How well do you know your buyer’s journey?
For sellers of professional goods, and services, in today’s competitive business environment, it’s important to understand your buyer’s journey before they make a purchasing decision. We find that there are four steps that play out, predictably, regardless of industry or location. Buyers start talking, internally, about what they think they need. They share experiences about
Habits of salespeople who thrive during times of economic uncertainty
Are we in the midst of – or are about to enter – a period of economic uncertainty? Who knows? But some high-achieving salespeople don’t just survive hard times – they create new “personal best” performance levels during potential down cycles in their business. How do they do it? In a new white paper, the
5 metrics to include in your goal-setting playbook for the new year
The first month of the year is a classic time for business owners, and sales professionals, to identify and focus on their most important personal, and professional, goals. We’ve noticed, though, that the goal-setting behavior of an organization’s leaders during the month of January tends to have the biggest bottom-line impact on the year, as
How to finish the year strong
The holiday season is already upon us and you might be wondering: “Where did 2022 go?” Maybe you and your company had a great year, blowing through your billing projections and setting revenue records. Or you might be asking yourself: “What went wrong and how do I prevent it from happening again?” But, before you
The importance of pre-qualification
If you’re in sales, sales management or business development, here’s a reality check for you: Are you counting on closing a deal or projecting income from an opportunity that isn’t fully qualified? Whenever we ask sales professionals this powerful question, we often hear an awkward silence in response. Sometimes that silence is because the person,
How to blow past your sales goals in Q4
For many organizations, and industries, the last quarter of the year is often considered the most important. It’s when budgets are met (or not), initiatives are decided upon and planning begins in earnest for the new year. Smart sellers know Q4 is when they can blow past their revenue goals, no matter how daunting they
Five critical skills of a sales leader
Whether you are new in your role as a director of sales, or sales manager, or fancy yourself as an “old hand,” at my company, we believe there are five important skills a sales leader should develop over time to be successful: Be engaged. As the leader of your team, you’ve got to be engaged
Timeless selling principles (and how to apply them)
If you’ve been keeping up with this column, you may have noticed a theme: the fact that it’s never a bad idea to “get back to the basics” and constantly hone your skills in an ever-demanding business development environment. For many professional sellers, the concepts, and ideas, to which they regularly adhere have been refined
Are you using the early days of the season to hone your skills?
It’s the time of year when hope springs eternal, all 30 teams are undefeated, the weather is perpetually glorious and families are already thinking about summer vacation plans. It is an annual ritual for baseball players, and fans, dating back to the late 1800s, and, over all those decades, one thing remains constant: no matter
This is March Madness
If you’re a sports fan, you already know that “March Madness” refers to the annual NCAA single-elimination college basketball tournament. The month of March also signifies the arrival of a new season, Major League Baseball’s spring training and the promise of warmer weather just around the corner. It’s worth noting people also have used March Madness to
Still struggling with forecasting sales for 2022?
Sales has traditionally been an intuition-driven profession: “What’s in your pipeline? What do you think is going to close?” But these days, that approach puts companies and organizations at a major competitive disadvantage. In this data-driven era, sales leaders need to make decisions in response to real-world market changes, up-to-date assessments of the marketplace, accurate
3 Questions for the New Year
Happy New Year. As we continue to reboot to whatever the “new normal” is, here’s hoping that this year will be one of health, happiness and prosperity for you and your company, or organization. As you focus on the days and weeks ahead, you might find yourself reflecting upon successes and/or failures over the past