Articles

Socratic Questions Help Prospects Uncover Truth

paulnolan — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-06-17

Author:

Peri Shawn

Teaser:

Effective sales questions can help uncover information that moves the sales process forward. Here’s how salespeople can ask better questions, and stay away from questions that can alienate prospects. Also, why it’s sometimes best to avoid the word “why.”

5 Reasons Why Sales Makes Marketing Mad

paulnolan — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-06-14

Author:

Mckay Allen

Teaser:

How do sales marketing get along? How do they interact? How can the processes between them be improved? For starters, sales teams can avoid these five common mistakes.

If You Love 'Em, Keep 'Em

paulnolan — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-06-10

Author:

Sean Conrad

Teaser:

Sales and marketing are critical to your company’s success, but many organizations struggle to engage and retain these critical employees. A strategic, well-executed talent management program can go a long way to help drive the performance of sales and marketing professionals and retain them for the long term.

'Gold Calling' Is Alive and Well

paulnolan — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-06-07

Author:

Dan McDade

Teaser:

The pundits who have a problem with outbound cold calling only think of the mindless smiling and dialing that far too many companies still do today. The reality is that cold calling is alive and well.

Socratic Questions Help Prospects Uncover Truth

paulnolan — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

One of the secrets to sales success goes back some 3,000 years to ancient Greece. The philosopher Socrates used carefully crafted questions to help his students learn more, using knowledge they already had.

Now, many top salespeople use “Socratic questions” to qualify prospects and understand their pains, passions and priorities. These top performers then match their ideas, stories and information to meet the prospects’ buying criteria. Sales success is all in how questions get asked.

Eyes On the Prize

paulnolan — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-06-03

Author:

Tom Giddens

Teaser:

Companies frequently run into trouble by failing to create the right balance between sales goals and the actions they tie incentives to. Insurance giant Aflac follows these four guidelines as it builds and refines a wide variety of incentives, contests and prizes to capture the attention of a sales force more than 60,000 strong.

The Evolution of Social Selling

admin — Fri, 31 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-01

Author:

Dave Stein

Teaser:

Too many companies leave social media learning and development up to the individual sales rep. This fractured approach can keep your reps from adapting to the new ways that customers are buying products and services, which means fewer wins.

Feeding the Marketing Content Pipeline

paulnolan — Wed, 29 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-29

Author:

Scott Richardson

Teaser:

The marketing content pipeline is closely related to, yet distinct from the sales pipeline. By delivering the right content via the pipeline, marketers are able to interface with customers early on in the lead generation process and then continue to feed salespeople with the materials they need throughout the sales effort.

The New Look of Offsites

admin — Sun, 26 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-01

Teaser:

Meetings away from the office were booted from businesses' budgets after the economic collapse, but they have slowly returned with some important adjustments.

A tribal approach to sizing up prospects

admin — Thu, 23 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-01

Teaser:

A sales consultant states that by categorizing prospects into one of four different "tribal types," salespeople can identify communication style and other preferences that can enhance the effectiveness of each interaction.

'Customer First' Must Be More Than A Mantra

paulnolan — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

No matter what business you’re in, customers today demand immediate solutions in real time. What they need, when they need it, and how they want to receive your product or service are important factors that drive consumer buying decisions. High demand for speed and accountability require businesses to ramp up both technology innovations and customer service capabilities to be the first, the fastest and most reliable.

Create Value to Avoid Discounting

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-01

Author:

By Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Corporate Visions, Inc.

Teaser:

Protecting your pricing and margins requires a disciplined, well-planned approach throughout the customer acquisition process. Columnist Tim Riesterer discusses plugging value leaks.

The Sales Profession's Bill of Rights

paulnolan — Mon, 13 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Today’s sales world has changed. An unstable economy has forced corporate layoffs and other cost-cutting measures to reduce overhead, and financial uncertainty has been a catalyst in the demise of salaried sales jobs that are being replaced with a burgeoning pay-for-performance sales model in an effort to make sales departments more productive, efficient and cost-effective.

B2B sales is not obsolete!

admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-01

Author:

By Jule Schwartz

Teaser:

The idea of B2B sales being relegated to the role of order-taking as a result of inbound marketing may make marketers feel like heroes, but surveys - and real life on the frontlines - suggests it's not that simple.

Your Top Performers May Be the Least Engaged

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-01

Teaser:

In 42 percent of companies, low performers report being more engaged, more motivated and more likely to enjoy working at their organizations than middle and high performers. Here's why and what to do about it.

On the road to find out

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:48:21 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-01

Teaser:

Fans of A&E Channel’s “Mad Men” will recall one of the final scenes of season 5 when Peggy Olson, newly departed from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, is happily holed up in a drab motel room with a grin on her face and a glass of wine in her hand. She was on her first business trip, and she had the look of a woman who had arrived.

Sales insights from a gentleman thief

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:59:18 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-01

Teaser:

A recent New Yorker feature on Apollo Robbins described the Las Vegas-based entertainer as a “theatrical pickpocket” who, in pursuit of his craft, has incorporated principles from aikido, sales and Latin ballroom dancing. The sales part left us curious, so we gave him a call.

Three Rules for Attracting and Retaining Top Sales Talent

paulnolan — Mon, 06 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-05

Author:

Candice Arnold

Teaser:

Few things keep top salespeople engaged more effectivley than a fast, efficient and highly rewarding sales compensation program. So why are today's compensation programs so difficult to understand and even harder to manage? All incentive compensation management systems should adhere to three simple rules.

Lessons on Leadership from The Best Damn Band in the Land

admin — Fri, 03 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-05-01

Author:

Mike Figliuolo

Teaser:

In the halftime show of the Ohio State University football game versus Nebraska last fall, the OSU band demonstrated what true teamwork looks like and displayed the amazing impact that can be achieved when everyone on the team executes their role flawlessly.

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Entering a Foreign Market

paulnolan — Thu, 02 May 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-04-30

Author:

Renato Beninatto, Chief Marketing Officer, Moravia

Teaser:

If you want to do business internationally, you’ve got to communicate in the language of your target market. And no matter how small you are, you can be successful in foreign markets if you plan well and avoid five common mistakes.

Stephen Covey Is Gone, and I’m Not Feeling So Good Myself

paulnolan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

I love Stephen Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

The book’s subtitle is “Powerful Lessons and Personal Change.” Amen. What I most like about the book is that it is simple. There are 7 habits. They are easy to understand. I am not saying that I am good at all of them, but I understand and appreciate them and try to follow them in my business and personal life.

The Great Myth of Technology

admin — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-03-01

Author:

Brian Solis

Teaser:

While everyone thinks they already know that technology is changing behavior, the reality is that assumptions and blind faith are still playing a role in how businesses are approaching these changes.

Are You Ready for the Customer Touch – Anywhere It Happens?

paulnolan — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-04-21

Author:

Joyce Ouellette

Teaser:

If you’re giving short-shrift to customer interaction, you’re likely leaving money on the table and ignoring a volatile situation.

Leadership Lessons from an Unlikely Source

admin — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-03-01

Teaser:

People pay hundreds, nay, thousands of dollars to gain leadership insights that will catapult their careers forward. If you like your wisdom wrapped in the wackiness promulgated by muscle-headed motivation speakers, you may end up spending thousands more treating the burns on your feet after a hot coal walk. But that’s another topic for another day.

Channeling your inner caveman

admin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2013-03-01

Author:

Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Corporate Visions, Inc.

Teaser:

If whiteboard-based stories can enable more effective conversations, why is everyone still using PowerPoint in marketing and sales processes?