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By Nicolas Zimmerman, Editor-in-chief, SAMA. Whether you’re struggling to survive the pandemic or thriving and experiencing unprecedented growth, one thing is clear: We are experiencing radical shifts in how we conduct business with our most strategic customers. As conveners of the largest community in the world dedicated to strategic and key account management, one of SAMA’s foundational purposes is to help our community both adapt to what’s happening right now and prepare for what may ha
There’s a reason that the “murder board” offers such a strong visual representation of a case and is seen in some of our most favorite crime-shows. When a detective puts photos of all the suspects and their associates on a wall with strings mapping out details and relationships, it’s a great way to visualize how the characters relate to each other as part of a more extensive investigation.
Are you really THE expert? Research. Research. Research. We know we’re supposed to do it. The good ones do, the bad ones do very little, and then the great ones simply know its importance as they do it weekly, not just before a call. When I started out in sales I was told to do customer research. No one told me what I should be researching, why and how I should use it.
Share. 0. Tweet. 0. Share. 0. Pin. 0. I'm excited to share my recent conversation with Phil Bourne with you. Phil is an account management and sales professional professional with a wealth of experience and wisdom he's distilled into The Tenets of Account Management. These guiding principles have served Phil well and I know they will help you find success as a key account manager.
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.
Salespeople, business leaders, and shareholders thrive on having reliable and realistic sales targets. Without them, you can’t possibly gauge performance. Setting those sales targets, more importantly, hinges on being able to consistently anticipate the future.
Through podcasts, conversations and LinkedIn activity, you’ve probably heard me call 2020 the “great teacher.”. No matter who you are or where you are in this world, we all have learned something about ourselves this year. I like to compare the 2020 business landscape to boats in the harbor. The water level lowered and ALL of our boats went down at the same time, but not all of our boats rose at the same time.
At this point in 2020, all your competitors have undergone some variation of a “digital transformation” to supplement an end-to-end data-driven, Customer Experience (CX) focused digital sales strategy. A recent study conducted by KPMG found that over 90% of companies.
At this point in 2020, all your competitors have undergone some variation of a “digital transformation” to supplement an end-to-end data-driven, Customer Experience (CX) focused digital sales strategy. A recent study conducted by KPMG found that over 90% of companies.
Of all the decisions and executive makes, none is as important as the decisions about people, because they determine the performance capacity of the organization." - Peter Drucker. The new year is 1/12 complete, and January is old news. How is your organization doing so far? Are you on track to exceed your growth goals for 2020? Are you lagging behind?
Now is the time when organizations need problem-solvers who can help them overcome unforeseen challenges, putting sellers in a position to engage with customers on a deeper level than ever before. Our research shows that more than 70% of buyers wait until after they have already defined their needs to engage sellers. They see sellers as product representatives rather than problem-solvers, and often see little to differentiate one seller from another.
Although typically perceived as software for salespeople, CRMs are the secret sauce behind most successful marketing initiatives. A CRM is an integral piece of software for marketers and salespeople. Powerful and versatile, CRMs are used to manage every aspect of the sales pipeline , from signing up newsletter subscribers to nurturing longtime customers, and literally everything in between.
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.
By Jeff Cochran, Partner, Shapiro Negotiations Institute. We’ve all been there before. You’re halfway through your initial contract with a new client. Things are going great. Sure, there were some growing pains in the beginning, but you feel you and your firm are adding a lot of value and you’re confident your client feels the same way. So why is it that most of us always wait until the current contract cycle is about to wind down to engage about an extension?
Forecast calls the world over follow a fairly uniform structure. Regardless of company size, a CRO gathers her sales leaders and runs them through the standard paces: Calling the numbers; closed/won progress; a fly-over of top deals with an update on the current state of play. As she turns her attention to the top deals, she expects crisp answers to a key set of questions: “What’s the latest update?”.
You will no doubt have been in the position where you’ve been discussing purchase opportunities with your prospect and the subject of your competitors comes up. Whether it’s the price you are charging or their needs to get different quotes, or many other reasons, it can be quite deflating when the competition is brought up in the sales meeting. Should you try to by-pass the issue?
2020 has been an interesting year. As Nietzsche stated, “Whatever doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger.” Close what you can and dust your hands off. The year is almost over! Every new year should generate excitement and new energy. The sales world has changed, and the new reality is going to require new thinking, a new attitude, new skills, new people, and new places.
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.
Has your team started honing their remote selling abilities? That is, are you and your sales team prepared for the inevitable “virtualization” of sales that was already well underway prior to the pandemic?
Remote selling, buying, prospecting and training is here to stay. Even as lockdowns and restrictions loosen, B2B buyers continue to embrace, but also seem to prefer, remote interactions over face-to face meetings. That’s according to new research just published by McKinsey. At Force, we’ve found similar trends. Elite sales leaders are analyzing how well they’re supporting their salespeople in the remote environment, and making strategic changes to drive continued success or improve numbers.
Whether you are about to go on a first date or preparing for a discovery call with a prospect – first impressions matter. Regardless if it is from their initial website visit to their first discovery call, the prospects’ experience.
By: Denny Chapman Jr. At first I thought that these situations were isolated incidents – Senior leaders in critical/strategic accounts either declining meetings with the strategic account manager, and pushing them down the organizational chart to meet and speak with other (less powerful and influential) team members… or current contacts not enabling conversations with their leaders.
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.
If you’re struggling as the year comes to a close, you’re not alone. Ask any salesperson if they’ve had a tough 2020, and you’ll get a resounding “ Yes.”. From the sales floor to the makeshift home office set up, salespeople of all kinds in all industries have faced a myriad of challenges and roadblocks this year. I interviewed seven sales leaders from across the country to better understand how they overcame the challenges of 2020, what challenges they expect to encounter in 2021, and how they
There are many mistakes to avoid when it comes to virtual selling. Although we all make—and learn from—our mistakes, they're often magnified in a virtual environment, which makes awareness and preparation paramount to success.
KPI reports used to take me 2 hours a week to prepare. Now I do it in 5 minutes. These Google Data Studio examples will show you how. Not long ago, we had a manual, spreadsheet-based KPI reporting process. Every week, I would manually review numerous tabs across a couple of Google Sheets files, compile […]. The post Google Data Studio Examples: These 5 Reports Save Me a Full Day of Work Every Month appeared first on Groove Blog.
By SAMA Editors. The winners of the 2020 SAMA Excellence Awards demonstrate the amazing things that happen strategic account management is enshrined at the center of a company’s business strategy. The details of what each of our winners accomplished (and how they did it) differ based on their size, history of account management, business drivers and strategic goals.
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.
Political strategist James Carville famously noted, “It’s the economy stupid” to remind his team to maintain their focus on the most important issue of the presidential campaign. That same advice is just as timely today for B2B sales and marketing leaders facing significant headwinds with COVID-19 and a very conservative spending climate. It’s a challenging market.
Email marketing is the dominant channel for marketing communications when measured by ROI, reach, cost, etc., and the gap continues to widen. Don’t get left behind. Before email marketing was commonplace, marketers used advertisements, fliers, coupons, and other distributed promotions in order to build their audience and reach potential customers. Basically every lead-generation strategy from events to discounts was just considered “marketing.”.
There are several resources readily available with information on what it takes to be a great sales coach and manager of people. We often talk with managers who want to hire top-notch sales coaches and the list of their requirements is usually a long one—including experience, past successes, and “must have” talents. It’s definitely a hire you want to get right!
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.
We spend a lot of time on our blog talking about challenges our customers face and possible solutions. We try to practice what we preach, making our blog content focused on our customer, and less about us. However, today we are breaking with the norm and sharing a little more about Force Management to help you align on your biggest opportunity to drive sales impact.
No more bets, please. Have you ever been at a roulette table next to the person who bets on nearly every number? They practically cover the board betting the majority of the 38 numbers, 0 & 00 included, not realizing.
Do you dream about turning your tiny SaaS business into a mega-brand? I hate to burst your bubble, but you need funds to do that – funds that come from sales. But, increasing sales is not an easy task, especially for SaaS brands. Why so? SaaS sales reps face two main hurdles, according to a […]. The post 4 Hacks for SaaS Businesses: How to Boost Your Sales appeared first on Nimble Blog.
I've always loved hypnosis — like I'm a huge fan of those local "hypnotist" performers who do those shows where they bring up volunteers at kid's birthdays or on cruise ships and make them do jumping jacks or pretend they're turtles or something else along those lines. They always fascinate me. I always wonder how they do it, and more so, I wonder why they don't apply those powers in other contexts.
Every sales organization wants their sales force to be agile. Why? Because the world is rapidly changing, becoming more complex, and making the salesperson’s job harder. Organizational leaders are unsure of the best way to equip sellers to succeed in this new reality. Should they change their sales methodology? Should they adopt better technology tools?
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