As we enter the New Year, I wanted to share with you our top posts from 2017, based on the number of views. It’s always interesting to compile these lists and try to understand why some pieces were more popular than others, and uncover any common themes.
This past year, the top couple of posts were about salespeople, but overall the list doesn’t seem to contain a lot of consistency. There are posts about process, others about technology, one that is just a definition, and another that discusses a theoretical framework for optimizing your sales process. I am pleased to see that two posts about the failures of traditional CRM made the list, at numbers 5 and 7.
There are always a few perennial favorites that show up in the top posts year after year, and I’ve listed those at the bottom for you to enjoy as well.
Posts that draw from psychology always get some love from readers, and this most popular of 2017 posts is no exception. This piece explores 5 psychological principles that help sales managers and coaches to get better performance out of their salespeople. Read it here.
Nothing hurts worse than a bad hire, except maybe a good hire that went to waste because you failed to understand how to set them up for success. This piece discusses how to distinguish between bad hires and hires you haven’t supported well enough, and what to do to keep that revenue gold in your organization. Read it here.
This piece, the only expert interview to make our top nine list, features a discussion with Christopher Engman about his approach to mega deals. We talk about his 3 keys as well as Engman’s background in mathematics, technology, and politics, and how those things inform his work in the sales industry. Read the article here.
Sometimes a simple definition is not so simple. In this piece, we explore what makes a sale complex versus simple, as well as the impact that definition has on the sales organization as a whole. Given that this was our 4th most popular post of 2017, it’s clear that folks are hungry for a clear understanding of the topic. You can read it here.
I was pleased to see this one hit our top 5 list. The vast majority of sales organizations are still throwing money away on what amounts to the world’s most expensive rolodex. In this article, I reveal some numbers behind that assertion, as well as how to avoid doing the same in your organization. You can read the article here.
Nobody loves surprising statistics more than I do, except maybe you. #6 on our list is a look at compelling industry statistics from CSO Insights, SBI, Salesforce, and Caliper Corp. Perhaps the most stunning statistic to me is the fact that nearly everyone is raising their quotas even as quota attainment falls. You can read the rest of the stats here.
Nearly every sales organization recognizes the need for CRM but what if your CRM is actually inhibiting your sales effectiveness? In this piece, I explore the reasons most companies would be better off without their current CRM, and what they should do instead. Read it here.
Everyone loves to tout the importance of understanding the buyer’s journey… and nearly everyone is getting it wrong. In this article, I explore a common misconception about buyer’s journey, how it’s hurting your complex sales, and how to develop a more effective understanding of your buyers. Read the article here.
In the #9 position is a piece that shares a lot in common with the article in the #1 position. Here, we take a framework designed for another discipline (organizational improvement, where the #1 piece used a framework from psychology) and apply it specifically to the sales organization. It turns out it’s a great fit, and the article proved popular. You can read it here.
Every year, a couple of articles from previous years continue to crop up among the most popular, and sometimes they blow all the more recent pieces out of the water. #1 on the list is the controversial piece, “Is solution selling dead? Is Challenger Sales the new king?” and #2 is a completely non-controversial but fun and informative piece, “A brief history of sales methodologies.” These two alone clocked in more views than the top 9 from 2017 combined. What makes them so continually popular? Well, you’ll have to read them to find out.
What were your favorite articles from 2017, in this blog or elsewhere? Tell us about it!
George is the founder & CEO of Membrain, the Sales Enablement CRM that makes it easy to execute your sales strategy. A life-long entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the software space and a passion for sales and marketing. With the life motto "Don't settle for mainstream", he is always looking for new ways to achieve improved business results using innovative software, skills, and processes. George is also the author of the book Stop Killing Deals and the host of the Stop Killing Deals webinar and podcast series.
Find out more about George Brontén on LinkedIn
From north to south, east to west, Membrain has thousands of happy clients all over the world.
