Anyone who has spent time in sales knows how challenging it can be. Few other careers publicly monitor your progress so closely — your value and worth are only calculated in dollar signs. That sort of scrutiny can wear anybody down, and it’s one of the many reasons why I stepped away from a successful corporate career in the field.
No one could have anticipated the unprecedented effect of the coronavirus on our economy. Local and state governments enacted stay-at-home orders across the country, which
Business success depends on building and maintaining relationships — healthy, professional, mutually beneficial relationships. But many feel “Networking is the face-to-face equivalent of cold calling.” My answer? Not if you network with a fresh “do this and not that” approach. Here’s what I mean:
What’s your approach when hiring sales reps?
Companies often hire sales reps who have knowledge of, or even a passion for, the brand’s product or industry — which is great because it gives you a team of “walking brochures” who can spout off all the benefits of your product.
There are drawbacks, though.
While you can teach people about your product, you can’t teach them how to sell.
Measurement matters. But it matters most if you measure what truly matters. And when it comes to sales, the sales metrics you choose can mean the difference between profit or loss. Between market leadership or dwindling share. Between success or failure. Let’s discuss what sales metrics matter most?
What do skilled sales professionals and effective managers have in common? Frankly, not much. And when someone leverages sales skills to gain success in a management role, it’s not just a new job title — it’s a whole new world.
I learned this lesson when I was promoted to sales manager. I’d been an integral part of the sales team, but once I became responsible for managing the team, instead of executing the strategy, my relationship with my colleagues transformed.
Of all the departments within a small business, perhaps no two have a more dysfunctional relationship than sales and marketing. Different surveys reveal different reasons for this, but the most common culprit is poor communication. The sales team might believe marketing should provide better leads, while marketing might think sales should do a better job closing the leads it does generate.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] A popular proverb says, “Vision without action is a daydream, and action without vision is a nightmare.” When it comes to sales, both vision
Every business has its challenges. But when your sales cycle is seasonal, it introduces a host of unique issues that can threaten a company’s bottom-line sustainability and inhibit future growth. When you have uneven periods of sales and annual revenue depends on a narrow window of opportunity, planning carries a higher risk of being off-target and misdirecting cash flow. The reality is that if your season doesn’t go well, the whole year can be lost.
As you set your sales team strategy for the upcoming year, it’s important to keep the current year in context. After all, when you’re driving to a vacation destination, you can’t plan how far you want to drive tomorrow if you don’t know where you will end up today.
In order to start the New Year with a well-defined sales plan, you must first know three things: where you are, where you want to go, and the best route to get there.
In my 30-plus years as a sales executive and sales leadership consultant, I’ve identified a critical error most sales organizations make: not crafting a sales
