SalesAndMarketing.com

September 19, 2016 07:03 AM

by: Jerry W. Thomas

Marketing decisions based on knowns – truth, facts and evidence – are far more likely to succeed than those based on hopes, wishes and mythology. Let's look at some word pairs once used to describe military strategy and see how they relate to marketing tactics.

September 16, 2016 07:30 AM

4 Client Behaviors That Mean Your Proposal Needs Work

by: Mikita Mikado

When a deal that seems on track goes off the rails, it may leave you wondering what happened. Here are a few of the most common indicators that it was your proposal that failed to seal the deal.

September 13, 2016 04:37 PM

Natural born travel guide

by: Paul Nolan

His father Rick taught a generation of public television viewers how to take in Europe. Now, Andy Steves, 29, has a successful tour guide business targeted to millennials and a new guidebook of his own. We talked about the incomparable value of travel and how his generation likes to go about it.

September 13, 2016 12:00 AM

Top Tips for the Modern Day Cold Call

by: Mike Scher

It takes an average of nine calls to reach a cold prospect for the first time. Many salespeople don't have that type of persistence. Here are four tips to secure an initial conversation and stop leaving new business on the table.

September 12, 2016 12:00 AM

Earning the Right to Close

by: Frank Visgatis, President/COO, CustomerCentric Selling®

A seller earns the right to ask for the business if and when a buyer has all they need to make a buying decision. The better job B2B salespeople do in uncovering buyer needs and associated value, the more likely they’ll win the business.

September 6, 2016 07:09 AM

Five Quota-Setting Methods (And How to Determine What’s Best for Your Business)

by: Mark Donnolo

Unless you want a Wild West situation in your sales organization, you should probably set quotas, and set them correctly. But one quota-setting approach does not fit all situations. The old “take last year’s goal and add 10 percent” method is usually a bad idea. Quota-setting methodologies vary based on the market and types of accounts. Here are five standard quota-setting methods and how to determine which will best fit your organization.

September 2, 2016 12:00 AM

VR, Beacons and Show Floor Tracking

by: Corbin Ball

The rate of technology change is accelerating with thousands of ideas, apps and innovations bubbling up to help meeting planners, exhibitors, venues and other meeting participants do their jobs better. Here are seven event technology trends to monitor.

August 29, 2016 12:00 AM

The War Room and What It Can Tell You

by: Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana

A real-time view of sales force performance makes us feel in touch with the organization. And increased transparency to field-level activities gives us the satisfying sense that we are somehow in control of the sales force’s behaviors. However, visibility to an action does not equate to control over it. What's missing in today's sales force war room?

August 26, 2016 12:00 AM

Stop the Launch! 4 Reasons to Avoid a Company Opening Event

by: Heather Baker

It’s perfectly natural to be excited about the launch of a new venture, but there are right and wrong ways to celebrate. If you’re a sales or marketing professional – or indeed, an entrepreneur – it’s vital to understand that a lavish opening event is the worst of all possible ways.

August 22, 2016 12:00 AM

Discovering Buyer Insights Through Perception

by: Sedric Hill

Although receiving and responding to messages are skills that are implicit in nature, they can be enhanced under the right conditions, which provides a selling edge.

August 19, 2016 12:00 AM

Challenge the Status Quo with Insight-Based Direct Questions

by: Michael Harris

When customers don’t fully understand their problem, salespeople will not be able to confirm value with generic questions, because there is no value to confirm. With Insight-Based Directed Questions, salespeople are able to illuminate the problems and costs of not having their unique capability.

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From the Editor...

Too cute by half

As we were headed to press with this annual issue on technology and its impact on the worlds of sales and marketing, the Tribune Media Company, owners of such notable newspaper brands as the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and Baltimore Sun, announced it is rebranding the company as “tronc.”

No, that’s not a typo. It’s really tronc — with a small “t,” as in “tribune online content.”

continue...

Closers (...by Canon)

Natural born travel guide

His father Rick taught a generation of public television viewers how to take in Europe. Now, Andy Steves, 29, has a successful tour guide business targeted to millennials and a new guidebook of his own. We talked about the incomparable value of travel and how his generation likes to go about it.

continue...

Additional Web Resources

The Value of Earned Media for Marketing Content
According to the white paper, “How to Drive Maximum Returns on Content Marketing with Effective Distribution,” earned media – mentions by journalists, influencers and other third-party sources – is 80 percent more effective than owned media (i.e. branded content) at the purchase consideration stage. Read the full report here (registration required).

The Poisonous Effects of Mushroom Management
“Mushroom management” is a management style where employees fly blind to company performance and are given work without knowing its purpose. A recent survey of 2,000 employees by Geckoboard, creators of software to harvest and analyze key performance indicators (KPI), indicates that four in five employees want management to share more information with them about business performance. Read Geckoboard’s report on the scale of the “mushroom management” problem and how to avoid it here.

B2B Marketing Tips For LinkedIn Users
Download the eBook with 10 things you should be doing on LinkedIn to establish your company presence, attract and engage followers, and generate leads for your business here.

9 Keys to Building a Subscription-Based Business
Zuora, a provider of software to build a subscription-based commerce platform, offers 9 keys to building a successful subscription business. You'll find them here.

John Warrillow, author of "The Automatic Customer: Creating A Subscription Business In Any Industry," highlights the main takeaways from his book in a Q&A with SuperFastBusiness.com. You can listen to his interview here.

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