Expert Tips & Actionable Insights

I don’t know how many of you have developed a TikTok addiction recently, but anyone with small children could probably spot the symptoms of the newest social media obsession. Even if you don’t have kids, you’re probably familiar with social media addiction. More than half of us use Facebook or Instagram every single day. Which means you can use social media to reach half of your market every single day. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? No one ever says they couldn’t use more leads.

Oftentimes, we forget that for the sales enablement function to really work, there has to be a little give and take. Of course, sales enablement’s purpose is to, well, enable sales. However, sales reps need to know that they can go to sales enablement for valuable insights and clarification.

It’s not that sales and marketing are out-and-out fighting with each other. It’s more that they just won’t acknowledge that the other one exists. As if they don’t desperately need each other to achieve even the basic level of competence at their jobs.

You may have a game-changing product, but if you don’t know how to sell it, that level of awesome is a moot point. On the other hand, having a more mundane product isn’t a death sentence if you know how to sell the hell out of it.

One of the top challenges executives cite when asked what’s getting in the way of them hitting their growth goals is finding and feeding the top of the funnel.

Hiring for SDRs that hold out for the long haul, can be a daunting task. Maybe you’ve had bad luck in the past or have seen colleagues struggle to fill SDR roles. Even so, try not to feel discouraged if hiring SDRs is your responsibility. There are a few misconceptions that tend to sway our opinions about SDRs.

“The most important and most valuable service you can provide is an excellent experience.” – Cindy Kennedy, District Manager for Corus360 Customer service is a critical component to driving revenue and account expansion. In this episode, Cindy Kennedy tells us why listening, trust, and responsiveness are inseparable from sales success.

We’ve all been there…the company with the negative culture. The one where you’re afraid to raise issues to your boss. And the one where you secretly search for a new job.

There’s never a shortage of people complaining about their clients. You can get stuck in that kind of thinking, but there is another way of looking at things. It all comes down to the way you think about yourself and your client. After all, you can’t do a great job taking care of clients until you’ve taken care of yourself.

This guide covers virtual selling best practices: You’ll learn how to authentically connect with decision-makers, hold a prospect’s attention, build a powerful business case for the value provided by your solution in real time, and move deals to close.

There is a cause-and-effect relationship between developing your people and your sales results. Sales coaching is all about looking forward and developing your people to increase their performance, and it’s growing in importance. High-revenue growth companies invest more in coaching and get better results than lower revenue growth companies. Learn all about Sales Coaching and why it’s a must have for any organization.

The Guide To Powerful Sales Prospecting is the definitive source for up-to-date sales prospecting techniques and best practices.

Research by LinkedIn revealed that while 65% of salespeople (and 72% of top performers) say they always put the buyer first, only 23% of buyers agree. That’s a serious discrepancy — what’s to blame for the mismatch? The single biggest roadblock to implementing a truly buyer-first approach: “Lack of the right skillset among existing sales talent.” The solution is obvious: Sales training that embodies the five principles of the buyer-first mindset — a value-based approach to sales training that creates customer-obsessed sellers who forge long-term relationships. Luckily, that’s what this guide is all about. In it, we’ll cover the fundamentals of value-based selling and how to build a customized sales training program, drive adoption and measure its impact.

For revenue executives concerned about hitting ever increasing targets, generating more qualified leads, increasing the return on their sales teams or creating world-class sales organizations, one of the most effective approaches is to focus on their B2B sales experience – but what does this really mean?

It’s time to get back to basics. That means developing the sales prospecting techniques to reliably fill the pipeline with qualified opportunities. Here’s a real-world example of what I’m talking about.

Renewals, especially when it comes to the “as a service" business model.

Early in the first quarter is the time to focus on building our pipelines to achieve, or even overachieve, our sales goals in 2017. This requires us to market to generate opportunities, nurture current leads, attract new buyers, capture web visitors and drip content to potential buyers, presumably, until they are ready to buy!

While curiosity may have killed the cat, it also helped the sales rep close the deal …

Just listen and you’ll hear it. Towards the latter end of most calls the sales reps starts saying things like, “OK, I’ll send you this”. Or, “sure, I’m happy to set up that demo”. Or, maybe, “no problem setting up the next meeting and I’ll be sure to bring along our technical expert to talk with you”. It happens a lot.

Blustery conditions are expected in Pyeongchang, South Korea for the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Even so, the athletes will surely be donning their country colors with pride and preparing to give their best as the competitions heat up. With consideration for elite competition and reaching the top of your game, now is the perfect time to warm up those cold calls to build your pipeline.

Sales training, just as every other initiative in a company, must compete with shifting priorities and an often fluid business climate. When training is delayed there is an impact to the bottom line, to shareholders and to employees – but how many companies spend the time to quantify that impact? What is the actual cost of delaying sales training? While funding sales and marketing training may be a game of managing priorities – there is one priority that never goes out of fashion – REVENUE GROWTH.

For too long in too many organizations, inside sales has been seen as a stepping stone to working in the field, rather than a career in and of itself. As such, it’s often perceived as easier than some other sales roles when, in fact, it can be more difficult to connect with someone without the aid of non-verbal cues and less time to build a rapport.

We focus a lot of attention on B2B sales prospecting because sales teams understand its importance in achieving long-term sales success. They also know, at least intuitively, that it takes time and tenacity to continuously find and convince prospective buyers to select your solutions. Unfortunately, too often sales professionals aren’t as dedicated to outbound prospecting as they should be.

If you’re in sales you probably think about selling something, right. After all, that’s what you’re expected to do. Problem is, that type of thinking results in what I call “thinking small”. You’re always focused on the short term; the little picture, what you can sell someone.

Every executive I know tasked with hitting a revenue target has the same challenge – getting more qualified leads into the top of the funnel. And just like the rest of us, they all hope there is a silver bullet to effective prospecting – something that will make it easier, less painful, and drastically reduce the chance of rejection of them and their teams.

If the B2B sales cycle is a marathon, Q4 is the final half-mile. It’s a time of triumph, defeat and resiliency — and when you’re in the middle of this race, it’s difficult to find time to reflect.

Reading the sales headlines lately is enough to make any sales professional anxious. Robots taking their jobs, buyers not needing them, millennials not wanting them. I am not surprised some of the professionals I talk to wonder when their career will end.

Salespeople are hunters. We go after the big opportunity and land the sale. Sure, this hard work yields success, but winning new business is only one part of the equation. What are you doing to retain your customers after the initial sale is made? Does your organization have a “leaky bucket” model?

He then stressed the importance of improving seller websites, creating moments of nuance, and focusing on rep-mediated digital experiences — it’s that final point that I want to expand upon.

How can you differentiate your company’s solution, especially in a crowded or commoditized market? First, you must recognize that being different is not the same as being differentiated. Being different is merely a tally of your unique capabilities and attributes. Differentiation means you successfully connect your unique capabilities to your individual prospect’s problems.

July is prime vacation season for those living in the northern hemisphere. Days are longer, and life feels lighter. Prospects also tend to turn on the Out of Office auto-response on email and voice mail.

A sales professional I know landed one of the biggest deals of his career when he least expected it: while vacationing in Hawaii with his family. He was sitting poolside, watching the kids, when an executive he’d met briefly at a trade show sat nearby. He struck up a conversation and before everyone left to get ready for dinner, they’d agreed to meet again to discuss a strategic partnership that remains firmly in place years later.

I’ve been in B2B sales for over 20 years, as a sales rep, sales manager, sales leader, consultant, and trainer. With my career spanning the information-technology revolution, I’m reminded every day how technology has forever changed and continues to change the behavior of both sales professionals and buyers. Since the IT highway continues to accelerate, it will be the survival of the fittest sales professionals who thrive in the competitive marketplace versus those who are passed over with an antiquated skillset of salesmanship.

“Summer breeze, makes me feel fine…” may be the lyrics of a 1972 Seals & Crofts’ tune, but this summer seems anything but fine. This summer, the economy is uncertain and people are anxious.

I love the Olympics. The competition is fantastic and more than the competition, I love to hear the stories of the talented athletes. The journeys of hard work, adversity, triumph and their excitement to be at the games is truly inspiring.

I was conducting a deal review with a client the other day. I was speaking with a bright, experienced sales rep who had been with the company for several years and knows her product offering very well.

For most of us working in a sales role, the end-of-year is a crazy time. We’re busy closing the quarter, and often, the fiscal year. The pressure is huge as we make sure revenue is delivered by New Year’s Eve. Now that we’ve hit December, it’s important to not let that intensity wind down. Instead, power up to make 2018 a year where you break your own sales records.

Year-end is a stressful time for most of us in Sales. We’re racing to the finish line to try to meet – or hopefully exceed – our quota, and there are always variables that are beyond our control. I’d like to share three proactive strategies so you can stay on top of all the moving pieces, and close deals as expeditiously as possible.

I was walking into my local ice rink the other night as we had a game. I play on a men’s league team – often referred to as the “beer league”. The ice rinks are pretty quiet this time of year. The fall/winter hockey season has ended and the spring/summer leagues and training camps aren’t running yet.

At some point, every courtship reaches a pivotal moment. All that investment in getting to know one another boils down to one question: Are you ready to commit?

Prospecting is one of the most difficult tasks for sales professionals. It takes commitment and consistency – but, most of all, it takes patience. Salespeople are not always the most patient people in the world; we love to move things forward quickly to drive results. However, in the world of prospecting, patience and discipline will reap rewards.

As 2017 came to an end, there were a few key purchasing decisions I was considering. The time had come for our firm to upgrade our infrastructure and technology platforms. Going through the buying process we created a complete list of requirements, vetted a number of suppliers against the requirements, eliminated options and came up with a short list. Finally, after proposals, negotiations and many meetings, we made and executed our decision. I made a few sales reps extremely happy!

Pitchverb; gerund or present participle: pitchingto throw or fling roughly or casually."He crumpled the can and threw it into the alley."By definition, “pitching" is done without care and often ends with a lackluster result. While the definition we use in sales may be more targeted, the outcome is the same.

Credibility gets you in the door. These days, as we rely even more heavily on virtual communication, it’s more essential than ever to have a solid, value-based credibility introduction. To establish credibility, you must focus on the other person and their issues. In time, this will let you determine the potential value you can bring to them. Credibility intros are used in prospecting the very first time you reach out, but they are also used throughout the sales cycle.

There are times in a sales cycle when you realize your prospect has lost momentum and you sense that you are no longer on the same page. Perhaps they outright state they’ve lost the urgency to make a change, or worse, after a number of promising calls, you now get total silence.

There is a cause and effect relationship between developing your people and your sales results. Although this may seem like a common sense statement, too many companies ignore the connection or don’t act on it. Our latest research survey, conducted by Training Industry, shows that 53% of individuals who work at companies that achieve high-revenue growth believe sales coaching is always or almost always effective.

In order to succeed at selling, you must get in front of prospective buyers and pursue qualified opportunities. Both activities sound fine in theory but tend to fall short in practice. Too often plans to call on someone fall through, either because we let time get away from us or allow fear of failure to take hold.

Insightful open-ended sales questions keep you i control of the sales conversations. Imagine you have the meeting. You have been trying to schedule it for a long time. It is with a high-level executive in a key prospect account. This is it—your shot to create an opportunity. Now what? What are you going to talk about? What do you want to accomplish? How do you prepare? Always be improving your questioning skills.

Inside sales historically was an entry-level sales position, often a feeder to a field or territory sales role. Today, inside sales is growing exponentially faster than outside sales and has become a career in and of itself.

One of the largest challenges for organizations I hear consistently focuses on the predictability of revenue generation by the sales teams. Critical business decisions around investments across the organization and if revenue targets will be achieved combine to create a great deal of pressure on how effective a sales team is at delivering reliable forecast accuracy.

Are you spread too thin these days, working through leads from two broad-based ads and a major trade show? Are you having trouble prioritizing prospects because everything is given equal weight? Are you making cold calls without confidence because there isn’t enough time to do adequate pre-call research?

Technology is a boon to the sales profession. It helps automate, amplify, and accelerate. Tech tools can help us organize our day, research prospects, streamline outreach, and efficiently keep track of our progress. But, that said, our reliance on technology also makes it way too easy to hide behind a screen.

“What’s the impact your solution will deliver to your prospect?” That was the question that I asked a sales rep during a recent opportunity review. His reply was, “well, the proposal that I’ll be putting in front of the Chief Marketing Officer will be around a half-million dollars”. I said, “I’m not asking what the cost of your solution is. I’m asking what the prospect expects to receive in the way of impact to his business.” The sales representative’s response, “I’m not sure.”

Having spent the last decade working for agencies I can say, from experience, it is a tough business – especially when the goal is to scale creative agencies. Digital agencies, marketing agencies, PR firms, management consulting or any other flavor you can think of, there comes a time when leadership focuses on remaining relevant and revenue growth.

There has never been a time when successfully closing complex, B2B deals depends more on a sales person’s credibility.

Typically, there are several main reasons a deal stalls. A would-be buyer fails to see how your solution solves their biggest business issue. You haven’t drawn a significant distinction between you and your prime competitors. Maybe you aren’t interacting with someone with decision authority. Then again, maybe they have purchasing power but do not see the value in your offering. Or, lastly, the purchase feels too risky for the company right now.

People buy from people. When you can forge a human-to-human connection and bring something of value to the table, you can create an opportunity.

Whether a deal is worth $50K or $5M the need to engage procurement early and often is something I’ve seen the most accomplished sales executives avoid or stumble over. The question I am left asking many is simply, ‘Why did you wait so long to start talking to procurement?’ The response is too often silence; however, it does not need to be. One of the critical factors today is figuring out how to engage procurement to win your deal.

Growing up, I remember watching the long-running TV series, “The Wide World of Sports.” The opening preamble was legendary: “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… This is ABC’s Wide World of Sports!” The imagery—ski jumper Vinko Bogataj in an epic crash, tumbling down the mountainside—is etched in my mind forever.

One of the upsides in sales is that success is simple to quantify. It is always, no matter what other executives or board members or peers tell you, about the numbers. Every day numbers are evaluated, totals discussed and strategies for shortfalls analyzed.

Most salespeople dread objections. Objections from prospects that typically surface toward the end of the sales process can feel like a roadblock to success. Although you may see objections as signs that your prospect is not going to move forward to purchase your solution, try to shift your perspective.

What is in your power to control? As a sales representative, you may be stuck with a crappy territory or you may be waiting for R&D to release the latest product enhancements – neither are things you are able to change. Yet, there are plenty of variables that you can influence in order to make your quota.

Say what you will about Elon Musk, anyone who has ridden in or driven a Tesla will tell you how the ‘entire experience’ is just better. The sales model is different – gone are used car salesmen and dealerships stretched across acres of asphalt. The product is different – meticulously designed with a near perfect balance of the physical experience of driving a car and the incorporation of technology. The company is different – one of the fastest growing in terms of market cap quickly overcoming decades old competitors.

Sales leaders and revenue executives face numerous challenges – yet none seem as pressing as understanding how to increase the volume of qualified leads entering the sales funnel.

A COO I know, recently took a call from an account representative for a content marketing platform. Her startup was interested in partnering with the company to establish thought leadership and generate leads. After sitting through a lengthy, canned introduction of the company, the executive cut to the chase and asked for specific activity in the energy space.

There are times when sales reps identify opportunities that, for whatever reason, they just can't win.

U.S. astronomer Cliff Stoll learned after he turned to teaching that it takes more than compelling statistics to shed insight. “I thought all I had to do was show people the data and they would understand. But it doesn’t work. You have to tell a story,” he once said. Such sage advice applies to sales professionals as much as stargazers.

The breadth of options for B2B outbound prospecting continues to expand, providing sales professionals more opportunities to engage with potential buyers. There’s email, social media, face-to-face networking, texting, video chats, chance encounters and, of course, the phone. Having all these options, doesn’t matter if they aren’t used properly, and often, though.

How much homework do executives do on their own before they engage with a supplier? Probably more than most people realize. By one recent estimate, these C-level business people are 70% along in a typical B2B purchasing decision before they have a conversation with a supplier.

The pressure on Olympic athletes is staggering. One false start can send a sprinter or hurdler home. That’s all it takes to destroy more than four years of labor and dedication — and yet, these incredible athletes come back after another four years of hard work.

Prospecting is the lifeblood of any sales career, but too often other activities eat into plans to introduce ourselves and establish credibility with targeted decision-makers. We talk a lot about creating value-based conversations, but to get to those talks, you must devote the time needed to nurture prospects in different stages of engagement. Here’s where a sales cadence comes into play.

Let’s go old school with a quote from the Greek philosopher, Socrates: “Life is full of questions. Idiots are full of answers.” More than 2000 years later, his standard of reasoning holds true especially when it comes to meeting with a prospective buyer. We want to avoid coming across like an idiot by having all the answers. Instead, it’s the buyer’s perspective that we need to discover.

“The largest misconception about communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw In a recent ValueSelling Associates/Training Industry survey, two-thirds of executives said sales reps calling on them are not effective communicators. That is an unacceptable grade attributed to a group of professionals whose primary job is to communicate and connect with buyers.

Remember the old adage of the elevator sales rep? The long and short of it is this: An elevator company hires a salesperson. He immediately identifies all of the new construction in his territory and goes after everything, relentlessly — only no opportunities move forward.

“More than 50% of US college graduates, regardless of their majors, are likely to work in sales at some point,” according to an article in the Harvard Business Review. Yet, how prepared are they to effectively communicate with executives? What will separate the outstanding salespeople from those who struggle and bumble along?

There are numerous reasons some sales professionals better predict the future than others. They stay up on current events and trends to quickly recognize hot or cooling markets. They accurately analyze data to project industry trends and competitor positioning. And, they regularly engage with decision-makers to discover business pain points and their remedies.

As we enter a new year, it’s a time to reflect on the past and set goals for the future. This year especially, most of us are ready to turn the page and focus on what’s ahead. Here’s our advice to get you motivated, invigorated, and ready to start the new year!

Are you finalizing plans for your company’s sales kickoff meeting? While your vision is likely to include inspiration, learning, recognition, and team building, often sales kickoff events don’t live up to expectations. To top it off, Gartner research finds that B2B sales reps forget 70% of the information they learn within a week of training, and 87% will forget it within a month.

When it comes to business acumen, how well does yours measure up to a busy executive’s expectations? Do you have a firm grasp on their industry? Their specific business issues? Such deep understanding requires deep learning, and that requires deep research—and dedication to continuously build a knowledge base.

Setting yourself apart from your competitors should be one of the first things you do regardless of what you are selling. People always want to know how you’re different, especially if you charge a higher price point.

Too many sales executives get caught up in their Linkedin numbers, the followers, the contacts, the likes – but a network, like everything in sales, should be measured on its ability to produce results. To get the best results, to even perhaps get past the limits of the human brain and the Dunbar Number, there are three things a sales executive must be deliberate and consistent about with their Linkedin Network.

I was told by a friend recently it’s been scientifically proven that our concept of time speeds up as we age. I wonder if that is why it seems there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done including making sure I continually expand my mind.

Predicting the future is never easy, given conditions can shift and new disruptions emerge a moment’s notice. There are, however, some trends in sales that we expect to continue or gain momentum, including strong adoption of automated, artificial intelligence-based sales tools, the need for solid sales coaching, and a return to business communications basics.

As you well know, 2020 had a tremendous impact on sales leaders, salespeople, and learning and development professionals. The rapid shift to virtual selling and the collapsing delta between B2B and B2C buying behaviors fundamentally changed how most of us interact with customers and prospects — and the results weren’t always pretty.

GUEST: Geoff Atkinson, Founder and CEO of Huckabuy

GUESTS: Ken Grohe, President & Chief Revenue Officer at WekaIO