Most companies have probably been through it: A CRM tool is chosen and implemented. Almost immediately, issues start arising. Sales can’t actually use it to track their sales. Sales management can’t seem to analyze sales data from it. Other users can’t figure it out. IT staff are flying all over the company trying to assuage ... Read Post

It may seem a trivial point that between two factions operating as part of the same team, there must be agreement on terminology common to both. But when it comes to Sales and Marketing, the lack of such agreement can lead to a chasm that remains forever gaping until it is rectified. Not only is ... Read Post

Insurance sales can be a difficult and complex undertaking. In addition to the basic skill of selling and closing sales, there are many different types of product lines—and therefore deals—to track. At the same time, different customers have differing requirements, and you must keep careful track of those also. While traditional CRM applications may not ... Read Post

Managing and monitoring your sales pipeline is key to the achievement of your stretching sales targets. The good news is that Hugh Macfarlane’s book – “The Leaky Funnel” – provides a fantastic and easily accessible overview of why this process is so important. Ready? Read Post

A sometimes ignored part of sales strategies is ensuring sales reps have the necessary skill levels to achieve those strategies. The most thought-out and potentially successful strategy in the world will only succeed to the level that salespeople are capable of executing it. Hence the enhancement of sales skill level should be a vital part of sales ... Read Post

One vital key to getting the most ROI from your CRM tool is to ensure your CRM application mirrors your sales process. Regrettably, traditional CRM solutions have not done this, and the resulting extra work and “workaround” has been a nightmare for sales. Today, however, there is every reason for CRM to mirror a sales ... Read Post

The Challenger Sale by Matt Dixon and Brent Adamson is an invaluable read for any sales professional wanting to gain a competitive edge. It reveals a totally new approach and way of working with customers – and one that may go against your instinctive thoughts about what works. 10 Second Summary This book argues that ... Read Post

Traditional CRM tools didn’t offer much in the way of benefit for a manufacturing sales force. Shying away from the plentiful reporting required by such applications—and also not perceiving that such solutions would provide much assistance in controlling their sales—many manufacturing salespeople have continued to use Excel spreadsheets and other similar solutions for tracking sales. Read Post