Mike Kunkle

AUGUST 19, 2024

[This post was originally published here , in my Sales Enablement Straight Talk newsletter] Today, I want to delve into the nuances of the systems that support the Building Blocks of Sales Enablement framework. I recognize that this is part of what makes sales performance improvement work complex and overwhelming for some.

Sales 269

Sales Sales Training Onboarding Sales Management 269

Brooks Group

MARCH 27, 2025

Retaining customers is the number one priority of sales leaders this year, according to the 2025 Sales Leader Report. According to a study of over 1,300 organizations, 84% of organizations that focused on improving customer experiences increased their revenue. Holding on to your current accounts is just smart business.

Account Management 92

Account Management Sales Sales Training Profitability 92

Hubspot Sales

JULY 30, 2024

Then, the game changed when I leveled up my sales email writing game with curiosity-provoking subject lines, strong body text, and compelling closing statements. Read on to hear my tactics for ending a sales email.e From there, initiating conversations and strengthening relationships with business buyers and influencers got easier.

Supply Chain 122

Supply Chain Energy and Utilities Healthcare Sales 122

Mike Kunkle

FEBRUARY 27, 2023

.” Nowhere is this more out of control than in the sales profession and our very own subset of sales enablement. Not All Sales Enablement is the Same Sales enablement is not the same everywhere. (For Not All Sales Enablement is the Same Sales enablement is not the same everywhere.

Sales 57

Sales Onboarding Publishing Transportation 57

Brooks Group

JANUARY 9, 2025

Understanding the difference between landing new business and managing existing accounts is critical for your sales organizations success. On the surface, sales and account management have similar goals: Build strong relationships with customers and increase profitable revenue.

Account Management 100

Account Management Management Sales Value Proposition 100

Strategic Account Management Association

AUGUST 6, 2021

Form an organizational capability around co-creating products and solutions with our customers Redesign our philosophy around our customers’ needs Make a positive business impact on our customers’ operations Ingrain a deeply customer-centric vision and mission for sales. A new central commercial organization was born.

Supply Chain 520

Supply Chain Logistics Co-Creation e-Learning 520

Strategic Account Management Association

AUGUST 24, 2021

Regardless of the organization we work at, we could be outspent, out resourced or out marketed but we do have the opportunity to outthink our competition. She also works on sales effectiveness and has recently done some innovative work around omni-channel excellence. The future is now. He has served on the board of directors at SAMA.

Stakeholders 520

Stakeholders Supply Chain Digitalization Shareholders 520

Hubspot Sales

AUGUST 26, 2024

I remember it like it was yesterday — I was just starting out in SaaS sales, and I had identified a promising account I wanted to target. Sales requires a lot of skills you can only acquire from experience, but there’s one critical attribute you should start to hone on day one: persistence. How to Use AI for Sales Follow-Ups 1.

Sales 122

Sales Meetings Communication Stakeholders 122

Strategic Account Management Association

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

And yet most SAM organizations — large and small — haven’t tapped this potentially huge source of competitive differentiation. First, a definition of terms: CRM CRM software keeps sales processes organized and aligned with best practices up to the point that a deal is closed. This is where CXM shines.

CXM 520

CXM Account Management Customer Experience Management 520

Strategic Account Management Association

JUNE 1, 2021

This same belief rang true in the world of sales training. In the past, sales has done a disservice by being in the business of creating human doings not human beings. If you incorporate these habits, you will see them reflected in your organization’s success. So How Can You Become a Virtuoso SAM? Insights Level ($1,495).

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Supply Chain Leadership Decision-making Innovation 591

Mike Kunkle

OCTOBER 2, 2022

We’re all in sales, right? I think the answer depends on what you mean by that (intent) and how you define “sales.” I get the intent of the “we’re all in sales” message, generally, much like Dan Pink’s book, To Sell is Human. “The 1980s called, and they want their sales approach back.”

Co-Creation 278

Co-Creation Negotiation Sales B2B 278

Strategic Account Management Association

JUNE 30, 2021

He also spent years as a managing consultant for Microsoft’s global consulting organization. First, there is how SAMs communicate, articulate and exchange their expertise based on their sales and professional experience. Second, you can view a SAM as a broker or bridge to the expertise that lives within their organization.

Digitalization 520

Digitalization Organization Account Management Management 520

Strategic Account Management Association

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

SAMA and Boston Consulting Group partnered in May 2020 to conduct a study aimed at discovering the early changes to customer expectations for sales organizations as a result of the COVID pandemic. Indicators show that much of the sales process can — and should — be automated through technological advancements. 4: Focus on value.

Co-Creation 520

Co-Creation Suppliers Management Supply Chain 520

Strategic Account Management Association

OCTOBER 26, 2021

In our organization’s work, we see much confusion and lack of clarity on executive sponsorship, even when it is in place. The SAM should be able to count on the help of the executive sponsor in amplifying the voice of the customer throughout the organization, particularly at the executive level.

Account Management 520

Account Management Co-Creation Leadership Procurement 520

Sales Gravy

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

In this lively episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount welcomes Patrick "Pops" Garrett, Founder & Chief Drinking Officer of DrinkCurious, to explore the unique intersection between bourbon tasting and sales engagement.

Advertising 98

Advertising Sales Digitalization Meetings 98

Hubspot Sales

MARCH 12, 2025

Buyers face the same challenge every day, making simplicity a superpower in sales. Lets take a look at the basics of SNAP and how you can start using it in your sales cycle. SNAP selling is a sales methodology created by sales strategist Jill Konrath , based on her book, which covers the process extensively.

Decision-making 87

Decision-making Sales Internet B2B 87

Upland

JUNE 7, 2023

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard sales and revenue leaders use the terms, “sales process” and “sales methodology” interchangeably and incorrectly. What is a sales process? A sales process is a flow, and it is usually brand-free.

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Sales Negotiation Decision-making CRM 195

Brooks Group

MARCH 6, 2025

AI is transforming sales. Source: PCWorld ) 65% of respondents report that their organizations are regularly using generative AI (Gen AI), up from one-third last year. Source: McKinsey ) 83% of sales teams using AI saw revenue growth this year vs. 66% not using AI. The entire process becomes more efficient and effective.

Sales Training 71

Sales Training Artificial Intelligence Sales Internet 71

The Center for Sales Strategy

MARCH 17, 2025

The structure of your sales team can make or break your success. Are you trying to organize your sales team? Are you trying to figure out what the best sales organizational structure is or trying to identify the problem within your current structure?

Sales 79

Sales Organization 79

Hubspot Sales

MARCH 13, 2025

According to a 2023 survey of over 450 sales leaders, 91% of their teams missed quota that year. And even with revenue up in 2024 , reps are still struggling to meet their sales goals. Getting stuck on YTD sales. Projecting a sales cycle ahead of time gives sellers a better chance of making their numbers.

Meetings 95

Meetings Sales Stakeholders Decision-making 95

Brooks Group

MARCH 4, 2025

Effective sales coaching can have a huge impact on your business. The biggest benefit is its contribution to revenue: Sales coaching boosts team performance, with real-time coaching increasing annual revenue by 8%. But some sales organizations lack formal, well-executed sales coaching programs.

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Management Sales Meetings Sales Training 76

The Center for Sales Strategy

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

Ask a sales manager about the most important decisions they make, and you will probably hear about exceeding budget, growing market share, or achieving year-over-year growth. If you dont have great people working in the sales department, you cant accomplish the rest. Would sales go up? I want you to think about the best seller.

Decision-making 78

Decision-making Sales Sales Management Organization 78

Mike Kunkle

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

I am exceptionally pleased and excited to announce that Felix Krueger of FFWD and I launched The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience on November 25, 2022. Access to a Growing Library of 4+ Hours of Video Content , teaching the Building Blocks of Sales Enablement framework.

Sales 233

Sales Leadership Transportation Sales Training 233

Mike Kunkle

AUGUST 8, 2023

In the ever-evolving landscape of business, the role of Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) or senior-most sales leaders (by any title), has never been more critical. When sales, marketing, and customer success operate in isolated bubbles, opportunities for collaboration and synergy are lost. This is a definite growth killer.

Sales 221

Sales Prioritization Innovation Sales Training 221

Strategic Account Management Association

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

But as a provider of a robust set of sales management and methodology capabilities , our teams work with some of the biggest sales organizations in the world. The foundational principles that move the needle are ones familiar to any sales leader: relationships and insights. Our intent is never so transactional.

Account Planning 400

Account Planning Supply Chain Prioritization Digital Transformation 400

Strategic Account Management Association

OCTOBER 14, 2021

While the CRM is designed to enable the work of the sales and account management team by recording pertinent information about the customer, I think of it mainly as a bridge to the account planning tool, where the best SAMs live and breathe. Standard Option #1: Map the entire organization into one account as shown in Figure 2.

Account Planning 520

Account Planning CRM Account Management Decision-making 520

Sales Gravy

APRIL 2, 2025

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. Why Sales Coaching Is Essential Sales is a skill position. Why Sales Coaching Is Essential Sales is a skill position.

Sales Leadership 65

Sales Leadership Leadership Sales Acquisition 65

Hubspot Sales

AUGUST 20, 2024

Helping Customers Overcome Choice Fatigue With the previous concepts in mind, let’s turn them toward your customers to help boost conversions and close sales. Train your sales reps. Thanks to used car salesmen and the guy from Wolf of Wall Street, sales has a … not-so-great reputation for the average buyer.

Decision-making 111

Decision-making B2C B2B Software 111

Strategic Account Management Association

MARCH 2, 2022

We are all in a race to attract, develop and retain top talent for our organizations. How people show up on social media tells a lot about a candidate, but it also tells potential recruits a lot about us as an organization. It’s my organization that needs to recruit and develop and retain.” . #3: There’s no going back.

Emotional Intelligence 400

Emotional Intelligence Innovation Suppliers Leadership 400

Mike Kunkle

APRIL 8, 2023

In this post, I’m going to share some simple concepts that I’ve seen deliver radically improved results across a sales force. The advice comes from Modern Sales Foundations , a course that was developed based on over 16+ years of top sales performer analysis, modernized for working with today’s buyers.

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B2B Sales Decision-making Stakeholders 243