Those who argue that talent trumps process, point to examples like: Stevie Ray Vaughn, who learned guitar by ear Jim Furyk, who has an unorthodox golf swing Natural salespeople I humbly suggest, for most sales leaders, it is better to follow the example of: Edgar Degas, who said, “It takes great effort to make it look effortless.” Urban Meyer, who said, “Average leaders have quotes. … Read more
How do you create a high performing sales culture with communication, accountability, clear vision, competition, and agility? Take advice from eight outstanding sales leaders. Eric Hay, Director, Field Engineering Use sales-call role-playing as a method of training before setting the sales person loose so that there is no possible negative impact on an actual deal. Tom Zohar, Solutions Architect, Logz.io Training … Read more
In Building the Business Case: Financial Decision Makers, I suggested that, to translate technical wins to revenue, we have to ask questions that: Connect the buyer’s need to enterprise priorities (the arrow labeled 3 below) Quantify the financial impact (the arrow labeled 4 below). If you need help on how to translate the Need Diagnostic outline into real world selling, here are questions that I … Read more
In Building the Business Case: The cost of status quo, I observed that most of us were taught to focus on the buyer’s budget. I suggested that the budget doesn’t matter. Only the perceived cost of the status quo matters. Price and budget are on the same side of the see saw. The larger the cost of the status quo, the larger the budget or … Read more
BANT = BUNK? A Zen Koan is a riddle that Buddhist monks use to open their minds. Here’s a sales Koan: The B in BANT does not matter. Most sales processes qualify based on the buyer’s budget. After all, we do not want to put tons of time into an opportunity only to find out there’s no money, honey. What’s wrong with asking about the … Read more
We call it cold calling for a reason, as salespeople understand the importance of a live conversation. However, email does play a role in sales prospecting and can support your efforts to have a prospect engaged in a sales conversation. Here is an example of a good use of email in prospecting. Email #1 – follow up to a phone call in which the buyer … Read more
In A Proactive Sales Leader Knows How to Increase Sales I provide a sequenced checklist of recommended activities for a new Sales VP who is taking on leadership of a new sales team. This is the equivalent of what a new coach might do when she takes over a new team. In this sales leadership tip, we’ll go into more detail on the first step … Read more
Creating change in a sales organization requires a sales leader to utilize sales methodology training. Change is hard because most people take the path of least resistance and gravitate toward old habits. Leading a sales team starts with putting your sales playbook in place. If your new sales methodology makes their job easier, the sales team will use it. If it makes their job harder, … Read more
#1 – Prospect to Power Establishing Value on Major Opportunities Opportunity X-Ray The Perfect Discovery Call Checklist #2 – Understand customer problem & impact The Need Diagnostic: How Buyers Decide Brain Science and Decision Making: How Buyers Decide in B2B Sales Dispassionate Diagnosis: The Key to Consultative Selling The B2B Elements of Value Co-Create the Solution with the Buyer The Perfect Discovery Call Checklist #3 … Read more
It takes months to build quality pipeline. You can destroy a deal in a minute. When sales leadership focuses on late stage deals it leads to inconsistent revenue flow. Here’s a piece I wrote that applies: Proactive vs. Reactive Sales Management This may make the point even better.