After a lengthy buying process, the time has come to submit pricing. Countless hours are spent formulating a glorious proposal that details your comprehensive solution. Proud of your accomplishment, you present your proposal to the buyer. Skipping the sections about your company and your solution, she flips right to the pricing page. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t think it would be this expensive!”
One of the most critical decisions a company will make is the hiring of the right sales leader. However, many business owners and executives make the all too common mistake of restricting their search to those with industry experience. There is a feeling that the sales manager must come from their industry as that is the only way they will be successful in the role. Many put that element of their criteria at the top of their decision list. “The successful applicant will have 10 years experience in the widget industry.” Hogwash!
Sales managers are tasked with the daunting challenge of leading their sales teams during turbulent times.As a sales manager, for years, you’ve had Human Resources preaching to you about the importance of work-life balance for your sales team. They reminded you that studies showed that productivity increased when employees had balance between their work life and their personal one. They told you that the team needed time to recharge their batteries so they could sell more for the company.
There is an old saying that goes:
There is no such thing as an old joke, just old people. Meaning no matter how old you are the first time you hear a joke it is new to you, no matter how long it has been out there.
Which explains why I am going to sound a bit old in this piece, which is alright, because I will be talking about all the “NEW” out there that sellers are being told (sold) they should be consuming if they want to succeed. I don’t have an issue with things that are really new, but when it comes to selling, “NEW” is more often than not, the “same old”, with at best new wrapping.
What would it take for you to double or even triple your win rates? According to LinkedIn research, you have a significantly better chance of closing sales when you have multiple connections within a single account.
Talk to any ‘executoide’, and KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) are bound to be part of the conversation. Nice and practical concept, good resume fodder, often misused or abused by many, especially from a sales point of view. I often get the sense that many see KPI standing for Key Political Initiatives or Key (to my) Personal Incentive.
How you manage and stage your pipeline can be the difference between an OK year or career, or a consistently great one. To use a sport analogy, your pipeline is your core, no matter what sport you are in hockey, tennis, or running, a strong core, a well exercised and maintained core adds to athletic performance and lifts one competitor to victory over a comparably talented athlete with a less conditioned core.
Tip Sheet #6 from Doing the Right Things Right by Laura Stack
No doubt you’ve seen too many self-serving maneuvers over the years to be surprised when a leader slinks off into every-man-for-himself territory. So why not surprise your team by facing your in-house rivals like a team player? Keep these things in mind when the going gets tough.
Tip Sheet #5 from Doing the Right Things Right by Laura Stack
Forget offering bored employees the same old brass rings to grab for. Make them want to go for the gold. I don’t necessarily mean financial motivation, though that may help. What they really need is purpose: a chance to excel at something that matters. Here’s how to help them avoid boredom:
Tip Sheet #3 from Doing the Right Things Right by Laura Stack
Clear communication is important in all directions, upward and laterally as well as downward. You’ll have to learn to argue effectively and productively with others at or above your responsibility level—because no matter how good-natured people are, if you bring any two together, they’ll eventually find something to disagree about.
