Is there a disconnect between what the sales manager thinks coaching is trying to achieve and what the sales executive is looking for?
Would the profound emotional response experienced by people from every corner of the globe be similarly evoked if Lennon’s masterpiece had been titled ‘What Would Be the Impact’ instead? This post is all about the impact of good messaging.
By redefining the ideal customer profile (ICP) to align with buyer-centric principles, you can expect to engage buyers earlier, have more meaningful conversations and convert more leads.
Being a genuinely business savvy sales professional requires more than just parroting industry jargon and superficial trends.
Embrace the nuances of sales beyond black-and-white approaches. High performers thrive by navigating the shades of grey.
Ask yourself: how much time do you, or your company, spend understanding your competitors, doing a feature-by-feature comparison, price comparison, SWOT analysis, etc? Having built all this valuable competitive insight, who do you then share it with? Do you “trash the competition” in front of the customer? Do you create one of those wonderful feature … Read more
Previously I focused on the psychology of change and the challenges faced by sales executives in translating awareness into intent. Now, let’s explore the crucial journey from intent to action. What drives us personally often hinges on a shift from a “nice-to-have” to a “must-have” scenario. Consider the familiar example of submitting a tax return. … Read more
When it comes to change, logic often takes a backseat to emotion. Consider climate change—scientists can present an abundance of logical and factual evidence, yet it’s only when we experience extreme weather personally that the reality hits home. The relationship between emotion and change exists in the business world too. Whilst we’re happy to utilize … Read more
We can all agree that, in sales, the buyer is the central figure, and successful engagement starts with effective discovery. For clarity, when I say ‘discovery’ I mean ‘the buyer discovers’. I’m not talking about sales qualification discovery, so forget BANT, MEDDIC or any other qualification model usually associated with a series of “discovery questions”. … Read more
Pipeline generation has got harder, partly because buying has got easier. People are less willing to have conversations with sales executives, perceiving them to have limited value to offer. This has been propelled by the digitalisation of outreach and the disintermediation of routes to market. Most organisations want to mimic the D2C (direct-to-consumer) model which … Read more
How does a buyer buy? We can all answer this question, because we all become buyers at some point, maybe even daily. Whether we’re buying something simple like a cup of coffee, or something more complex, like solar panels for our house, the buyer’s journey is identical, with the exception that one is just more … Read more
In the evolving landscape of sales, we often find ourselves questioning the apparent complexities of the process. Once deemed straightforward, selling now contends with an informed buyer base, changing perceptions of the salesperson’s role, and the challenge of finding potential customers. The shift is particularly pronounced in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) realm, where websites effortlessly connect … Read more
Looking for valuable insights on sales trends and business growth? Listen to CEO Mark Savinson share his expertise on a range of hot 2023 sales topics, including: If you’d like to hear how our team can help unlock revenue for your business, please contact us via the form below and a member of our team … Read more
It’s obvious that CEOs are busy people who don’t often have the bandwidth to be able to look above the parapet to ask fundamental questions. Here, we’ve collated a comprehensive list of questions to help aid structured self-reflection, alongside some answers which we believe could be red flags. If you recognise your own business strategy … Read more
Given that their sales team is in the capable hands of the leaders they selected, it can be tempting for CEOs to delegate strategic decisions to their CRO. Whilst it’s positive to avoid micromanaging, and more pertinently frees up space in the diary, the importance of the CEO’s contribution to strategic decision-making should not be … Read more
Many Channel-led Vendors are looking to change their GTMs – to sell more solutions, go from on-prem to Cloud, develop their services & financial solutions offerings, for example. “If we create it, our partners will follow” they say. However, their Partners aren’t always ready.
Everyone knows a quick repair job is never going to be a long-term solution. Although this can be an attractive option when you’re looking at inefficiencies that require immediate action, the hard truth is that it won’t be long before the problems begin to seep through again. The problem of under-performing sales reps is often … Read more
As predicted by all of the major research firms, buyers now expect more from salespeople, they want to speak to someone who adds value to the conversation, shares ideas and gives insights. As salespeople we have to recognize that we must earn the right to have that type of conversation; we cannot just turn up … Read more
If you have ever read anything about creating the ideal salesperson, you will have seen discussions on becoming a Trusted Advisor. They all make it clear that this is something to aspire to, something that can be achieved by you knowing things, through your business and commercial acumen and, of course, your relationship skills.. I … Read more
Sales is bound to be in your CRO’s DNA. They understand the situation that your sales team are in because they’ve likely been there themselves. They understand the stresses and struggles, and the pressure exerted on them from above to generate results. This means that maintaining an honest, authentic relationship with your CRO might sometimes … Read more
How do you react to the thought of the annual performance review? Does it fill you with dread, the banality of it all, the mismatched competency framework that never really took into consideration what you or your team actually do? I used to live in dread of those during my corporate life and the more … Read more
Your salespeople are perfectly positioned for funnelling accurate intel about your customers’ pain points straight into your marketing engine. With every sales conversation, they: Gain a deeper understanding of your customer’s behaviour Learn what’s driving the market, and Stumble on opportunities out there that you can capitalize on Yet who do you look to for … Read more
I am sure I am not alone in being inundated with people telling me I need to be more Customer Centric and that I need to have an “Outside – In” attitude to how I run my business. Which in principle I do not disagree with, it’s the pay-off I struggle with – “It will … Read more
Do all your people look and think the same? – Diversity could be the superhero coming to rescue you. It is fundamental that we measure perception versus reality in the matter of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and to make such a measurement we need to build an ideal model of DEI behaviors. However, here’s … Read more
“Quiet Quitting” has become a major trend across TikTok, but what is driving people to do it? You would be forgiven for thinking that it’s a group of “snowflakes” (a horrible term) who don’t want to put in the work but its quite the opposite. It’s a group of young, driven, highly motivated individuals who … Read more
Back in 1994, Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky in their work Adaptive Leadership developed the concept of the “balcony and the dance floor”. Its important, for us as Leaders, to head to the balcony when we need perspective and to take a step back – particularly when change is involved. Leaders who spend too much … Read more
Sales are arguably the most measured community in your business. We track their activity, the number of meetings they conduct, the volume of calls they make, how many keywords they used in their pitch, and so on and on, yet they are typically only as good as the last quarter’s results. But how do APRs … Read more
Your teams are busy. Productivity is up. You’ve streamlined everything. Yet revenue isn’t lifting. What’s the problem? Ask yourself this: Whilst your teams are busy performing their responsibilities, are they talking to each other? Usually, the sales team, being closest to the customer, knows the most about the customer. Problematically, sales don’t relay this knowledge … Read more
Are you sure that your customers are even interested in the insights you’re building for them?
When a business is in financial distress, it’s commonly assumed that reducing operational expenditure (OpEx) is the easiest way to rectify the problem. Put it this way: If you’re stood watching a burning building, do you run and grab buckets of water, or do you step back and try to figure out the root cause … Read more
The Don Draper days of sales and marketing are truly over. Gone, the casual smoking and drinking in the office, and the wide-eyed wonder of the modern consumer. In their place are increasingly savvy consumers, high buyer expectations, heavy workloads, ambitious targets, and a sales force constantly under pressure to do more. It might explain … Read more
Henry Ford said: “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” In our 25 years in sales enablement, we’ve been involved in countless programs – all with different approaches but all with the ultimate end goal of improving efficiency and ultimately the profitability of the sales team. Some have become award-winning … Read more
