sales management
2016 count-down: our top ten most-read articles
We’re still waiting on year-end statistics from the analytics companies to tell us how the year went for our industry on the whole, but we’re ready to announce that 2016 was a remarkable year for us.
What is your sales organisation going to do differently in 2017?
If you’re like most sales teams, 2016 was probably a blend of high spots and low spots. A subset of your sales people (often the same ones as last year) achieved their sales targets well before the end of the year. Another group got there or thereabouts, and a further group struggled.
Mind the sales gap - seven compelling reasons you need to know where yours are
In the past year, I’ve seen more and more organizations get on board with developing quality systems that genuinely support sales performance. We’ve helped organizations develop the processes and systematize behaviors that have yielded 50-80% improvements in quota attainment, increased the size of deals, and decreased waste.
B2B selling is too complex and dynamic for a formal sales process
There’s a very good reason people say that sales is an art, not a science. Considering the ever-changing complexity of the B2B sales environment, it’s reasonable to feel that a formal “scientific” sales process would only inhibit good salespeople from doing their job flexibly and well?
Strategy vs. skill - a Las Vegas showdown
As veteran consultants, we have worked with practically every type of sales force, so we are rarely surprised by the clients we encounter. However, we have to admit we suspected someone was joking when we heard that a Las Vegas casino wanted us to help them with a sales force that services high-stakes gamblers.
How to use positive psychology to make your salespeople happy
It’s a topic we don’t often talk about: Salesperson happiness. It doesn’t seem very business-like to focus on a fuzzy thing like that, but we know it substantially impacts our organizations. From productivity to turnover, happiness makes our employees more resourceful. Plus, it’s just plain great to know we’re making a difference in our team’s lives.
