Have you ever asked yourself why your organization has account managers? I hope it is not just to avoid the term sales representative, because customers have low esteem of people with" sales" in their job title. Account managers are there to help accounts (clients) to buy more from your brand. What is the behavior of a client called who buys repeatedly from a brand? According to 12MANAGE Thex Excutive Fast Track, this is called loyalty. So my hypothesis is: Successful account managers are good at managing loyalty and thus getting existing clients to buy more from their brand. Successful account managers are thus able to get more from what they have. This is one way of adopting to the new normal where budgets are tight and resources are scarce. The first step to this goal is though that you do not loose anything from what you have. What is the strategic asset not to loose for account managers, and the whole company for that matter? Clients, which to me, is the term for loyal customers. On January 26, 2010 at 1 p.m. US EST (6 p.m. GMT, 7 p.m. CET) I will give a Masterclass over at Top Sales Experts entitled “How Account Managers Can ... read more >>
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It’s no secret that top sales professionals possess both strong relationships and deep industry knowledge. But in a down economy, many have found that who they know has a greater impact on their sales success than what they know. The reality is that in bad economic times, prospects aren’t willing to take a chance on new businesses when making purchasing decisions. Instead, they rely on sales professionals with whom they have already established a trusted relationship. Doing so helps mitigate the risks involved with investing limited budgets into an unproven or unknown product or service. That is why the importance of maintaining solid customer relationships cannot be over-emphasized, particularly in today’s market when prospect pipelines are harder to fill no matter how experienced you are. Even if existing customers are not buying, cultivating those relationships ensures that you will be top-of-mind when they are ready to spend. It also increases your chances for referrals. Of course, maintaining solid connections doesn’t absolve you of your responsibility to stay abreast of industry trends. The ability to share information and advise your customers from a position of ... read more >>
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Click here to listen to this article free on iTunes. This message is designed to motivate you. To make you feel great about being in the Sales Profession; and to encourage you to look forward rather than backwards. As the world continues to wallow in this economic crisis; as unemployment continues to creep up; as consumers and investors sit on the sidelines; and as companies continue to cut back, there is only one way out of this recession. We have to sell our way out.
It is the only way. We have to get both consumers and businesses to start buying more products and services. And the only way we will sell our way out is if the hard working men and women of the Sales Profession step up and get to work. Now some of you may say, “You’re nuts Jeb. The situation with the economy is way more complicated than this. We’ve got the housing crisis, unemployment, the mess with the banks, government bailout, lack of consumer confidence and more. How can you stand there and suggest that salespeople are the key to our economic survival.” It’s ok if you feel that way. This is a reasonable response to my assertion during this time of fear, uncertainty and doubt. And inde... read more >>
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Paula Drum who was involved with many of H&R Block's social business initiatives recently announced her pursuit of a new opportunity. I've met Paula a few times and she's both smart and approachable—I wish her the best of luck in her new venture. She's also left us with a bit of wisdom called "10 Tips For Social Media Marketers" that I highly recommend reading and contemplating over. Stop what you are doing and just go read the entire write up. Below are a just a few of my favorite points. Good luck Paula!Media $ versus human capital – I mentioned human capital earlier. Companies can spend a lot of money trying to launch a social media program. For the most part, I would really classify those efforts as an integrated marketing campaign. Your approach and funding of an integrated marketing campaign needs to be in line with the size and scope of your overall marketing budget. Social media programs can be a lot more cost efficient from a media budget standpoint, but, you still need human capital to run them. In many cases you may be trading media $ for the human capital needed to run a program. For example if you are taking the fi ... read more >>
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Always trying to see the bright side, I often think about and observe the positive outcomes of our economic state. Soon, I may document those observations so I can remember all the "when I was your age..." stories for my own children. For today, I will cover the return of customer service. Unfortunately, I haven't been one of those people to demand great customer service. If I get poor service somewhere, I simply don't return. I know I should share my experience, but... I'm busy and I don't. I am never looking for bad service - I rarely notice it, in fact. Good, friendly, enthusiastic service always stands out and that is because it is rare. In Atlanta, we have Quik Trips. Everytime you walk into a Quik Trip, you get greeted warmly and enthusiastically. You feel every last person working there truly wants your business and is happy to be there providing a great experience - even pre-recession. As we make our way through the current recession, I can't help but notice how much those who once took me for granted are now embracing me. I have gotten the friendliest, most accomodating, above and beyond service from my bank, my insurer, my retirement account provider, my ... read more >>
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Always trying to see the bright side, I often think about and observe the positive outcomes of our economic state. Soon, I may document those observations so I can remember all the "when I was your age..." stories for my own children. For today, I will cover the return of customer service. Unfortunately, I haven't been one of those people to demand great customer service. If I get poor service somewhere, I simply don't return. I know I should share my experience, but... I'm busy and I don't. I am never looking for bad service - I rarely notice it, in fact. Good, friendly, enthusiastic service always stands out and that is because it is rare. In Atlanta, we have Quik Trips. Everytime you walk into a Quik Trip, you get greeted warmly and enthusiastically. You feel every last person working there truly wants your business and is happy to be there providing a great experience - even pre-recession. As we make our way through the current recession, I can't help but notice how much those who once took me for granted are now embracing me. I have gotten the friendliest, most accomodating, above and beyond service from my bank, my insurer, my retirement account provider, my ... read more >>
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As the leader of your organization, the next 6 months will prove to be more pressure-filled then you may have experienced in years. With decreasing prospects and the cost of doing business increasing, a squeeze on profits is inevitable. Companies will look to cut costs and the first place to start is the sales force. The sales force is your company’s most expensive promotional resource. You will have to make some critical decisions: Do you cut costs or improve the performance of your existing sales team? Cut back, down size and cut costs: I don’t need to give you advice on cutting back. It’s easy to cut back on sales people, promotion and training. While radical surgery may be financially prudent in the short term it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: first sales decline, then performance suffers and finally moral drops, completing the downward cycle. How can you improve the productivity and performance of your sales force? I believe that too many sales organizations operate well below their potential. Quick fixes abound during these times, but the secret to surviving difficult economic times is simple… Unlock the potential in your sales organization and watch that... read more >>
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Learn how David Bonnette, Group Vice President of Sales at Oracle, is responding to current conditions and optimizing productivity using Oracle CRM On Demand. Click here for a brief interview. Link to original post read more >>
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The Customer Collective asked eleven leading sales experts to contribute to a fantastic free eBook to help sellers through the recession. The brand new eBook, "Selling Through a Slump: An Industry-by-Industry Playbook" is available at the Customer Collective site . With authors like Charles Green, Jill Konrath, and Dave Stein and other respected selling authorities, I'm proud to be part of the author group. Each author gives inspiring advice for overcoming the economic slump in one specific industry. My contribution is for the retail industry (although the information might also be helpful to those who sell in customers' homes or to those who sell real estate, financial products, and insurance). Many retailers have been hit hard during this recession, but there are still incredible opportunities for sales growth. See the complete list of authors and the sales topics who contributed a sales strategy to the book. I've read the entire book and it is excellent. Thanks to Oracle and the Customer Collective for sponsoring the project.Download the Selling in a Slump free eBook now!If you like this post (or don't!), please consider leaving a comment, or subscribe to our free sales tips ... read more >>
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 Marketing your company during good times is hard enough. But marketing your company while trying to manage expenses can really be tough. So what’s a marketer with one hand tied behind their back to do?
One powerful and cost-effective strategy that generates consistent results is strategic email marketing. When done right, it can generate huge ROI percentages within a reasonable budget. The following are just some of the strategies to keep in mind when developing email campaigns: - Get to the point—You only have 2–3 seconds to catch their attention. Always provide relevant information that your target wants and avoid the “fluff.”
- Keep it short—No more than 15–20 percent of the copy you would include in a traditional printed direct mail letter.
- Be conversational—Your email should be an extension of your brand. If your brand is formal, write in a formal style. If your brand is casual, make it casual.
- Use bullets and lists—Emails are unique in that the reader wants the info fast. Instead of long sentences, try bullets or lists to convey your points. This is a vehicle of “sound bytes.”
- Choose your topics carefully—Always make the information timely and culturally relevant to ...
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