Sales Management Challenges: 1 of 6 - How to Create Clearly Defined Sales Processes and Sales Objectives

Read Forbes, Fortune, or any other top sales and business publication. What will you find? Articles about the top sales challenges commonly faced, no matter which product or service you are marketing.   I'd like to share the benefits of my 30-year experience in sales and marketing with you. This series of blogs tackles 6 of the top sales challenges with sound advice and a practical 'do today' tip.   Sales Challenge #1: How to create clearly defined sales processes and sales ... Read more

Consultative Solution Selling by Telephone?

I once had a sales manager who used to say you've got to "see 'em to sell 'em".  These days, whether we like it or not, a number of factors collude to make it either impractical or not financially viable to "go see 'em" higher volumes, lower margins, geography for example. Demographics play a part too there is a generation of B2B buyers out there who have been brought up on cell phones, the Internet, facebook, twitter, ebay et al, and they really don't feel the need to deal with sa ... Read more

Is channel sales really the way to go?

In the current climate all of us are looking to generate more leads, make more sales and lower operating costs.  The thought of doing your sales and business development via an indirect sales channel operation suddenly becomes very appealing lots of sales people, who you don't have to employ, out there selling for you. Problem is you still have all the responsibility for the numbers but no authority to back it up.  Your own sales guy does not perform you can put them on a ... Read more

Building Rapport – do you let it happen or make it happen?

When we ask salespeople to list their strengths most include rapport and relationship building, getting on with people and listening.  When we then ask the customers to list what they dislike about salespeople they usually include they are over-familiar, they don't listen, they are complacent, they only call us when THEY want something. This is interesting because when you then analyse what sales people count on to win they will tell you product, price, brand and relationships.&nbs ... Read more

So, your prospect wants a “partnership”?

WHAT IS A PARTNERSHIP?

- A venture created by contract, a co-operative relationship.......
- People or groups who agree to share responsibility for achieving some specific goal.....
- A contract / agreement  between two or more persons who agree to pool talent and money and share profits or losses.......
WHAT THE CUSTOMER REALLY MEANS! Many customers claim to want a partnership with their key suppliers but this is often no more th ... Read more

Are you slipping into a dependency culture?

Its very easy to give all  your attention to one or two customers who, despite the current market are giving you lots of business "better look after these guys, can't afford to lose them".  Its easy to fall into the trap of relying on one product line that, despite the current market is selling well "better keep pushing these, thank goodness we have this line".  Its easy to stick to one market that you know inside out "phew, good job I am expert in this sector, the rest of t ... Read more

Persistent or pestering?

There is a fine line between being persistent in pursuing a sales opportunity and becoming a pest.  Tenacity will always win out but not if you upset or annoy your prospect during the sales cycle. Like most sales problems prevention is better than cure.  Too often we lay ourselves open to becoming a pest by not setting the expectation of what we are going to do in the sales process, and how we are going to work, with the prospect.  In most sales processes it's not a one st ... Read more

Time for some serious sales help?

There has never been a more appropriate time to look at using an Interim Manager CxO For Hire, VP of Sales for Hire - whatever term you are using in your market. I don't normally blog about "me" but this interim topic keeps coming up.  I have 30 years, international sales, marketing and general management experience including board and non executive (advisory board) posts, doing start ups and turnarounds.  Many companies especially SMEs, simply do not have the budget for t ... Read more

10 years experience or 1 years experience used 10 times?

When the market is tough and leads are few and far between, sales opportunities cannot be wasted and you need the right sales people on board.  This week the best damn sales blog has got a best damn sales tip and a best damn management tip! Take two sales people sales person A has 10 years experience, sales person B has 1 years experience they have used 10 times!  You might want to read that again. Are you hiring A's or B's. As a sales manager or a sales person are you ... Read more

netWORKing – an interview Betsy Wuebker

Betsy thanks for your comments and feedback on my blog "there is work in NetWORKing", tell me why do you think people don't follow up when they have made the initial effort to network? I think there are a variety of reasons:  disorganization, lack of prioritization.  It's hard for people to toot their horn.  Folks are also insecure they think they couldn't possibly have anything valuable to offer, and don't want to intrude.  Following up is barely warmer than a cold c ... Read more