30
2013
How to reduce ramp-up time for new sales hires
In a recent survey conducted by CSO Insights, some 70 % of companies claimed that the ramp-up time for new sales staff ranged from seven months to more than one year. This alarming statistic raises several interesting and important issues: Even though many companies claim to hire only experienced salespeople who can hit the street running, current research and data prove otherwise….
08
2013
Don’t Talk About Products, Instead Talk About Solutions!
In thinking about creating my latest blog, one of the things that came to mind was a credo that I actually have posted on my wall above my desk. The credo that I created goes like this: Think the way your Customer Thinks Look at yourself through your Customers’ Eyes Listen to yourself through your Customers’ Ears Speak in terms of what Matters to Them…
01
2013
The number one reason why most sales calls fail (and what you can do to avoid it!)
Believe it or not, a surprising number of sales professionals still rely purely on luck and good social skills when attempting to sell at an executive level. Unfortunately, good fortune and a winning personality, while certainly helpful, are not proven strategies for delivering consistently successful results. In fact, when some 10,000 C-suite executives were asked in a recent survey to reveal their major hesitation in…
17
2013Is your sales team focused on the right target market?
There have been some really good articles written and some great LinkedIn discussions around the whole area of sales enablement and what’s working and what isn’t. So, it got me to thinking about a problem with a lot of organizations, and it centers on whether or not they have a clearly defined target market for their sales team to go after. If you were to…
04
2012
5 reasons your company needs a Sales Knowledge Management Solution
Companies that provide easy access to sales-relevant knowledge within their organization are giving their salespeople both the tools and the opportunity to significantly outperform competitors who don’t have access to similar knowledge. A Sales Knowledge Management solution that allows salespeople to quickly and easily retrieve the exact just-in-time knowledge and content they need can drive the buying process forward, build deeper trust with prospects and…
17
2012
2012 CEO’s Focus on Top Line Growth through Sales Enablement
In the latest 2012 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report from ExecuNet, (July 2012), they reported that “CEO’s continue to wrestle with economic uncertainty while searching for ways to boost performance, retain top management talent and deliver results to shareholders. So, what exactly, is keeping chief executives incredibly busy by day and awake at night? Top line growth. The pursuit of new revenue streams, the development…
10
2012
Selling Myths and Realities
I attended one of the first Sales 2.0 conferences that Gerhard Gschwandtner of Selling Power Magazine held about ten years ago and had the pleasure of sitting with and meeting Michael Nick. Michael is the author of four great books on selling called: “Why Johnny Can’t Sell, ROI Selling, The Key to the C-Suite” and his new eBook, Why Johnny STILL can’t Sell. Michael also…
24
20124 steps to fixing your sales and marketing disconnect
Every CEO or business owner is painfully aware of the disconnect that often exists between marketing and sales. But, surprisingly, awareness doesn’t always lead to action. Even though aligning the efforts of the sales and marketing teams can lead to 25 percent higher quota attainment and a 20 percent increase in win rate, some 80 percent of companies admit that they have no formal strategy…
13
2012
Bridging the Sales & Marketing Disconnect is No Easy Task
I wanted to get back to this discussion because it impacts so many organizations. This isn’t a new problem, it is one that has existed for decades and there are no clear signs of remission despite many efforts to find a cure. One of the problems clearly is in how the two entities, Sales and Marketing, identify themselves and what they believe their mission is….
27
2012
Why there is a Sales & Marketing Chiasm
In my last blog post “Why Sales throws Marketing under the bus (and how you can avoid the fatalities)” it is clear that we struck a nerve that has a profound effect on a number of organizations. I got some great comments and feedback from a lot of you on your personal experiences in this area. So I wanted to delve a little deeper and…