SalesAndMarketing.com

June 17, 2013 12:00 AM

Socratic Questions Help Prospects Uncover Truth

by: Peri Shawn

Effective sales questions can help uncover information that moves the sales process forward. Here’s how salespeople can ask better questions, and stay away from questions that can alienate prospects. Also, why it’s sometimes best to avoid the word “why.”

June 14, 2013 12:00 AM

5 Reasons Why Sales Makes Marketing Mad

by: Mckay Allen

How do sales marketing get along? How do they interact? How can the processes between them be improved? For starters, sales teams can avoid these five common mistakes.

June 10, 2013 12:00 AM

If You Love 'Em, Keep 'Em

by: Sean Conrad

Sales and marketing are critical to your company’s success, but many organizations struggle to engage and retain these critical employees. A strategic, well-executed talent management program can go a long way to help drive the performance of sales and marketing professionals and retain them for the long term.

June 7, 2013 12:00 AM

'Gold Calling' Is Alive and Well

by: Dan McDade

The pundits who have a problem with outbound cold calling only think of the mindless smiling and dialing that far too many companies still do today. The reality is that cold calling is alive and well.

June 7, 2013 12:00 AM

Socratic Questions Help Prospects Uncover Truth

by: Peri Shawn

Effective sales questions can help uncover information that moves the sales process forward. Here’s how salespeople can ask better questions, and stay away from questions that can alienate prospects. Also, why it’s sometimes best to avoid the word “why.”

June 3, 2013 12:00 AM

Eyes On the Prize

by: Tom Giddens

Companies frequently run into trouble by failing to create the right balance between sales goals and the actions they tie incentives to. Insurance giant Aflac follows these four guidelines as it builds and refines a wide variety of incentives, contests and prizes to capture the attention of a sales force more than 60,000 strong.

May 31, 2013 12:00 AM

The Evolution of Social Selling

by: Dave Stein

Too many companies leave social media learning and development up to the individual sales rep. This fractured approach can keep your reps from adapting to the new ways that customers are buying products and services, which means fewer wins.

May 29, 2013 12:00 AM

Feeding the Marketing Content Pipeline

by: Scott Richardson

The marketing content pipeline is closely related to, yet distinct from the sales pipeline. By delivering the right content via the pipeline, marketers are able to interface with customers early on in the lead generation process and then continue to feed salespeople with the materials they need throughout the sales effort.

May 26, 2013 12:00 AM

The New Look of Offsites

Meetings away from the office were booted from businesses' budgets after the economic collapse, but they have slowly returned with some important adjustments.

May 23, 2013 12:00 AM

A tribal approach to sizing up prospects

A sales consultant states that by categorizing prospects into one of four different "tribal types," salespeople can identify communication style and other preferences that can enhance the effectiveness of each interaction.

May 20, 2013 12:00 AM

'Customer First' Must Be More Than A Mantra

by: Arad Levertov

Customers today demand immediate solutions in real time. What they need, when they need it and how they want to receive your product or service are important factors that drive consumer buying decisions. Most business leaders understand this, but more should put into action these six basic rules to maintain a competitive edge in the battle against the clock and themselves.

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From the Editor...

On the road to find out

Fans of A&E Channel’s “Mad Men” will recall one of the final scenes of season 5 when Peggy Olson, newly departed from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, is happily holed up in a drab motel room with a grin on her face and a glass of wine in her hand. She was on her first business trip, and she had the look of a woman who had arrived.

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Additional Web Resources

Leadership Lessons from a Marching Band
Mike Figliuolo of thoughtLEADERS, LLC discovered that his college alma mater’s marching band offers some leadership lessons that businesses would do well to mimick. Read his thoughts and watch the video here: http://bit.ly/13gIo3d

Should You Create A Sales Dream Team?
Since customers are fielding buying teams, does it make sense to assemble your top salespeople into a Dream Team? Harvard Business Review addressed the issue of making star teams out of star players. You’ll find it here...

Freewheelin’ With the Funnelholic
While researching our Jan-Feb cover story on marketing automation, we came across Funnelholic.com, a lively business blog written by consultant Craig Rosenberg. We got him on the phone to talk more about the topic. You’ll find that conversation here.

Dan Pink Says We’re All In Sales Now
In his new book, “To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others,” the best-selling author says we’re all in sales to one degree or another. So what does that mean for those who do it for a living? Our extended Q&A with Dan Pink is here.