by Bill Poole | Jan 22, 2019 | Marketing, Sales
Both sales professionals and companies have brands. In our world of overwhelming options and distractions, a brand becomes shorthand to communicate things like:
- You’re in the right place
- You can trust me
In his book, This Is Marketing, Seth Godin says that as consumers, “We scan instead of study.”
We area all busy. We are bombarded with messages. So, our mind filters things out and quickly categorizes them. When we see a person or a company our mind immediately asks, “What does this remind me of?” (more…)
by Bill Poole | Jan 15, 2019 | Sales
How consistent is your sales team at bringing in net-new business? Without a consistent stream of opportunities entering the top of the funnel, the end-of-month results will be disappointing. Instead of net-new, the revenue will be primarily be from flipping the MIF.
A process is a series of steps for a repeated outcome. Processes bring predictability, efficiency, and consistency to net-new business.
Every business has processes:
- Service processes like service call entry and ticket management ensure happy customers.
- Financial processes like order fulfillment and collections ensure a controlled financial environment.
- HR processes like on-boarding and benefits administration ensure compliance and happy employees.
While businesses have all kinds of critical processes, when it comes to generating net-new sales, it’s often hard to find documented processes in place.
Without processes in place, business becomes chaos. (more…)
by Bill Poole | Dec 20, 2018 | Sales
As the manager of a sales team what is the biggest thing you can do to drive success? The answer may be to build a culture of success. Why? You can only be physically present with the members of your team for a small amount of time. The culture you create is always present.
Create a great culture is like a farmer nurturing the soil for a successful crop. Without proper cultivation, fertilizer, and watering, plants will struggle to grow. Create good soil and plants will thrive.
“Culture isn’t just one aspect of the game, it is the game.”
– Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., Former CEO of IBM
Here are a few thoughts on enhancing your sales culture: (more…)
by Bill Poole | Dec 19, 2018 | Sales
You need net-new business to hit your number. Net-new business requires appointments. When sales reps fail to consistently schedule appointments it shows up at the end of the month.
What does it take to get appointments? Could there be a way that is more effective, efficient, and measurable?
Salesforce.com research tells us that it takes 6-8 touches to get an appointment. When it comes to prospecting, the problem is that sales reps rarely get this many touches. Most prospecting is neither strategic nor systematic.
Fortunately there is a better way to make sure your sales reps get multiple touches with prospective clients. We call this a Prospecting Sequence. Here’s what this looks like: (more…)
by Bill Poole | Oct 10, 2018 | Sales
Every dealership wants to grow net-new business. However, using field sales reps as the sole source of prospecting leads to inconsistent results. That’s why most technology companies outside the office equipment industry have inside sales teams with Sales Development Reps (SDR’s) focused exclusively on developing new business opportunities.
As we’ve been coaching and equipping inside sales teams with the latest automated prospecting strategies combined with monitoring market triggers, I’ve become more and more convinced that inside sales team are an effective strategy for dealers who want to grow new business. Here’s why:
(more…)
by Bill Poole | Sep 27, 2018 | Sales
As a VP of Sales or Sales Manager, the number one driver of your success is recruiting a great sales team. If you don’t have great players, you’re going to struggle. A sales team is similar to a college football team. If the team recruits great players they are set up to have a good season. If they fail to recruit great players they are a in a lot of trouble.
What can we learn from college football to help us recruit better reps? Here are a few ideas.
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