Today, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions are everywhere. It has been suggested in recent data that CRM systems have been deployed in 90 percent of companies with more than 11 employees. The percentage drops to below 50% in enterprises with less than 11 employees. We must take into account, however, that just because a company ... Read Post

Continuing our series on the comparison between the American War of Independence and today’s world of sales and commerce, let’s now take a look at the key difference between the American Continental Army and the British Army of the time, and how that difference totally applies in today’s sales environment. For a moment, let us ... Read Post

Using the data from your CRM, product usage and engagement metrics, define what your ideal user looks like, and what sort of company that user works at. Read Post

Interview with Frank Cespedes, Part 1 Frank Cespedes teaches at Harvard Business School, and is the author of Aligning Strategy and Sales: The Choices, Systems, and Behaviors that Drive Effective Selling (Harvard Business Review Press), which was cited as “the best sales book of the year” (Strategy + Business), “a must read” (Gartner Group), and ... Read Post

Until you’ve got money to burn, it makes sense to stick with marketing techniques with a track record of a good return on investment. That’s what we detail below. But first, how not to do it. Have you seen the cautionary tale masquerading as a Pepsi commercial where Kendall Jenner ditches a photo shoot to ... Read Post

As salespeople, we live and die by our pipelines – always trying for deals with a high percentage chance of closing. But this rinse-and-repeat pipeline exercise is a bad habit that can lead to missed opportunities . Read Post

Integrate Your Online & In-Person Sales Strategy I was keynoting at a conference last week, when a member of my audience approached me to ask a question. He was new in his role, and new to the field of financial services. In addition to trying to keep up with the changes going on in financial ... Read Post

Recently my yoga teacher, Erika, purchased a new car from Toyota. It was an excruciating purchasing experience. At the first Toyota dealership, she had the pleasure of “Frank” the salesman with 25 years experience. Sadly Frank utilized “old school” selling tactics toward women, including fear, manipulation and patronization, which he hadn’t adapted to the modern ... Read Post