A simple blueprint for handoffs defines roles/responsibilities and strengthens sales hiring partnerships In hiring front-line sellers, organizations may flounder and fail when sales hiring practices are left up to a single department. Sales managers frequently take short cuts. Recruiters and HR business partners often miss the mark because it’s challenging for them to assess selling ... Read Post

1. “Mine’s Better” In technology sales, salespeople are often trained to focus on their product’s or service’s “bells and whistles” (features). This is done in an effort to convince potential buyers that their offering beats their competitor’s. The focus is put onto the technical (often slight) differences and advantages of their technology, instead of its ... Read Post

What is sustainable value? Stated simply, it is “value that keeps on giving.” For the customer it is that quality of a product, service or company that always delivers, that is always there. For the seller, it is an opportunity or an account that pays for itself over and over. Sustainable value should be the ... Read Post

Because I was raised by a salesman, you could certainly say that selling runs in my blood. I sold many different things between school clubs, boy scouts and sports teams. These included toothbrushes, light bulbs, doughnuts, fertilizer, and first aid kits for card—and I sold all these items door-to-door. Upon graduating the University of Maryland ... Read Post

Most of us spend a good percentage of our business day in meetings. Some are good and some are bad but client meetings should always rock. Each and every sales meeting with a client should be productive (moving the sales cycle forward) and reinforce the client’s choice to do business or consider doing more business ... Read Post

Would you agree that the success of a team will be determined, in large degree, by the manager of the team? For most they would agree. If that is the case, what specifically do we need to do as managers and leaders of teams to ensure success? I sucked in my first management role. I ... Read Post

What would your company look like if your salespeople were totally in sync and performing well as a team? You’d be experiencing what I call “smooth selling.” Calling on the right target market, articulating the value your company offers in a way that resonates with your customers, finding out more about business plans and services ... Read Post

There is an economic principle called comparative advantage which can be a tremendous benefit to sales management. In economics, the term is used to describe the ability of a party to produce a particular good or service at a lower cost than another party, and take advantage of that fact in trade. For example one ... Read Post