It used to be that salespeople, by necessity, had to engage in their own lead generation. They visited potential prospects, made cold calls, attended events, even parties, dinners and golf games, in an effort to obtain leads. All of this was quite in addition to working those leads and closing deals. Today it’s not the same. ... Read Post

Greg was a sales person that I will never forget. He would often barrage prospects with a seemingly endless supply of sarcastic remarks. Though his first quip would usually inspire a grin, as the attempts at humor continued, prospects would become annoyed and then attempt to disengage from the sale. In the end, Greg’s ineffective ... Read Post

Metrics are essential for management to understand if reps are on track to deliver results and to identify areas for improvement. You cannot make continuous improvements and refinements without them. They need to be actionable and predictable. While there are many standard metrics, many will be unique to your sales environment and go-to-market strategy. It ... Read Post

What’s a good lead rate? How much should a lead cost? These are questions stirring in the minds of executives everywhere. (Just google them.) The problem is they’re not so easy to answer; few have found success; and for that matter, are they even the right questions? I have been in this business since 1991 ... Read Post

In my last blog post in this series, I discussed how a sales team must be precisely focused for the industry they are in. The sales process and all sales activities must have a precise industry-specific focus. It goes a bit deeper than that, however—for the personality profile of the reps you are hiring must ... Read Post

“If you can find good people, they can always change the product/service. Nearly every mistake I’ve made has been in picking the wrong people, not the wrong idea. Most entrepreneurs have no problem coming up with a good strategy, but they usually need all the help they can get in developing and implementing the tactics ... Read Post

There is no easy way to success, but if you will follow these ten tips you could be on a right way. Super successful sellers know that it’s crucial to put clients at first place, listen to them and show them that you care. But there is a lot more than that: 1. Put Your ... Read Post

In my last blog, I pointed out that today salespeople must be customer-centric: that is, placing the majority of focus on the buyer, their issues and needs instead of the seller’s product only. In this blog let’s discuss the need to be industry-specific in these efforts, and what that requires. So now we have a ... Read Post