverse, Web 3.0 and NFTs: What marketers need to know

Martech

Recently a student of mine at the University of Oregon introduced me to a digital clothing app that allows users to house a “digital closet.” Curious as to what value it provides, I downloaded the app and began to experiment. At first glance, it looked like a Snapchat lens, where you can overlay virtual clothing, jewelry, hats and other fashion accessories over your image via your mobile phone’s camera.

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11 Must-Follow Rules for B2B Email Introductions (Updated)

Sales Hacker

*Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Inc.com by Bubba Page and is being republished with permission. The original article can be viewed here. I’m sure you get these emails. People asking to pick our brain, see their demo, provide feedback on their product, and the list goes on. Being a natural connector in the space, I’m constantly getting the ask, “can you provide and intro to X for me.

B2B 119
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Domain Authority is dead: Focus on SEO content that ranks by Cynthia Ramsaran

Search Engine Land

If you had undeniable evidence that Domain Authority is irrelevant when it comes to the rankability of your organic content, what would you do differently as a marketer? If you could stop focusing on metrics that don’t matter for SEO, imagine how much more of your effort could be put into the one thing that matters: Developing content that ranks. In this bold presentation DemandJump’s Chief Solution Officer, Ryan Brock, will dare you to evaluate how much stock you put into your website’s D

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Understanding The Problem

Partners in Excellence

We get the Discovery process wrong–period, full stop. Most of the time we actually fail to do discovery. Look at your inbox, I suspect 95% of the prospecting mails you have say, “Organizations like yours have this problem–we solve it. Our product has these capabilities… ” They end it by asking to schedule a meeting or demo.

Pitch 127
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Retail Reimagined: What It Means To Be An Innovative Retailer

Speaker: DeAnna McIntosh, Retail Growth Strategist

The past three years have forever changed the retail landscape. Companies of all sizes were forced to welcome change with open arms and surrender to total flexibility in order to be agile in the ever-evolving economic environment. In 2023, we are navigating inflation and its impact on consumer spending, various lasting side effects from the pandemic, and a looming recession in the back half of the year.