Sat.Mar 29, 2025 - Fri.Apr 04, 2025

article thumbnail

How to Write A Strategic Planning RFP - A step by step guide

Strategic Planning and Management Insights

What to consider doing before strategic planning (stakeholder engagement) If you need research & benchmarking, consider doing it first rather than within the same RFP/vendor (this is a very different area of expertise than strategic planning and facilitation) Things that arent essential within a strategic plan but that can be done before, alongside or afterwards (but will add to the time, budget, scope) such as scenario planning, competitive analysis/P5F, benchmarking, etc.

article thumbnail

Q1 Sales Performance Gut Check

Sales Gravy

This is a very important Monday because this is the first Monday of the second quarter and its time for a major gut check and assessment of where you are against your number, coming out of Q1 and what you need to adjust and think about as we move into Q2. Start with setting aside a dedicated, focused time block of one to two hours for reviewing your: Q1 Results Current state of your pipeline 2025 goals & Personal business plan Evaluate Your Q1 Performance Against Your Sales Goals Begin with an h

Insurance 103
article thumbnail

Dive Into Email Engagement With the Link Report

Nutshell

Tracking engagement with your marketing emails is a critical part of determining whether your strategies are working. And measuring marketing effectiveness is more than just looking at metrics like email open, click, and unsubscribe ratesits also about seeing which recipients are clicking your high-priority calls to action (CTAs), so you can gauge your audiences interests and behavior.

article thumbnail

How Women in Leadership Are Mastering Influence, Credibility, and Tough Conversations

SBI Growth

The path to leadership is more than climbing the corporate ladder. True leadership comes with overcoming obstacles, creating space for others, and mastering the art of negotiation and influence. This theme was reflected in the March 2025 Womens Growth Forum , where a group of female executives came together for a candid conversation on navigating leadership challenges.

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

The Comfort Trap: Why Playing It Safe is Costing You

Whetstone

While being comfortable feels good, in strategic account management, its a silent killer. It lulls teams into predictable routines, fosters complacency in long-term relationships, and creates a false sense of security. In an era where artificial intelligence, shifting buyer behaviors, economic uncertainty, and rapid digital transformation are reshaping industries, it is a trap that stalls growth and erodes competitive advantage.

article thumbnail

How Coaching Transforms Sales Performance and Culture (Ask Jeb)

Sales Gravy

Dennis from Chesterfield, Missouri, wants to know if sales coaching truly moves the performance needle, especially when shifting from transactional approaches to more consultative selling. Below are the key insights from our conversation on why coaching matters, how it boosts sales and culture, and what leaders should do right now to make it happen.

More Trending

article thumbnail

Seamlessly Manage Contacts With Smart Lists

Nutshell

Lists and audiences have always been a sneaky powerful part of Nutshellthey let you seamlessly filter and sort all of your companys contacts and leads so you can send the right message to exactly the right people. Now when creating a list of your contacts, you can easily choose whether its a smart list or a fixed audienceso you pick whether it updates dynamically or includes a set group of your customers.

article thumbnail

Breaking Free: Why Key Account Management Must Escape Your CRM’s Gravity

DemandFarm

For years, Key Account Management (KAM) has been confined within the walls of CRM systemsSalesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and HubSpot. The logic was straightforward: if customer data already lives inside a CRM, why manage key accounts elsewhere? But this assumption, simple as it is, hides a fundamental flaw. CRMs are systems of record. They track transactions, monitor pipelines, and organize data.

article thumbnail

How Sales Reps Should Break the Rules

Sales Gravy

Alls fair in love and warand sales. At the end of the day, what really matters is whether the deal closed or if you were left holding the bag. Did you make quota this quarter? Did you crush your numbers? Or did you fall short? If you missed quota, chances are you played it too safe. You followed the so-called 'best practices'the ones that average reps cling to.

Sales 56
article thumbnail

AI Agents: What They Are, How They Work, and Why You Should Probably Invest in Them (Especially If You’re An Enterprise-Level Business) [+ New Data]

Hubspot Sales

Before you start Googling: No, AI agents arent secret spies fueled by mysterious government schemes. The AI agents Im talking about actually serve an entirely different purpose. And I know youre probably like, Whats this lady even going on about? I know I sound cryptic AF, so allow me to explain further. Despite their misleading name, AI agents were designed to assist, enhance, and optimize the operations and workflows of various businesses, especially enterprise-level ones.

CRM 52
article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

LinkedIn Profile View Notifications: Track Who’s Viewing Your Profile

LinkedFusion

Have you ever wondered who’s been checking out your LinkedIn profile? Understanding LinkedIn profile view notifications can give you valuable insights into your network connections and potential opportunities. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about LinkedIn profile view notifications, from checking who viewed your profile to leveraging these insights for professional growth.

article thumbnail

How to Avoid the 5 Most Common Sales Hiring Mistakes

Brooks Group

Hiring sales professionals can feel like a hassle, but its one of the most important business decisions you can make. Be sure your time and effort dont go to waste. Avoid these five common sales hiring mistakes weve seen organizations make time and time again. Sales Hiring Mistake #1: You dont define exactly what the position needs. Too often, sales professionals are hired based on likeability.

article thumbnail

Are You Managing Partners or Building True Alliances?

Peter Simoons

Expanding market reach is an ambition many organisations share, but few truly grasp what it takes to do so effectively. One company found itself at this crossroads. Their network of partners had helped them establish a presence, but these relationships were transactional, inconsistent, and failing to drive real growth. They saw the potential of alliances but lacked the structure and expertise to turn these partnerships into a strategic advantage.

article thumbnail

Webinar: Step into the future of account management: Meet DemandFarm’s KAM AI

DemandFarm

See how DemandFarm is redefining account planning in the era of AI, and finally making it possible for key account management teams to focus on selling. Catch seasoned KAM practitioners Jeremy King – Lead, Strategic Growth @ TrendyMinds and Harsh Sanklecha – AVP, Customer Success @ DemanadFarm share their unfiltered take on whats game-changing, whats just noise and whats on the horizon for AI-driven account planning.

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

Did You Know? Assigning Parts of a Plan

Revegy

In todays fast-paced business world, effective collaboration and clear task delegation are key to achieving success. One of the most powerful features for your team is the ability to assign parts of an account or opportunity plan to team membersand its more valuable than you might realize! 1. Leverage Team Member Insights By incorporating input […] The post Did You Know?

Sales 52
article thumbnail

How to Choose the Right AI Software for Your Wholesale Distribution Business

QYMATIX

Please enter your Email address Email Address Submit “We cannot change the direction of the wind, but we can set the sails correctly.” This sentence by Aristotle (or was it Plato?) may be thousands of years old, but it gets to the heart of what sales managers need to pay attention to today. Wholesale distribution is in a class of its own.

article thumbnail

Enabling Negotiators to Say No: Four Steps for Systematic Improvements

Vantage Partners

If you were to ask commercial negotiators what their objectives were, I think 9 out of 10 would probably say something like get a deal or get to yes. It is so ingrained in us that what negotiators do is make deals that we forget that not every deal should get done.

article thumbnail

Top 5 Org Chart Tools for HubSpot CRM in 2025

DemandFarm

Managing B2B deals means dealing with buying committees theres rarely a single decision-maker. Visualizing the org structure of your prospects company helps you analyze who reports to whom, who the influencers and blockers are, and about the teams relationships. This visibility is pure gold. You can see key players in HubSpot, that can strategize: e.g., identify a VP who needs nurturing or spot a missing contact in finance who could veto my deal.

CRM 40
article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

The New Rules of Talent Retention with Global Talent Advisor Steve Cadigan

Strategic Planning and Management Insights

The New Rules of Talent Retention with Steve Cadigan, LinkedIn's First CHRO, Global Talent Advisor and Author of Workquake.

63
article thumbnail

Evolving Sales Forecasting: From Factored Pipelines to Commit/Upside

SBI Growth

Companies selling into a complex B-to-B sales environment are shifting away from traditional, stage-based forecasting models in favor of more dynamic approaches, such as Commit/Upside. This shift reflects a broader realization: rigid, probability-based models often fail to capture the nuance of complex selling.

article thumbnail

Happy 17th Birthday ClearPoint Strategy!

ClearPoint Strategy

Celebrating ClearPoint turning 17!

59
article thumbnail

AI-Powered Tools are Transforming the Way Account Managers Work in 2025

DemandFarm

In the past, account managers spent significant time on manual tasks like logging customer interactions, scheduling meetings, updating CRM records, and manually tracking stakeholder engagement. These repetitive processes left less time for building relationships and closing deals. Now, AI automates these tasks, eliminating data entry bottlenecks, prioritizing follow-ups based on engagement trends, identifying at-risk accounts, and even suggesting the best time to reach out to a prospect.

article thumbnail

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.

article thumbnail

The Emblazers Podcast Ep. 7: Cracking the C-Suite Code with Preston Polk

Corporate Visions

Amanda DeVlugt and Tim Riesterer chatted with Preston Polk, seasoned C-level executive and former business unit CEO at Wells Fargo, to get all his advice on selling to the C-suite without losing your nerve.

52
article thumbnail

The Impact of AI on SEO agencies, with Kevin Gibbons

Account Management Skills

I spoke to Kevin Gibbons, founding director of Re:signal, a specialist ecommerce SEO agency, driving organic search growth for clients.

article thumbnail

Define KPI: The Ultimate Guide to Key Performance Indicators

ClearPoint Strategy

Define KPI and learn how to measure performance effectively with this comprehensive guide. Discover key strategies for aligning KPIs with your business goals.

40
article thumbnail

Importance of Org Chart Tools for Salesforce in 2025

DemandFarm

The average B2B purchase now involves over 11 stakeholders , up from just 5 a decade ago. This means that for key account managers and sales teams, this means an org chart tool for Salesforce is no longer a nice-to-have its essential. An organizational chart (org chart) integrated with your CRM helps visualize all the decision-makers, influencers, and gatekeepers in one place.

article thumbnail

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!

article thumbnail

5 Strategic Outcomes: Excellence in Performance Measurement Winter 2025

Envisio

High-performing public agencies are our favorite thing! Welcome back to our outcomes series, where we show whats possible when performance measurement is used as a foundation for strategic management. In this post, well explore how different public sector organizations are translating data into actionfrom delivering on climate resilience in public schools to expanding access to affordable housing, improving public health infrastructure, and managing community growth through thoughtful local gove

article thumbnail

How account management is evolving

Account Management Skills

AI is making agencies more efficient but most importantly it has the potential to free up account managers to spend more time deepening client relationships.

article thumbnail

7 OKR Examples to Drive Business Growth

ClearPoint Strategy

Explore actionable OKR examples to drive strategic growth and align your team with clear objectives and measurable key results.

article thumbnail

How AI is Transforming Whitespace Analysis in Sales

DemandFarm

Growth in sales isnt always about new leads. More often than not, the biggest opportunities are sitting within existing accountshidden in plain sight. The probability of selling to a new prospect hovers between 5-20%, while for existing customers, it climbs to 60-70%. Thats why whitespace analysisidentifying untapped opportunities within key accountsis a critical part of any expansion strategy.

article thumbnail

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