October, 2023

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5 Tips to Build Stronger Relationships in Account Planning

Janek Performance Group: Account Planning

In B2B selling, we often focus on new accounts. These build business and increase revenue. With that, it’s easy to neglect existing clients. We assume, if they’re buying, they don’t need attention. However, according to Altify: Companies receive 60 percent of their sales revenue from existing customers. When selling to existing customers, 56 percent achieve win rates greater than 50 percent.

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Making your strategic planning practical – how much time should I spend?

CSSP

Sometimes it seems there are just two views of strategic planning: it’s either a one or two-day retreat, or it’s an all-consuming, constant exercise. The “strategy light” version – a one or two-day retreat, seems super practical, while the “heavy strategy” version – a constant or months-long excursion – seems far less doable. While these impressions are somewhat accurate, it’s a mistake not to examine the middle ground.

Banking 93
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Unlocking Account-Based Sales: Is Your CRM Enough?

Revegy

In the competitive B2B landscape, focusing on specific high-value accounts has proven to be a vital strategy for long-term success. Key accounts are identified as a company’s most valuable clients. They are the most likely to bring in big chunks of revenue and build lasting relationships. Unlike traditional sales methods that cast a wide net, […] The post Unlocking Account-Based Sales: Is Your CRM Enough?

CRM 64
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3 Exceptional Examples of Strategic Planning in Higher Education

Envisio

The landscape of higher education is one of rapid change and innovation. Institutions are constantly challenged to adapt and plan strategically to ensure that they stay relevant, on-mission, and competitive. While current and prospective students are critical stakeholders for higher-education institutions, there is also a board of governors, a complex internal employee system of both educators and administrators, and the broader local community.

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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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Elevate Your Game: Strategic Prep for 2024

AchieveIt

A quick look around outside reveals the leaves are beginning to fall and temperatures are starting to drop. For many in the business space, this means one thing: it is time to start annual planning for 2024. At the top of the priority list for each organization on a calendar year format is deciding the direction of their strategic plan for the upcoming new year.

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Navigating the New Generation of Strategic Account Managers

Strategic Account Management Association

Denise Freier, President and CEO at Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA), and Dino Bertani, Vice President, Head of Alliance Management at Zealand Pharma, talked about what’s shaping the role of KAMs/SAMs in today's business arena, and how Sales and KAM/SAM leaders can enable KAMs/SAMs to meet current and future customer needs. The post Navigating the New Generation of Strategic Account Managers appeared first on Strategic Account Management Association.

More Trending

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A Guide to Sales Enablement AI 

Upland

ChatGPT and dozens of other artificial intelligence (AI) products have made a big splash for AI a bit of a novelty recently, dominating the conversation around productivity and efficiency in the B2B world. Its many evolutions and the powerful AI of today make it an irresistible tool to many. Many writers use AI to spark ideas. Customer success leaders leverage chatbots to lighten workloads.

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Leadership conversation skills: SCARF model of neuroscience in social interactions, collaboration and relationships

Red Star Kim

I first mentioned SCARF in an article about neuroscience and leadership Leadership: Lessons from Star Trek and Neuroscience – Kim Tasso back in 2012. There David Rock talked about the neuroscience of leadership – the need to still your mind, improve emotional regulation, watch non-verbal signals and take care with feedback. On feedback he mentioned research by Naomi Eisenberger showing that the brain treats social pain much like physical pain.

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How to Define Differentiation that Matters in a Changing Economy

Force Management

Competitive differentiation is at the core of every organization’s sales strategy. It’s why customers choose your solution and why sellers get excited about bringing your product to market. As markets change, though, customer needs change too. It’s possible that your differentiation may need to adapt to fit these changing customer behaviors.

Marketing 146
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3 Ways to Excite Your Buyers

Software Sales Guru

3 Ways to Excite Your Buyers Most prospects are content to stay with the status quo because the personal risk associated with attempting change looms large. This is especially true if the need they have is something technical, like the monitoring of logs or single sign on. Intellectually they know things could be improved, but this is not a visceral or emotional pain point for.

Software 130
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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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How to Make Strategic Customer Engagement a Top Competitive Advantage in 2024

Strategic Account Management Association

The Congruity Group leads a webinar to help revolutionize your approach to customer engagement and create a lasting impact on your company’s growth. The post How to Make Strategic Customer Engagement a Top Competitive Advantage in 2024 appeared first on Strategic Account Management Association.

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Rethinking Enablement for the Future: The Power of Commercial Effectiveness Integration

Mike Kunkle

Introduction In today’s fast-paced and challenging business landscape, maximizing organizational success hinges on seamless coordination across various functions. Nowhere is this truer than with the commercial organization. At the core of this synergy lies a concept that wields immense influence in driving revenue and ensuring organizational performance – cross-functional Commercial Effectiveness.

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How complexities prevent and improve employee and customer experience

Customer Think

Posted originally at [link] How complexities prevent and improve employee and customer experience Is your organisation losing value and capacity to complexity? In this article we provide a short framework for understanding some of the most common sources of complexity in any organisation.

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System review: CogniClick for instant, personalised research reports using AI

Red Star Kim

CogniClick is a nifty system (backed by an expert team) to enable you to conduct fast, quick polls and pulse surveys amongst your clients and stakeholders and to also develop maturity assessments and similar thought leadership content. It has the potential to transform client communications, fast-track the generation of research and thought leadership and fuel content management campaigns.

Banking 130
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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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Sales Training Tips to Help You Reinforce MEDDICC

Force Management

It’s easy to find a sales training company to help you enable your teams. Google it and you’ll find plenty of options that run the gamut of experience and cost. The challenge lies in finding the right sales transformation solution to help you solve the challenges you’re currently facing and drive the outcomes you need.

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The 5 Worst Types of Sales Messages and How to Fix Them, According to Reforge's COO

Hubspot Sales

You don’t get many chances with your prospects. Send a self-serving, pointless, or pushy email, and they’ll probably write you off. Do it again — and they definitely will. As a result, you should think carefully about every message you send. Does it provide new information? Does it have a clear purpose? Does it somehow benefit the buyer? If you can’t answer “yes” to all three of those questions, head back to the drawing board.

Sales 122
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The Surprising Power of Silence On Sales Calls

Sales Gravy

Silence Isn't Awkward— It's A Powerful Tool In this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Keith Lubner, Sales Gravy Executive VP, and Jessica Stokes, Sales Gravy Master Sales Trainer, discuss strategies that leverage discomfort on sales calls to drive engaging conversations and achieve better outcomes. By intentionally using silence, sales professionals can prompt prospects to actively engage and lean into the conversation.

Sales 119
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Insights from the SES Experience 2023: A Glimpse into the Future of Sales Enablement

Sales Readiness Group

SRG had the privilege to witness the evolution of sales enablement at the SES Experience 2023. Marking our fifth year at the event, this edition was truly distinctive. Here are some highlights and a sneak peek into the paradigm shifts in the sales enablement arena as we move into 2024.

Sales 118
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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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Using AI to Understand Customer Sentiment: Sentiment Analysis in Social Media

Customer Think

Social media platforms have become the epicenter of communication, opinion-sharing, and customer interaction. With millions of users expressing their thoughts and feelings on various topics every day, social media has evolved into a treasure trove of unfiltered, real-time data.

Media 121
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Persuasive writing – Mindset, audience, headlines, key points and stories

Red Star Kim

At the October PM Forum writing workshop we welcomed delegates from law, accountancy and forensic firms to the City offices of Simmons & Simmons (thank you for hosting!). The workshop covered writing basics, the psychology of persuasive writing and how best to adapt to different media and channels. We explored writing from professional services firms and looked at how to improve our firms’ written content.

Media 130
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Latest Podcasts: Tactical Leadership

Force Management

This month, the Revenue Builders Podcast featured some great deep dives into tactical sales strategies. Each episode covered a different element of a great sales motion, breaking it down step-by-step in conversation with seasoned leaders and experts with years in the industry. The result is a collection of hard-earned lessons, blueprints for success, and golden nuggets of advice that can only come from leaders who have been in the barrel.

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How to Understand Your Prospects Better With AI [Expert Insights]

Hubspot Sales

When I think of sales, I picture friendly handshakes, lively chatter, and the spark of human connection. After all, it's a people-driven business. It relies on human intuition, persuasion, and relationship-building. At first glance, AI may seem out of place here. Yet, it can actually give us a better understanding of our prospects, making that human connection stronger.

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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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Why Roleplay Is A Winning Sales Training Strategy

Sales Gravy

Why Roleplay Should Be A Key Part of Your Sales Culture In this podcast, Jeb Blount, Jeremy Olson, and Kristin Isaacson discuss the importance of role-playing in sales. They emphasize the need for leaders to create a culture of role-playing and accountability within their teams. They also highlight the benefits of role-playing in helping salespeople improve their skills, gain empathy for the customer's perspective, and build confidence.

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6 Things You Need Before Entering Sales Negotiation

Sales Readiness Group

In the modern, competitive sales landscape, negotiation is no longer simply about price. It is about value. Smart sales professionals know that a deep understanding of how the deal will unfold and who will be involved is crucial to setting yourself up for a successful negotiation. But what are the key elements you should focus on before entering into negotiations?

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B2B Companies are Paying Outrageous Costs for Marketing and Sales Misalignment

Customer Think

There’s a lot of talk about the differences between demand creation (marketing), demand capture (sales), and brand (marketing). B2B companies’ approach each of these as if each needs its own strategy implemented separately, with different teams carrying the responsibility for each function. Quite often these teams work in silos.

B2B 119
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Telephone call challenges: Emotions, data, selling and follow up

Red Star Kim

Accountants, lawyers, paralegals, patent attorneys and financial advisers (both professional advisors and dedicated business development professionals) joined me at an MBL workshop on telephone skills for client service and selling. We explored the fundamentals of relationships, managing inbound calls and planning outbound calls. This article supplements the learning resources from the session.

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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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How to Define a High-Impact Priority for Your Sales Kickoff

Force Management

As we approach 2024, sales leaders face a critical task: setting the right priorities for your Sales Kickoff event. The past year, marked by economic downturns and shifting market dynamics, may have presented new challenges for your sales team. Those challenges can be opportunities for your team to learn and strengthen your approach in the coming year.

Sales 134
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Can You See Who Viewed Your LinkedIn Profile?

Hubspot Sales

Networking on LinkedIn brings you something a cocktail hour doesn’t: data. So you might be wondering, who viewed your LinkedIn profile? Well, you can find out. However, it’s what you do with the knowledge that matters. In this article, we‘ll dive into how you can see your profile views. You’ll also learn how you can increase your visibility. Let's dive in.

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4 Key Traits Of The Most Successful Sales Leaders

Sales Gravy

The Best Sales Leaders Share These 4 Traits On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Sales Gravy Senior Master Sales Trainer Brad Adams talks with Learnit CEO Damon Lembi about maintaining authenticity and integrity as a sales leader. They discuss the importance of doing the right thing, the four key traits for successful leadership (humility, curiosity, integrity, and courage), the significance of continuous learning and sharing knowledge with the team, and why organizations should invest in

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How to Choose the Best Sales Training Company For Your Business

Sales Readiness Group

Choosing the best sales training company for your business is more than just a decision. It is an investment in the future success of your sales team. But what makes sales training such a crucial component of this process? Let's explore the benefits of sales training and key considerations for finding the best sales training company.

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The GTM Intelligence Era: ZoomInfo 2025 Customer Impact Report

ZoomInfo customers aren’t just selling — they’re winning. Revenue teams using our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform grew pipeline by 32%, increased deal sizes by 40%, and booked 55% more meetings. Download this report to see what 11,000+ customers say about our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform and how it impacts their bottom line. The data speaks for itself!