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The best pitches are personal. Like a job applicant's resume, a sales pitch will go nowhere if it is a boilerplate carbon copy of previous pitches. The best pitches consider the specific needs and desires of the target business —…
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In the business world, the drive to climb the corporate ladder can sometimes obscure the fact that our skills for a particular role don’t always guarantee a smooth transition to a new position. In other words: not everyone is ideally…
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A few years ago, I was working for a tech company and we managed to pitch a huge sale to one of the world’s leading mobile companies. The problem? They wanted to roll out our product across the entirely corporation,…
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The success of any team depends on strong top-down communication and coordination. As the Managing Director, responsibility for making sure that salespeople have the information, knowledge and skills to perform at their best falls on your shoulders. It’s up to…
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Is good communication an issue of quality or quantity? Trick question: it’s both. Effective communication is integral to maintaining strong internal relationships and a culture of accountability and collaboration in your organisation. In a previous article, I gave concrete tips…
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Yes. All the time and effort, all the marketing collateral, presentations and pitches have paid off. The lead is now a customer; you have your buy-in, your agreement. But the close is not synonymous with the end. After sales support…
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What is the biggest competitive challenge facing salespeople today? According to the Harvard Business Review, “it’s not so much the competition’s ability to sell as it is the customer’s ability to learn.” A shift in dynamics has empowered customers; as…
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Business referrals are among the highest-quality prospects available. Referrals are so valuable, in fact, that referral strategy experts earn their entire living by helping companies formulate plans to increase the number of business referrals they obtain. Salespeople can get quality…
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A sales review carries more weight in today's business climate than ever before. Good or bad, online reviews and critiques hold enormous sway over potential buyers, and businesses must take an active role in maintaining, nurturing and presenting their online…
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Businesses that sell highly technical, industry-specific products generally follow one of two sales models. The first option is to create a sales team made up of technical experts who are authorities on every aspect of the product. In the second…
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The tidal wave of technology that has swept the world over the last two decades has not introduced a single tool that is more direct, more intimate and more efficient than the good old-fashioned telephone. Although salespeople should absolutely take…
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Laurence J. Peter, management theorist and father of the “Peter Principle” once wrote, “If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.”2 Businesses cannot achieve success if they do not define what success looks…
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No sales rep can ever hope to be successful when motivation is lacking, and when a rep slows down, disengages or approaches quotas with indifference, sales managers have to act fast. Even a small dip in motivation can lead to…
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All Sales Managers know that recruiting for a sales superstar is akin to hunting a white whale. In truth, it’s far easier to transform an average salesperson into a superstar than it is to spend your time hunting for a…
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Everyone knows the old saying, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” In sales, we often think that the way to a rep’s heart is the money, but often, it’s ego. People are drawn to sales for…
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Defining sales team success can be tricky, because “success” looks different to everyone. Traditionally, success can be defined as consistently exceeding goals, but there are subtle nuances that managers must be able to determine and differentiate between individual and team…
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Company culture is infectious — whether it is good or bad. A vibrant sales culture benefits not just the employees who bask in it, but all stakeholders. When salespeople are happy, positive, fulfilled, motivated and secure, numbers rise and sales…
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Buyers in the digital age are better informed and more aware of their options than they've ever been. Modern salespeople have to answer difficult questions and ease legitimate concerns from well-informed customers throughout the sales process. Handling sales objections requires…
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“It’s nothing personal – we decided to go with one of your competitors, sorry.” Sound familiar? You go into a final sales meeting call brimming with optimism and enthusiasm, but emerge a realist, having taken a hit of rejection despite…
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In the Barclays Premiership, Juan Mata is Manchester United's hardest-working player. Covering an average of more than 11.3 km per game, he outpaces his only comparable teammate by roughly 300 meters every 90 minutes. After they stretch and warm up,…
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As time is precious in any business role, do you ever think how much your sales force costs you by pursuing fruitless sales leads? Sometimes the differentiator between high and low generating salespeople isn’t their persuasiveness – it’s their insight…
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When a leader understands the difference between a sales person’s personalities and skills, he or she can position each member of the team where they are most likely to flourish. Businesses often hold themselves back by forcing people to play…
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A dynamic and motivated sales team is often the difference between success and failure. Hiring ambitious, creative salespeople is half of the equation. The other half is keeping them motivated, interested and engaged. Psychometric Testing: Evaluating Personalities to Choose the…
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There are different leadership roles within a sales department, each of which require a very different skillset to perform the job well. The qualities that make a great sales director, for example, don't translate very well into being a good…
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Time and time again, I’ve spoken to hiring managers who know they need to improve their training and onboarding processes, but have no idea where to begin. The best advice I can offer? Think like the military. Basic Sales Training:…
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Everyone in sales knows employee performance reviews are essential for building a successful sales team. In such a highly competitive field, the need to share knowledge, monitor market trends and anticipate consumer behaviour is never ending. Not everyone, however, knows…
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It has never been easier to conduct prospect research than it is today. The digital age has given everyone with a Wi-Fi connection access to the cumulative knowledge of the entire human race. In sales, information is power — and…
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It is always sad when talented, ambitious people leave a company because they’re convinced they will never get out of the shadow the owner — but it happens all the time. It’s natural for many managing directors to use their…
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Most new salespeople face an impossible catch-22 when they first get hired. They can't succeed until they are given the proper tools, but they often aren't given access to the proper tools until they succeed. Too many businesses hire salespeople…
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Making the best strategic hiring decisions depends on having the right tools and information at your disposal. While profiling and personality testing are not imperative for effective recruitment, they can provide helpful insights to make informed decisions if you don’t…
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Prospecting can be expensive, time consuming, frustrating and fruitless. But instead of viewing it as a necessary evil, a little research will make it rewarding and with a smile on your face it can even be fun! In an ideal…
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We all know that practice makes perfect, but for some reason sales teams overlook this basic fact time and time again – especially when it comes to sales training. That’s a huge shame, because the right onboarding process – one…
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When a new leader asks the sales team how they were trained when they first got hired, the most likely answer is that they learned on the job. If the leader follows up by asking if they think they could…
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Some mistakes can't be un-made — especially when it comes to following up. Following up requires a salesperson to walk a delicate balance between being persistent and being annoying or overly aggressive. Countless speakers conduct seminars on what a salesperson…
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Let me begin with a question: if you were selecting a company in which to invest, would you choose the well known business with a long history and high turnover, or the promising start-up with a sound strategic framework but…
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Selling is a difficult, important and undervalued skill — one part art, one part science. A good salesperson can help the client understand the granular differences between similar products. A motivated salesperson can protect customers by helping them make the…
