14
2012
Excuses why now isn’t a good time to sell
First, allow me to apologize for the time lapse since my last post, I don’t want to bore you with excuses, it’s simply a matter of time and priorities. I recently joined the Sales Management Association that is headquartered here in Atlanta. I attended my first user group meeting last week and I had the opportunity to meet some really great people and am so…
20
2012
Which is more Important, Sales Effectiveness or Sales Efficiency?
Make no mistake about it, LinkedIn discussions often times provide some great insights and information. Take the discussion that Alex Gammelgard recently posted in the Sales Enablement Gurus group, around sales effectiveness versus sales efficiency. Her article is based around the Gartner Group article on “How to Analyze Your Sales Processes on Efficiency Versus Effectiveness, August 15, 2012.” I would like to quote some excerpts…
08
2012
Why your sales people need knowledge NOT information
Salespeople are inundated with information. The problem is that they will very often waste a tremendous amount of time sifting through masses of content to find exactly what they need. Clearly, that is a very inefficient process. What salespeople really need and want is just-in-time sales knowledge that is specific to their company, customers, competitors and products. Information alone simply isn’t nearly as valuable as…
23
2012When Business Applications, like CRM’s Fail to Deliver Full Value
In an economy that is as rough and tough as this one is, organizations need to make sure that every dollar they spend for business applications has an ROI around it. In a recent article posted by ebiz, Hollis Tibbetts wrote that “Business applications (like Salesforce.com) are failing to achieve full value”. Click on the link below to read the complete article. http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/integrationedge/2012/03/business-applications-like-salesforcecom-failing-to-achieve-full-value.php In short,…
11
2012
How do you treat your company’s intellectual capital?
The BusinessDirectory.com definition of intellectual capital is a “collective knowledge of the individuals in an organization or society.” It includes customer capital, human capital, intellectual property and structural capital. Although largely intangible and very often difficult to measure, intellectual capital is now widely regarded as a true capital expense for a company. The reason for this is because the investment in and replacement of employees…
27
2012
The Cost of Not Investing in Sales Intelligence
It always amazes me that more organizations don’t recognize the cost of not investing in sales intelligence. I think I should start by defining what I mean by the phrase “sales intelligence”. Sales intelligence refers to any information, knowledge, or experiences that can be used to educate, enrich and enable the sales force to be more effective and productive. I believe that sales intelligence goes…
30
2012
4 ways to turbo-charge your sales!
According to a CSO Insights Sales Performance Optimization Report, some 41 percent of sales people are failing to hit their sales quotas while overall revenue attainment dropped from 88.2 percent to 85.9 percent. If your company is experiencing difficulties in winning new business, here are a few ideas to transform your sales performance. Reduce new hire ramp-up time The CSO Insights Sales Performance Optimization Report 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….
03
2012
Let your sales people video their best customers and find out what they think!
I had the pleasure of attending a presentation here in Atlanta called “Collaboration tools for remote training teams”, hosted by the Atlanta Chapter of the Technology-Based Learning group. The group is made up of people who are involved with corporate training and Robert Gadd was the presenter. Robert is President of OnPoint Digital which provides innovative e-learning solutions and rich-media content that is delivered to…