A sales training, sales process, and sales 2.0 community

January 27, 2012

Is This the Worst Direct Mail Letter Ever?

by Matt Heinz with 61 views

Photo: Aranami/Flickr(creative commons)

I hate to pick on the United States Postal Service, but they made themselves an easy target earlier this week. In my mailbox was quite possibly the worst direct mail letter I’ve received in a long time. I scanned and posted it here (click on the... [read more]

January 27, 2012

Metaphor Shapes Obama's Selling Points

by Anne Miller with 6 views

Photo: Anna/Flickr(creative commons)

What do you do to sell your idea of unity to an audience that is diverse, divided, and, in many cases, downright hostile to you and your views? Engage them immediately through metaphor. That is exactly what President Obama did last night... [read more]

January 27, 2012

5 Cutting Edge Social Media Trends For Small Businesses

by John Souza
with 81 views

Image: Courtesy of Avenuesocial.com

As we soldier on, deep into the tail end of January, it’s always a good idea to stop and take stock of the latest trends in social media. There’s so much change going on across the board, that you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on trends that could benefit your social marketing campaign in the... [read more]

What Really Motivates Us – Surprising Facts from Dan Pink

January 27, 2012 by Jeff Ogden
with 57 views

Most of what you think about motivation and rewards is wrong. Does money motivate? Not really, unless it’s too low. Jeff Ogden of Find New Customers is tired of companies wasting money on the wrong things.Daniel Pink This lively... [read more]

6 Ways to Get Booted From Twitter's Search Results

January 27, 2012 by Mike Volpe
with 41 views

Image: carrotcreative/Flickr

When Twitter evaluates whether you should be removed from search results, what it's really asking is whether you're a spammer or a bot. Or, a human that acts like one. [read more]

What ISV and SaaS Operators Can Learn from Telecom Billing

January 27, 2012 by Ben Bradley
with 68 views

Photo: Betsy Weber/Flickr(creative commons)

For decades, the telecom industry has been honing what other industries are only now getting into – business models that start with simple subscriptions then add complex pieces such as sign-up/activity/event fees + bundles + add-ons + incentives + promotional products. [read more]

Dealing with Oops! Moments: Sales Lessons from Rick Perry

January 26, 2012 by Jill Konrath
with 25 views

When you have an Oops! moment - which you invariably will -- own up to it right away. Don't fumble around looking like an idiot. That was the real killer for presidential candidate Rick Perry. Everyone's had that same experience, so they all feel for you. [read more]

Five Things You Need to Know About the Changing Face of Retail

January 26, 2012 by Lisa Arthur
with 113 views

Photo: Courtesy of author blog

Retailers are optimistic for 2012. Sure, concerns about the economy persist. But most retailers feel they’re better positioned to handle these uncertainties, and they’re starting to tap into the enormous potential of new digital retail technology.... [read more]

The 3 Biggest Listening Mistakes Sales People Make and How to Avoid Them

January 26, 2012 by Sean McPheat
with 33 views

Image: Courtesy of HigherSights

As sales people elevate their sales skills in other areas, often the area of listening begins to suffer, and usually it is the more experienced pros who are the biggest culprits. [read more]

4 Vital Digital Marketing Trends (or Developments) for 2012

January 26, 2012 by Gerald Weber
with 73 views

Image: Courtesy of author blog

Keeping an eye on what the future holds in its palm is key to growing your business and reaching out to new audiences. Trends will continue to change directions. And if you aren’t ready to embrace the upcoming developments, you can easily lose the race. As we proceed into 2012, it’s highly essential that you become cognizant of the top... [read more]

Sales Negotiating: The WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW

January 25, 2012 by Mark Hunter
with 42 views

Image: Courtesy of author blog

Too many salespeople begin negotiating with customers too quickly. As soon as the customer gives any sort of resistance, it seems like the going norm is for the salesperson to roll over and play dead and give away the farm. [read more]

Digital body language: selling on the internet

January 25, 2012 by David Bromwich
with 55 views

Photo: Pop! Tech/Flickr(creative commons)

It is very well known that a large amount of communication is non-verbal, reading body language for example. But with communication increasingly taking place online, how can these skills be translated into the digital world? [read more]

Five Attributes of Top Sales Influencers

January 25, 2012 by Lori Richardson
with 70 views

Image: Courtesy of author blog

Being recognized this month as a Top Sales Influencer made me wonder: What IS an influencer, and how can this help build a business or a brand? I mean, it is a great thing to have happened – quite an honor – but what is it, really? [read more]

The Most Counterintuitive Sales Strategy You’ve Ever Read

January 24, 2012 by Chad Levitt
with 53 views

Tweet I just finished Aaron Ross’ new book entitled: Predictable Revenue. If you are in Sales or Marketing leadership you need to read it. If you are a front line sales or marketing professional, read it too and buy it for your boss. For those of you that don’t know Aaron lead the charge at Salesforce.com in building their Enterprise... [read more]

YouTube Killed the TV Star: Why Online Video Marketing is Essential for Marketers in 2012

January 24, 2012 by Mike Lewis
with 62 views

Could 2012 be the year marketers embrace video in their social marketing efforts? We think yes, and here’re four reasons why. [read more]

Sales Metrics You Can’t Manage Without

January 23, 2012 by Matt Smith
with 260 views

Photo: Dawn Hopkins/Flickr(creative commons)

The right sales metrics tell the chief sales officer and CEO everything they need to know about how they are tracking towards their company’s revenue objectives. For some companies it’s a complex, finely tuned set of calculations, reports and charts. Others are just as successful with only a few simple ratios and percentages. [read more]

How Customer Satisfaction Surveys Tell the Future

January 23, 2012 by Amy Bermar
with 65 views

It’s funny – just asking customers what they want more of is one of the best ways to see where the market is heading, and where the pressure is strongest. [read more]

Ways to Brand Your Business on a Budget

January 23, 2012 by Dominique Molina
with 143 views

Image: Nicolas Nova/Flickr(creative commons)

Creating your business’ brand requires both internal and external elements. Internally, you need to determine the message that your brand conveys. What’s the one thing your brand is known for? What’s your USP, or your core business principle? [read more]

Is Too Much Business Clutter Weighing You Down?

January 22, 2012 by Todd Schnick
with 66 views

Drawing by hugh macleod, courtesy of author's blog

What are you? No matter the size of your organization, you need to be slight and nimble. All businesses and organizations take on too much clutter. This slows us down. This makes it harder to make quick strategic decisions. This makes it harder to pivot and evolve with the ever-changing marketplace. Here are a few questions to ask... [read more]

Performance Management — Abandoned Deals

January 21, 2012 by Dave Brock
with 37 views

Photo by Nic McPhee via Flickr

Last week, I talked about the importance of Win Loss Analysis. No one questions doing win/loss analysis, in particular, we really worry about losses. There is a hidden performance and resource drain that can have a dramatic impact on our success. It’s the abandoned deal. Abandoned deals happen more... [read more]

Who Lowered this Bar and Why Can't I Raise It?

January 20, 2012 by Steve Pieczko
with 139 views

Photo: Scott Ray/Flickr(creative commons)

I can't help but wonder, why aren't all companies doing business like Dave's company? Why do we allow the salesperson to put together an opportunity and not hold them accountable for the success of the opportunity? [read more]

Is Collaboration Overrated?

January 20, 2012 by Andrew Rudin
with 118 views

Photo by Joe Goldberg via Flickr

How many prospects does it take to buy a light bulb? More than ever it seems, thanks to social networks and a plethora of great collaborative software solutions. Maybe the question should be “how many committees does it take to buy a light bulb?” At least the number will be smaller. The benefits of ubiquitous conversations are... [read more]

Come to Atlanta to Get Down to Social Biz…and for Some Biscuits

January 20, 2012 by Brent Leary
with 39 views

I have the opportunity to go to a lot of CRM/Social events during the course of the year, most of which are held in cool places like San Francisco, Boston and Orlando. And while I love going to those places, I’ve always wanted to have one of those events down here in Atlanta. [read more]