According to a recent survey, sales as a service (SaaS) providers are growing fast (32% per year) and showing no signs of stopping. While that growth is encouraging, not all SaaS providers are created equal. Some providers merely want to turn a profit. Yet, others strive to serve their clients with lasting strategies, attacking development shortfalls. If you’re in the market for development solutions through SaaS, there are a few key qualities to look for in a provider.
Leading a sales team is a lot like coaching a sports team. Take a talented group of individuals, hone their skills, and lead them to a winning season or quarter. They both require discipline, commitment, and goal setting.
For sales, coaching is often the difference between meeting a goal and missing one. Don’t believe it? According to Salesforce, there’s a 17% performance difference in sales teams who used coaching than teams that didn’t have coaching.
So how can we become all-star coaches? Let’s turn to some of the greatest coaches in sporting history and apply their advice to the sales environment. Read More
When the game is on the line, a good coach goes to their trusty playbook. In it are loads of plays that prepare their team for any situation—and ideas that come from years of experience on the gridiron, field, diamond, court, or rink. Read More
Business development representatives are often tasked with turning lists into leads – of narrowing a universe of possibilities into a funnel of qualified opportunities. This is no small task. It takes patience, professionalism, and persistence. But the right tools can speed up the process.
One such tool is lead scoring.
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A recent Forbes study showed 63 percent of executives feel their business has “ineffective” sales pipeline management. Such a staggering number reveals pipeline mismanagement as an all too common issue. This is alarming considering pipeline efficiency plays a critical role in a successful sales operation. The consequences of poor pipeline management are huge – how can your team avoid them?
If sales (read revenue) is at the heart of your business, your sales management process is what keeps it beating. To keep the pipeline flowing, this process must be in constant, efficient motion.
Some have tried quick tricks to improve their sales management processes, infusing funds or focusing on individual sales reps for fast results. However, these methods only produce a flash in the pan. Lasting change requires an in-depth look at your sales process and its team culture. These tips will help you examine your sales management process and team dynamic for permanent improvement. Read More
Whether you’re looking to break in to a new market or just need to bring up your numbers, deciding how to boost your sales is a calculated decision. Building a sales team is time consuming, and buying seems expensive. What is the best move for your company? A few simple questions can help you find the answer.
How much capital do you have available?
Buying a fully built sales team requires a set, time specific investment, while building means putting in an unknown amount over an unspecified time frame. If your annual sales budget is between $150,000 and $350,000, you have the funds to buy an outsourced team. If you’re lucky enough to have a larger budget, you’re in a good place to start building a team.
“Make a customer not a sale.” Katherine Barchetti
This well-known quote from the Pittsburgh retailer speaks volumes on the importance of professional persistence. Professional persistence in your business development efforts is about creating relationships. This means you build trust with prospects, getting to know them as an individual rather than a faceless opportunity in your pipeline.
Many successful actors hit it big when they landed the right role. This is the role they are known for, like Jennifer Aniston as “Rachel” on Friends or George Clooney as “Dr. Ross” on E.R. It was their dedication to these characters that helped make them, and their show, a lasting hit.
The same is true for business development. Finding the right roles for each member of your sales team can make a big difference in your staying power. Specialization means putting the right people in the right spot based on their skills and experience. It’s also a good way to divide and conquer. Rather than five sales reps working on everything from identifying prospects to closing and providing client service, specialization calls for splitting up the sales pipeline and giving a piece to each.
“Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”
–Sun Tzu, The Art of War IV.15
In other words, if you want to achieve your goals, you need a good plan. If you want to hold good conversations and deliver great sales ROI, you have to know what you’re doing.
The days of simply working your way up a contact list are over.
