March, 2023

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Be more strategic – A metaphor: Analyse, join and align the dots

Red Star Kim

At the start of March, there was an online PM Forum workshop on “Being more strategic ”. Delegates were from legal and accountancy firms with roles as varied as marketing, digital marketing, business development, PR and key accounts (executives, managers and a director). Below is a summary of the key themes discussed and the poll results as a further learning resource.

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Sample strategic planning agenda 2023 strategic planning process UPDTE

Strategic Planning and Management Insights

Strategic planning Agenda for your next strategy meeting. We've been leading strategic planning meetings for the past 12 years (and counting), and we've tested dozens of different strategic planning agendas so that you don't have to. Use our experience to have the best and most effective strategic planning process.

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Three Proven Strategies to Increase Your Business Revenue Performance

The Center for Sales Strategy

Businesses need to continually strive for growth and success to remain competitive in the market. One of the most important goals for any business is to increase its revenue performance. Many strategies can be employed to achieve this goal, but three of the most effective and proven strategies are to focus on customer service and satisfaction, to identify new target markets, and to increase the efficiency of existing operations.

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New Leadership Development Programme from the Managing Partners’ Forum – Consensus through Collaboration

Red Star Kim

I’m excited to announce that the Managing Partners’ Forum has just launched a series of six modules for an innovative leadership development programme for firm-wide leaders of small and medium sized professional services firms. Versions for divisional, functional and aspiring leaders are expected in 2024. I have supported Richard Chaplin at the Managing Partners’ Forum since June 2022 on the research, feasibility, design and development of the programme – and discussions with six amazing speaker

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AI Strategies for Sales Managers: How to Cut Down on Tedious Admin Work

What if you could help your sellers stop wasting 72% of their day on non-selling activities and focus on bringing in revenue? Incorporating AI in your enablement workflows can help you cut down on busy work, get projects done faster, and let your team (and you!) focus on making a bigger impact. We put together this guide to show you how to use AI to cut time and costs for projects, including collateral creation, development of training videos, and automating tedious processes.

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Relationship Management Guide – Going Beyond the CRM

Upland

Relationship management in sales is all about delivering value and understanding the people and problems at play within accounts – both from prospective and current customers – in order to help solve their greatest challenges. It’s about sellers becoming trusted advisors to their customers and being the first one to get called to the strategy table when needs arise.

CRM 195
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Welcome email templates for nurturing new customers

Nutshell

Table of Contents 3 tips for effectively crafting any welcome email Prioritize your subject line Personalize whenever possible Proofread your message See the Templates Discount code Personalized video Free trial (Most Viewed Template) Brand promise Storytelling Community-focused incentive Hybrid Confirmation / Welcome From a Real Human “Welcome to Your Trial” Product-Focused Free Gift “Thanks for Subscribing” Reminder Email Onboarding When a prospect makes the decision to become your c

B2C 154

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How to Sell Services Online

Hubspot Sales

Long gone are the days of solely visiting brick-and-mortar businesses to find what you need. Now, e-commerce is booming and here to stay. You can also buy virtually anything online, including services. These services range from financial counseling to tarot readings. When we think about online selling, we usually think about selling products like clothing or electronics.

Media 133
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Understanding Sales Process, Methodology, and Competencies

Mike Kunkle

Sales process, sales methodology, and sales competencies are all important and related aspects of sales effectiveness. But they are not the same thing. Why care? Because getting these right, having them support each other, and fostering adoption and mastery, improves revenue plan attainment, individual rep quota attainment rates, and win rates. It’s been proven in multiple studies and is worth the effort.

Sales 130
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Roles, satisfaction and aspirations of Marketing and Business Development (M&BD) Assistants

Red Star Kim

It was a full house at the March workshop on “Practical and Professional Skills for Marketing and Business Development (M&BD) Assistants” although almost all delegates were from law firms across the UK. The discussions and polls (see below) provided interesting insights into the roles and aspirations of those entering professional services marketing.

Marketing 130
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Sandbagging in Sales – Is it a Relationship Problem? 

Upland

Having trouble setting accurate sales forecasts or seeing close dates consistently sandbagged to next quarter? You might have a relationship problem. Forecast calls around the world follow a familiar structure. Regardless of the size of your company, the sales leader gathers sellers and runs them through the standard set of questions. These usually include: What’s the latest update?

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2024, The Year of the Customer

2023's struggles fueled a shift: companies are ditching wasteful strategies in favor of data and AI-powered growth. Enter 2024, the year GTC takes center stage. Discover 5 ways a customer-centric approach unlocks new revenue and delivers lasting success.

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The Enlightened Customer Success Manager

Software Sales Guru

The Enlightened Customer Success Manager Koan = A paradox used in Zen Buddhism, usually a short statement or story that causes the hearer to take pause in order to develop enlightenment. CSM Koan= Assurances made by customer success managers reduce customer satisfaction. Has this given you pause? Let me explain. As I review CSM call recordings, there are CSM’s who make frequent assurances, such as: Read more The post The Enlightened Customer Success Manager appeared first on Software Sales Gurus

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How UX Design Factors Impact SEO and Engagement Metrics

Customer Think

The entire World is currently shifting towards a complete digital transformation. This means that having a user-friendly and effective website design is essential. When developing a website, it is crucial to have a top-notch User Interface (UI) and SEO to keep customers engaged.

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Handling Objections in Sales in 4 Steps

Sales Readiness Group

Handling objections is an essential part of the sales process. Although these can be challenging and even uncomfortable conversations, the sales professionals who navigate objections with finesse can build trust and move deals forward. Use this four-step process to address objections and concerns with confidence.

Sales 127
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7 Crucial Questions to Ask Prospects Throughout the Buyer's Journey, According to HubSpot's Sales Director

Hubspot Sales

Welcome to "The Pipeline" — a new weekly column from HubSpot, featuring actionable advice and insight from real sales leaders. Sales is an increasingly consultative profession. You could go so far as to say we're in the age of the "Always Be Helping" salesperson. That means reps need to provide prospects with helpful and specific resources as opposed to stuffing irrelevant information down their throats — but you can't get there if you don't understand where your prospect is coming from.

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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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Marketing in the Metaverse – An opportunity for professional services?

Red Star Kim

A fellow tutor at Cambridge Marketing College – Neil Wilkins – has completed significant research into marketing in the metaverse. He shared his views at a webinar earlier today. I’ve tried to summarise his key points here: Marketing in the Metaverse – An opportunity for professional services firms? Note: The metaverse isn’t an area of expertise for me.

Marketing 130
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Sales Forecasting Guide – Prioritize to Boost Accuracy

Upland

Sales forecasting is equal parts art and science, right? Well, not so fast. The ‘art’ aspect of sales forecasting doesn’t need to be an educated guest. In fact, having the right methodologies and best practices in place throughout the entire sales process, married with the right technology, can make sales forecasting look a lot more like an exact science.

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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.

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Operational excellence: An underrated strategy for riding through economic uncertainty

Customer Think

We are just one quarter into 2023 and it is certainly shaping up to be a tough one. We have already seen disruption in the tech sector with layoffs amounting to a whopping 140,000 people in three months.

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1st, 2nd, and 3rd Party Intent Data: Which Is Right for You?

How do 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party intent data compare? 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party data each have specific advantages and disadvantages. It comes down to four factors: accuracy, cost, control and quantity. This infographic explains the pros and cons of each and helps you understand which one is best for meeting your business objectives. Intent data can be a great way to fill your pipeline and close more deals.

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3 Tips to Build a Customer-Success Culture

Sales Readiness Group

In today's highly competitive marketplace, businesses can’t afford to take customer loyalty for granted. Every sales organization must prioritize customer success skills to build stronger relationships, differentiate themselves from the competition, and help retain clients for the long term. Use these three tips to foster a customer success culture in your business.

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How Your Revenue Team Can Avoid These 5 Missteps in 2023 and Beyond, According to Sendoso's VP of Revenue Operations

Hubspot Sales

As businesses continue to shift their strategies to create a more streamlined, efficient customer journey, it's going to become vital for every business to invest time, energy, and resources into a Revenue Operations team, otherwise known as RevOps. A RevOps team can help align your sales, marketing, and customer success departments and keep each department accountable for driving revenue growth for your business, while identifying potential areas of friction in your business at-large.

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Cultivate a cross-selling culture

Red Star Kim

We were joined by delegates from legal, accountancy and consultancy firms for PM Forum’s “Cross-selling and referrer management accelerator” workshop earlier in March. A summary of delegate discussion topics and poll results are shown below to add to the learning resources from the session. While we discussed various tools and methods to promote cross-selling and referral management, a key theme emerged around changing culture.

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Salesforce Account Planning: Turn Data Into Relationships 

Upland

Sold on account planning but don’t know where to start? For many, account planning in Salesforce is a logical next step. After all, their sellers are already using Salesforce regularly. Crafting structured account plans complete with vital data from Salesforce makes it easier for sellers to get the full benefit of account planning methodologies and build better relationships.

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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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The Changing B2B Sales Landscape: What Sales Leaders Need to Know and Do

RAIN Group

Sales leaders with a finger on the pulse of B2B sales know that marked change is underway. Some changes have been spurred by the global pandemic, with others hastened by the uncertainty of the economy. For their new report, Future of B2B Sales: The Big Reframe , authors at McKinsey & Company spoke to more than 50 heads of sales across a range of industries and geographies to better understand the shift in the B2B sales environment.

B2B 111
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Why You Should Upgrade Your Customer Service Strategy

Customer Think

Renowned architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist Buckminster Fuller said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” So what happens to a business or brand that can’t react to a changing model or environment?

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Setting Up Your New Sales Hire for Success: 5 Key Factors

Sales Readiness Group

Hiring and onboarding new sales hires can be extremely challenging especially for sales managers who lead, manage, and coach an existing sales team. Focus on these five factors to increase your odds of success with new sales hires.

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5 Roles Sales Decision Makers are Looking to Fill in 2023 [New Data]

Hubspot Sales

So you know you want to enter sales, you've chosen a field with a wide range of career avenues and niches. But locking in on a role you can secure and grow in can be tough. The demand for certain sales roles rises and falls as time passes. We wanted to provide you with a list of some of the most hireable sales jobs for 2023 and beyond — so you can choose the best job for you.

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The 2023 Supply Chain Crystal Ball: Challenges and Solutions

Speaker: Olivia Montgomery, Associate Principal Supply Chain Analyst

Curious to know how your peers are navigating ongoing disruption? The supply chain management techniques that dominated the last 30 years are no longer supporting consumer behavior or logistics and manufacturing capabilities. So what’s working now? What should your plans for 2023 include? By researching the supply chain challenges and solutions that businesses – especially small and midsize businesses – are currently experiencing, we’ve learned what’s working and what’s not.

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Book review: Mending the mind – The art and science of overcoming clinical depression (2021) by Oliver Kamm

Red Star Kim

Back in 2019 I reviewed a book about depression (see Lost connections – Why you’re depressed by Johann Hari (kimtasso.com) ) which was dismissive of medication for depression. I still like the book’s ideas about “disconnection” being a cause of some low mood and depression. But I need to correct the misinformation in that book about the effectiveness of medication for treating depression.

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Best Tips and Tricks for Pipeline Tracking

The Center for Sales Strategy

Pipeline tracking is essential for any sales team that wants to stay on top of their customer relationships and close more deals. It helps to ensure your sales process is as efficient, effective, and streamlined as possible. By tracking every step of your sales process, from lead generation to customer onboarding, you can ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

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Building community for Black History Month and beyond

Zendesk

Many of the events over the past year were historic, especially for Black Americans. From Ketanji Brown Jackson becoming the first Black woman to serve as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, to the killers of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd being convicted, to Maya Angelou becoming the first Black woman on the U.S. quarter, there have been several recent triumphs for the Black community.

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The Importance of Data Analytics in Customer Experience Management

Customer Think

With the vast amounts of data that companies collect from various sources, including customer feedback, social media, and website analytics, it has become essential to analyze this data to gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and needs. And ultimately deliver a consistent customer experience.

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How to Prove Marketing Value: Demonstrate Content ROI and Contribution to Sales

Every marketer knows how important it is to prove their efforts drive sales opportunities, but that’s easier said than done. When problems like sales and marketing misalignment, lack of data, and wasted efforts persist, marketers can’t measure, prove, or increase their impact on revenue at a time when demonstrating marketing value is critical. Using analyst and expert data, this guide to marketing impact and content attribution explains: How B2B buyers use content The most common types of conten