Much of the time, sales management is conducted through what are called lagging indicators. These are KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that show what has already happened after all is said and done. Examples of lagging indicators: Sales # of units sold Gross margin # of different products sold Market share Gross revenue # of deals ... Read Post

Many sales pundits define 7 stages of the sales cycle, with closing a deal being defined as the end of the cycle. To most salespeople “the close” represents the welcomed end to a time consuming and laborious effort to get the client to buy. It is a time to get paid, take a deep breath, ... Read Post

You can follow all the sales tricks and best practices in the book, but if you’re working with dirty data, progress will always be one step forward, two steps back. “Dirty data,” in this case, refers to a CRM (or other database) full of inaccuracies, omissions and duplicate entries; customer and lead profiles are marred ... Read Post

I have written many times about Sales Managers who I believe are the most undervalued, under-trained, under-supported (I could go on) resource in most organizations. And yet, they can and should be that organization’s greatest revenue multiplier. But the reality is often so different, most sales managers are thrust into their positions after being a ... Read Post

In the last 20 years or so, automation has taken an enormous role in sales. A mammoth attempt has been made to create a “perfect system” in which leads are sought out, discovered, and served up to salespeople so that all they have to do is sell. The net result of these efforts, if continued, ... Read Post

In many sales situations, especially complex sales, it takes a village to close a deal. The more eyes and ears on a situation, the greater your ability to objectively view the deal from many different and sometimes disparate points of view, and engage multiple stakeholders. Qualifying the opportunity at multiple levels of the client organization ... Read Post

Having the skills to sell isn’t enough. Applying the skills in a way that achieves results is what’s most important. Remember T-F-A-R …your thoughts influence your feelings, which influence your actions and thus your results. It’s clear then that how you think impacts directly on your results. And that means that no amount of sales ... Read Post

As a business owner, one of the more challenging aspects of long-term success involves motivating employees to get on board with big picture goals. While it’s somewhat simple to motivate employees to accomplish their own personal business goals, it’s exponentially more challenging to convince them that overarching corporate goals are important and relevant, too. In ... Read Post