Articles

Questions are the Answer

paulnolan — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:26:19 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-05-14

Author:

Michael and Jonathan Hackett

Teaser:

There are similarities between managing salespeople and managing a baseball team. Unfortunately, managers in both worlds make some of the same mistakes, beginning with adopting a "what have you done for me lately?" attitude instead of approaching things from the other way around - "What can I do for you?" Hang a question mark on what matters most and what matters most to you becomes critically important to the people you manage.

Five Common Afflictions of Sales Teams

paulnolan — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:52:12 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-05-07

Author:

John R. Treace

Teaser:

I’ve been a part of many sales teams in my career, and over and over I’ve noticed five common afflictions that affect them, each of which reduces morale and sales performance. They can be found to some degree in most almost every organization. Smart management teams are aware of these afflictions and work to avoid their potentially destructive impact

3 E-mail Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

paulnolan — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:50:44 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-05-03

Author:

SMM

Teaser:

E-mail has changed the world of marketing forever. Like any new business tool, however, there are traps that have already caught even the best e-mail marketers. Learn how to avoid three of the biggest ones.

Who Are You After?

paulnolan — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:31:02 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-05-01

Author:

Aleksi Grym and Rahul Dhingra

Teaser:

Business-to-business (B2B) companies are placing even greater emphasis on sales leads prospecting as a result of uncertainty over the global economy and evolving buyer behavior. Outsourcing sales lead prospecting to a third-party consultant can reap good payoffs, but any consultant you use must understand your business and be resourceful in getting the right and highly qualified information. Without professional intelligence research resources, a third-party consultant could end up following cycles and trends that may be unrelated to the actual work of prospecting.

A deeper look at sales training provider capabilities

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Dave Stein

Teaser:

Best practices in evaluating sales training companies shows us that an objective assessment of a provider’s capabilities against your requirements is essential. Every company seeking the best solution for its needs will have a different list with different priorities. Here are just some of the capabilities that should be considered during an evaluation process.

IMRA iPad Winner Drawn

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:57:50 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-04-25

Author:

Mike Murrell

Teaser:

Becky Sawicki, senior sales & marketing manager at Jura-Capresso, won an iPad 3. Her prize was presented to her by Sales & Marketing Management magazine account executive Lori Gardner at this year’s 42^ndannual Incentive Manufacturers and Representatives Alliance (IMRA) conference which concluded in Tampa on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. Sawicki won the iPad in a drawing based on the first 100 “Early Bird” registrants.

What Happens When You Lead By Example

paulnolan — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:36:40 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-04-23

Author:

David Lee

Teaser:

At a recent Leading by Example seminar, I noticed a team of managers who stood out because of their clear passion for their work, being their best, and making a difference. As the day unfolded and they revealed more of who they were and what they were about, I remembered how this same group stood out in a previous seminar, for the same reasons. Always interested in what great leaders do to create an atmosphere that brings out the best in people, I decided to find out what their manager had done to create such an inspired team.

Three steps to increased innovation

admin — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Paul Nolan

Teaser:

Innovation and new ideas can’t just come from corporate leaders or the executive level. Innovation must be an “all in” proposition, says business innovation consultant Stephen Shapiro.

The Mind Plays Tricks on Salespeople

paulnolan — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:01:51 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-04-20

Author:

Bill Rosenthal

Teaser:

Salespeople often fall victim to the "halo effect trap" by continuing to make sales calls on a prospect because they're getting good vibes and they disregard signs that the prospect lacks buying authority or other early warning signs that a sale won't occur. Worse still, the halo effect is only one of the tricks the mind can play on salespeople as they work toward making the sale.

What sales really needs from marketing

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Paul Nolan

Teaser:

Sales coach and author Jill Konrath was once a regional sales rep for a major computer maker whose office was in the same city as the company’s headquarters. Whenever a new product was introduced, marketing kicked off its road shows with Konrath and her colleagues. Konrath says the marketing team made a huge data dump with every new product introduction, but provided little to speed up the sales velocity. She continues to see big gaps between marketing and sales with her client companies.

Better meetings through technology

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Paul Nolan

Teaser:

If you want to start your meeting with a twist that will raise some eyebrows, Jon Petz recommends trying this: “Hey everyone, please make sure your phones are out and on.”

People — especially salespeople — are going to be interacting in your meeting and having digital dialogues at the same time you’re speaking. Why not concede the point?

If you want to start your meeting with a twist that will raise some eyebrows, Jon Petz recommends trying this: “Hey everyone, please make sure your phones are out and on.”

People — especially salespeople — are going to be interacting in your meeting and having digital dialogues at the same time you’re speaking. Why not concede the point?

Lessons learned from a father’s letters

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Paul Nolan, SMM Editor

Teaser:

"Dear Jay, Love Dad: Bud Wilkinson's Letters to His Son" is a collection of letters from a renowned college football coach of the 1960s that provides insights on leadership. One review of the book that ran in the Wall Street Journal was highly critical of what was left out, but that provides insights itself.

Influencing the Decision to Win the Sale (Part 2)

paulnolan — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:38:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-04-12

Author:

Michael Leimbach and Nancy Frevert

Teaser:

In the second part of their two-part article on influencing the buying decision to consistently win the sale, Michael Leimbach and Nancy Frevert of Wilson Learning explain how sales reps often lose a seemingly guaranteed sale to the competition. Their Value Map tool can help prevent it from happening to you.

Influencing the Decision to Win the Sale (Part I)

paulnolan — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:35:06 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-04-09

Author:

Michael Leimbach, Ph.D. and Nancy Frevert, Wilson Learning

Teaser:

How does a done deal come undone? In our experience of looking at thousands of win–loss reviews and talking to salespeople and sales managers, in most cases these last-minute surprises are caused by one of two problems:

The salesperson did not have the full picture of how the decision was being made, who was influencing the final decision, and what they thought of your rep.
The salesperson was unaware of actions competitors were taking behind the scenes to undermine his or her competitive position.

These things do happen, but with the right skills they will never happen to your team again.

The salesperson did not have the full picture of how the decision was being made, who was influencing the final decision, and what they thought of your rep.
The salesperson was unaware of actions competitors were taking behind the scenes to undermine his or her competitive position.

These things do happen, but with the right skills they will never happen to your team again.

Money Isn't Everything

admin — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Paul Nolan

Teaser:

Aberdeen’s annual “Sales Performance Management Study” highlighted that best-in-class organizations — those that outperform rivals across all major financial categories — are more than twice as likely as all other firms to provide non-cash incentives. Specifically, 21% of the best-in-class organizations used R&R programs; only 10% of the non-best-in-class organizations used them.

C’mon, Dave — who is the best sales trainer?

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:54:02 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

DAVE STEIN, CEO AND FOUNDER, ES RESEARCH GROUP, INC.

Teaser:

It’s a question I’ve been asked again and again by journalists, sales leaders, sales training company CEOs, corporate learning and development executives, consultants and those evaluating sales performance improvement providers for their own companies.

Most of the time, they aren’t happy to hear that it isn’t a question I can easily answer. There isn’t any person or even a single company that’s “the best.” It depends completely on the company that needs the training.

Product Review - March

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:54:53 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

SMM

Teaser:

The generation of workers that proudly wore the sort of years-of-service pins that companies ordered by the gross has either retired or is about to. That’s not to say that younger workers aren’t proud of their companies and the things they achieve on the job. It’s just that they feel grown up and they’d like their recognition or rewards to reflect as much.

Reps aren’t the ones who need revving up!

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:29:51 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Paul Nolan

Teaser:

You could have an endless budget to invest in training and it would only go so far if you and other frontline managers in your company aren’t invested personally in the process.

Getting Sales and Marketing to Work Together

paulnolan — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:52:01 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-04-02

Author:

Nico Schinagl

Teaser:

With small alignments, common language and some strategic steps, the conditions can be perfect to make marketing and sales work jointly toward the common goal of selling more, to more customers, more often and at a higher margin.

There’s a better way to select sales training

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:39:21 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Dave Stein

Teaser:

Strictly speaking, sales training is nothing more than a means to an end. The end is sales performance improvement, which is measured by an increase in the amount of products and services your team sells at higher margins, in less time and more predictably — than before the training. If you provide your team with ineffective sales training, your sales will not improve. That’s an opportunity squandered.

Top Performers - March

admin — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

SMM

Teaser:

5 ways to keep cut-rate competitors from stealing customers

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Paul Nolan

Teaser:

Few things frustrate salespeople more than competitors offering your current clients similar products or services at dramatically reduced prices. Sales coach Colleen Francis (engageselling.com) offers these five steps to close business without taking a huge bath on profits.

E-mail marketing tips from a recruitment guru

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Paul Nolan

Teaser:

E-mail is a quick and efficient way to reach a lot of prospects in a short amount of time. Dougles Chan is a recruitment and retention guru (dougleschan.com) who uses electronic platforms to maximize his recruitment business.

Clicks that clank

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

SMM Staff

Teaser:

There are hundreds of possible inbound marketing metrics to choose from, and almost all of them measure something of some kind of value. These include SEO rankings, inbound links, articles published, content downloads, reach (e.g. Twitter followers, Facebook fans, LinkedIn followers, blog subscribers), comments, retweets, Likes, shares, clicks, traffic, leads…and so many more. But be careful about measuring activity, not results.

WWDD: what would Dogbert do?

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Issue Date:

2012-03-01

Author:

Paul Nolan, SMM Editor

Teaser:

In 1997, at the invitation of Logitech CEO Pierluigi Zappacosta, cartoonist Scott Adams, wearing a wig and false mustache, successfully impersonated a management consultant and tricked Logitech managers into adopting a mission statement that he described as “so impossibly complicated that it has no real content whatsoever.” Motivation in the workplace - or the lack of it - is the topic of some of Adams' funniest "Dilbert" comic strips. We talked with him about the "Dilbert Metric" and the value of motivational speakers.