November, 2012

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The Worst Sales Call of 2012

SBI Growth

In 2012 our consultants attended 438 live sales calls. Two weeks ago, we participated in the worst sales call of the year. I thought I would share this story with you. I hope to help you avoid some mistakes. The story begins with the EVP of Sales of a large technology company. He hired our firm. The purpose of the engagement was to understand why The Challenger Sale was not working.

Banking 129
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How The Social Media Movement Has Changed The Face Of Selling

MTD Sales Training

I have spoken many times on this blog about how the sales process has changed, and that the modern day buyer now makes their purchasing decisions in a completely different way to their predecessors. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]].

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The 14.5 Definitions of Trust

Jeffrey Gitomer

Tweet Trust is everywhere – it’s ubiquitous and omnipotent. 1. The risk of trust and trusting – trust is a risk. 2. Initial trust is tentative. 3. Trust is a form of faith. 4. Trust lowers resistance. 5. Trust lowers barriers. 6. Friendship leads to trust. 7. Business relationships leads to trust. 8. Business deals are based on trust. 9.

Sales 93
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On Being Productive….

Engage Selling

'It’s amazing what 5 hours of uninterrupted time with no Internet or phone can do to your productivity: 42 emails sent. 300 emails filed / deleted moved. 2 Sales Quizzes written. 2 video scripts written. 1 proposal sent. Client project finished. Platinum and Gold November Sales letter written. Vanity Fair James Bond issue read cover to cover – BTW the article on Obama’s decision to get Bin Laden is excellent but there are not enough pictures of Daniel Craig in the issue.

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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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The Achilles Heel of CRM Adoption (and 2 Ways to Overcome it)

SBI

I was recently reminded of two very important and strategically crucial data points while attending Sales2.0. The first revenue-numbing fact is that 65% of a sales rep’s time is spent NOT doing what they are ultimately paid for—selling [1]. According to studies, the ratio of time spent on non-selling tasks to time spent on selling tasks is 65/35. The second equally disturbing data point is that 74% of sales organizations have poor CRM adoption [2].

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Qualifying Leads and The Budget Question

Sales Gravy

Sales is about knowing what questions to ask, when to ask them, why to ask them, how to ask them, who to ask them to and what to do with the responses you are giving. "When should I ask “What is your budget?” when qualifying a warm (Inbound) lead?

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The Top 5 B2B Prospecting Mistakes To Avoid At All Costs

MTD Sales Training

Prospecting mistakes are the most deadly errors you can make in professional selling, in large part because they are so difficult to quantify. Sales mistakes and blunders in the sales process or in. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]].

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The Lineup for Webinar Bootcamp

Jeffrey Gitomer

Tweet. Be a part of it. Register here – [link].

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How is this Possible?

Engage Selling

Today I unsubscribed to CIBC’s marketing email messages and I noticed the following fine print: “you can unsubscribe by clicking here. Please note that your request to change your Do Not Solicit Email preference may take up to 10 days to process.” 10 days? This is the case of a company leading with process rather than with the customer’s best interests.

Banking 63
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Sales Lead Management Association Honors

SBI

Does your business success depend on leads? If it does, you’ll want to know how to generate the most leads , how to capture the most leads , how to best score and qualify leads , how to track which leads convert to prospects, and the list goes on. The Sales Lead Management Association (SLMA) is an online resource for answering these questions and more.

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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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Basic Fundamentals of Driving Success in Any Economy

Sales Gravy

In an uncertain market, successful salespeople realize there is an opportunity to build, yet many put the brakes on their own success by feeding into the negativity around them and permeating this attitude throughout their organization.

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39% of Marketers Do Not Have a Defined Content Marketing Strategy

SBI Growth

In the Future of Content Marketing survey, 39% of nearly 60 respondents indicated they did not have a defined content marketing strategy. If you have read my past three articles on content marketing ( article 1 , article 2 , and article 3 ), then this percentage number is strikingly similar. This percentage further validates the findings of a recent survey by eConsultancy , which found 38% of 1,300 businesses, did not have a defined content marketing strategy.

Marketing 125
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People Love To Buy, But Hate To Be Sold

MTD Sales Training

You did everything right. You maintained an excellent prospecting track and qualified the decision maker. You got through a tough gatekeeper screen, set a good appointment and sealed it with cement. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]].

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Webinar Boot Camp: {Re•defined} Yourself

Jeffrey Gitomer

Tweet December 10-14, 2012. Do not miss this. Here’s the lineup: Monday, December 10th. Jeffrey Gitomer , Sales {Re•defined}. Tuesday, December 11th. Darren Hardy , Productivity {Re•defined}. Wednesday, December 12th. Lisa Sasevich , Closing {Re•defined}. Thursday, December 13th. Mitch Joel , Social {Re•defined}. Friday, December 14th. Jeffrey Gitomer , Q&A {Your Questions Answered}. * Spaces are limited to 1000 – Don’t Wait!

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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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Sales Quiz: The Power of Referals

Engage Selling

Referrals are one of the most powerful tools to generate sales. So why do sales reps not use them more often. Take the quiz and find out! And for more strategies based on this quiz question, check out this article.

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Sales ToolSkool: @Docusign

SBI

I’m Nancy Nardin. Welcome to Toolskool, where you’ll learn about great tools that will help you increase revenue. This week’s topic is eSignatures and I’ll be talking about a solution that helps your reps close deals faster. Look, If those of us in sales know one thing, we know that time kills deals. It’s essential to get contracts signed as quickly as possible.

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Hiring the New Sales Force: Transition from Solution-Selling to Insight-Selling

Sales Gravy

Through current technology and pre-hire survey methodologies based on behavioral science, employers have a consistent, reliable, and efficient means of checking references.

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How CEOs Can Teach the Board to Evaluate Sales Performance

SBI Growth

This post is written for CEOs who want to teach the board how to properly evaluate sales performance. According to Spencer Stuart , the average age of a board member in corporate America is 62.4. Many of these individuals made their fortunes in their 40s. When they were running businesses, life was vastly different. They used the information available to them to make decisions about the future of the business.

Sales 124
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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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Top Five Reasons Sales People Fail

MTD Sales Training

Sales people can find dozens of reasons for failure, as can many sales managers and supervisors. However, there really aren’t a whole lot of reasons for failing in professional selling. The reasons. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]].

Sales 119
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Persona Ecosystem – High Impact Exercise to Dial-in your 2013 Marketing Plan

SBI Growth

Marketing leaders can gain a competitive advantage by executing a high value exercise Develop a Persona Ecosystem. For marketing leaders tasked with acquiring new customers this is the most valuable exercise you will perform all year. This exercise is a standard component of the SBI Lead Generation playbook for our clients and I want to share it with you.

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Quick Tips to Utilize Social Selling and Leverage Your AEs Today

SBI Growth

60% of the buyer’s journey now happens before your Account Executive interacts with a prospect. This is why there is such a push for compelling content marketing strategies these days. Blogs, ebooks, webinars, social media. This is all of the utmost importance in generating fresh leads. As the Sales Leader, you have high expectations for Marketing to deliver.

Media 123
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Implement an Account Management Process Before It’s Too Late

SBI Growth

Over the next four years the Cloud Computing market is going to double. Yes, double. In fact, according to IDC, the cloud computing market is going to move from $28.4B to $67.3B. Market moves like the expansion of cloud computing don’t happen frequently. As a VP of Sales Operations at a cloud computing company the stakes couldn’t be higher. This is a make or break moment in your career.

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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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Land More Prospects By Broadcasting Your Customer's Voice

SBI Growth

The sales world is changing rapidly. Buyers are now closer to making their purchase before a rep gets with them. Content that supports buyers in their decision is king. With so much information at their fingertips, prospects are more empowered. But your job as a sales rep is to influence the prospect's buying decision. Today’s post offers a way to influence the buying decision without saying a word.

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How To Evaluate Your Sales Process for the New Year

SBI Growth

Many sales leaders judge the effectiveness of their sales process by the level of field adoption. (“Are the reps using it? Then it must be working. Let’s move on.”). This is lazy thinking. Adoption rate is a function of execution, not effectiveness. Execution means: did you roll it out successfully. do you reinforce it regularly. do your managers drive compliance.

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Is your Sales Ops Leader Delivering Results?

SBI Growth

The 2013 Number came back from the Board for the VP of Sales. They expect a 20% increase over your “best case” 2012 finish. Who do you turn to for help? Regional Sales Leaders? Human Resources? CFO? VP of Sales Operations? If you answered anything other than #4 , revisit the value your Sales Operations Leader is providing. If you have a world class Sales Ops Leader, you’ll know that this is your first and best resource.

Sales 121
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Why Content Marketing Matters to a Sales Rep

SBI Growth

I’ve heard a lot of talk about “ Content Marketing.” It gets great reviews from C-Level executives, marketers and even sales managers. But how does Content Marketing help the Sales Rep? How does it help them make more money? Today’s post outlines the benefits of Content Marketing from the Sales Rep’s perspective. This is the Problem. I had a recent conversation with a Sales Rep named Seth.

Marketing 120
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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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Moneyball: Sales Performance by the Numbers

SBI Growth

Actually, this article isn’t about your standard numbers. We won’t touch on revenue, percentage of quota, customer retention, etc. This article is about your ICP – that is to say, your Ideal Competency Profile numbers. At the end of the day and the end of the year, you know what you’re evaluated on. But it’s your ICP numbers that will help to increase your close rate and put money in your pocket.

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Need a Shot in the Arm to Drive More Leads? Crush it with LinkedIn Ads

SBI Growth

Marketing leaders can finish the year strong by shifting ad dollars to LinkedIn Advertising. The opportunity is there to get the right message in front of the right buyers to drive leads. In my last post, I provided marketing leaders a summary of the new LinkedIn features. In the past week, LinkedIn rolled out yet another new feature with positive implications for lead generation.

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How to Anticipate the Next Compelling Event of the Buyer Process

SBI Growth

The generator got louder as I approached. The deli at 15th and 7th Avenue was serving a line of people. The rest of lower Manhattan was completely dark thanks to Hurricane Sandy. Only two other businesses had generators. The hurricane compelled them to buy the machines. Your Buyers face their own compelling events. If you are the leader of Sales Operations , ask yourself a few questions: Have I prepared the Sales team for the next compelling event?

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How To Overcome The Fear Of Cold Calling

MTD Sales Training

You are all ready to go. You have all of your leads for the day prepared and lined up in front of you. You have all of your rebuttals ready, and you have rehearsed your main talking points. You are. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]].

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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