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How do you create the best and most efficient sales strategy? A great deal of recommendations out there tells you that as long as you have a recorded plan, a solid process, and a bullpen filled with reps who know your option inside and out, you’re ready. The issue is, the majority of sales strategies are too internally focused. They succeed in documenting internal treatments however lose sight of the messages and abilities your reps demand to communicate value to your candidates and customers. Read the full article at: www.techolac.com
Managing virtual sales teams is becoming a common theme in the workplace. As times change, so does the average worker. Many companies are turning to virtual sales teams to save money on office space and create a flexible working atmosphere. This trend will most likely continue to increase with the advancement of new technologies and the current social distancing measures. However, many managers tend to worry that their team is either binging on Netflix shows, doing laundry or otherwise goofing off – while in their pajamas. Guess what? The truth is employees tend to perform better when working from home. Here are some tips that will help you manage a productive and high-performing virtual sales team. 1. Select the Right Candidates for Remote WorkWhile the data supports the idea that remote teams are effective, not everyone is effective when it comes to remote work. Before you allow a current employee to go remote, you should evaluate their work patterns and ethics.
Read the full article at: www.vanillasoft.com
Hiring the right salesperson for your team can be a hassle. They can have all the right experience, results, and seem like an ideal fit during an interview. But, there are few things worse as a sales leader than investing time, money, and energy in hiring someone only to realize down the road that they’re likely not cut out for the role. The good news? You can take a few preventative measures to better your chances of hiring the right fit for your team.
1. Get Clear You need to know what you want if you’re going to have any chance finding who you want.
Read the full article at: www.engageselling.com
Motivation is more than Vince Lombardi quotes and quirky posters on the wall. It’s one of the most important components of sustained sales success over time. As a sales manager or director, you can only influence your team’s sales performance in two dimensions: Their skill set (what they can do) and their motivation (how repeatedly or passionately they do it). Improving your team’s skill set is a largely objective process. By evaluating current performance metrics and comparing them to a successful end state, you can diagnose what areas need improvement and act accordingly. But motivation is far harder. Not only are there are many external factors that affect motivation, every person requires different incentives and motivational tactics.
Read the full article at: blog.hubspot.com
An article from OpenView Ventures found that north of 25% of sales reps will fail in their role. HubSpot found that it takes 18 or more calls for the average salesperson to connect with the average lead. Further, callback rates are south of 1 percent, and less than one in four sales emails are ever opened. Suffice it to say that effective B2B sales is an uphill battle. As you begin putting together your high-impact sales team, here are five key steps sales leadership should keep in mind. 1. Hire Quality Salespeople from the Outset—and QuicklyAs you begin to scale, it is critical that you hire high-quality people from the get-go. Every week that passes without your adding a new account executive to your team is another week where your competitors are making inroads against you.
Read the full article at: salesnerds.atriumhq.com
Most business leaders have grown accustomed to the comforting concept of “normal” market conditions. Today, when these leaders talk about the “new normal,” they are usually talking about the anticipated return to something closely resembling previous market conditions – a predictable status quo that will allow them to focus on administering and fine-tuning various elements of the go-to-market strategy. When we think about recovery, we, too, may think about the days when we had a high degree of confidence that our basic assumptions would stand unchallenged. Charting a path on the roadmap to recovery in the current environment will depend, increasingly, not on skills that brought us success in the past, but on a very different set of capabilities to help us to navigate the future. With that shift in required skillsets and capabilities comes a period of major disruption.
Read the full article at: www.sandler.com
Remote work is here to stay for many companies, especially in the technology sector, as we’ve seen public companies like Twitter, Dropbox and Square, and startups like GitHub and Upworthy commit to making work from home (WFH) a permanent option for every employee. More broadly, post-pandemic, about two-thirds of all companies plan to make WFH part of their employee handbook. This reality holds a huge opportunity for organizations that are hiring in 2021. They can bring in a talent bench that’s built not just for this moment but for the digital-first decade ahead. For sales organizations in particular, the talent they hire today must understand how to build a pipeline and close deals through digital channels, and they will someday be sales managers who can pass on their online expertise.
Read the full article at: about.crunchbase.com
“How do I build a great sales culture at my company?” I get that question often from small business owners. And what I always share is that it starts with your leaders. When hiring for sales leadership roles, you have to think well beyond just promoting an experienced account executive who can drive opportunities. What you should really be looking for is a leader with the skills and upside to run a business. Let’s take a deeper look at what you should keep an eye out for in sales leadership: 1. Emotional intelligenceSales leaders are essentially arm-chair psychologists. They need to be able to connect with people and understand what makes them tick. They must inspire their team to learn and give positive feedback that motivates. It’s very hard to find and hire people who have emotional intelligence already. It’s even more challenging to try to teach it.
Read the full article at: www.salesforce.com
In SaaS, #1 most common misfire, with a bullet, is the VP/head of sales. In fact, there’s a VC saying that I used to really hate. It goes something like “You’ve Got to Get Past the Carcass of Your First VP of Sales” or “It’s The Second VP of Sales When You Really Start Selling” or variants thereof. It used to really bug me because I am a firm believer in the strategy of Zero Voluntary Attrition and trying to hire fewer, more committed resources over a higher volume of mercenaries that turn over more often. The thing is, it turns out the VCs are basically right. Because in SaaS start-ups, it seems like the majority of first VP Sales fail. Don’t even make it 12 months. And totally screw things up as they fail. And this is really, really painful. It’s much worse than a bad VP Marketing hire. Because with a bad VP Sales you can lose so much momentum, and create so much internal confusion, that this one bad hire can really cripple you as you try to get from Initial Traction to Initial Scale. So I want to try to help you if you’re going through this. It’s going to take a few steps. First, in this post, I want to outline what a VP of Sales in a SaaS company actually does. Because I think this is 50% of the problem – founder/CEOs are looking for the wrong things out of their VP Sales.
Read the full article at: www.saastr.com
Everyone has a set of factors that influence their performance at work—some of these factors are work related, but many are not. The same goes for motivation; what motivates one employee might discourage another. Many managers gravitate towards complicated reward systems, accountability strategies, or other similar tactics that promise to inspire your team. However, these complex strategies can often do more harm than good. Instead, we recommend that you take it back to the basics. Five Sales Team Motivation Essentials For Sales ManagersBuild trustThe success of your sales team is highly dependent on the level of trust they have in you as their manager.
Read the full article at: salesgravy.com
The word “demand” or “demanding” can induce an adverse reaction, and not without good reason. The way we are using the word “demanding” here does not point to the autocrat or despotic leader, who doesn’t care about their people. The term “demand” as we are using it here means being uncompromising when it comes to a leader’s expectations. The following five demands are part of being a good and effective b2b sales leader. High Standards In SalesCompetent sales leaders are demanding leaders, raising the people’s standards, and serving as an example. The demand for higher standards separates the competent from sales leaders who set no standards, or standards so low that none on their team is required to stretch themselves to reach them.
Read the full article at: thesalesblog.com
If you’re new to sales management, you need to develop the skills to lead your team. Adding a few sales management strategies to the mix can help you motivate the team to achieve the goals you’ve committed to. In this post, we list 10 sales management strategies to consider. Expectation ManagementIs the long-term plan in your organization evolving to a remote-work business model? Your employees may cheer about not having to deal with a grinding commute. They might also miss the camaraderie of the department lunches and in-person meetings. One way to keep your team interested and engaged is to properly manage expectations. You may not yet have a date for when you can work together in the same location. But you can certainly explain the specific goals and objectives you expect them to work toward during the next quarter. And to ensure they feel accountable, ask your team members to participate in setting the goals.
Read the full article at: salesfuel.com
Advancing from a sales representative into a sales manager role requires polishing your skills and presenting your best leadership qualities. When learning how to become a sales manager, there are several important steps to consider. These include: - Aligning with required credentials
- Being a leader and team player
- Knowing how to prioritize and delegate
- Delivering coaching
- Implementing effective training
- Demonstrating good communication
- Enjoying mentorship and sharing knowledge
- Identifying strengths within a team
- Executing a strategic sales plan
Each of these takes time and experience to master. While some of these are necessary to be a good sales representative, it takes extra steps to go above and beyond as a manager and acquire the skills to lead others. Exploring each of these further can help you better prepare for advancement and reach a higher level of performance.
Read the full article at: www.janek.com
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Filling a sales position means finding a candidate who understands the sales pipeline and their role in managing it. After all, the sales pipeline is an important part in a company’s success, as creating and maintaining it is essential for earning new sales and delighting customers. Sales pipelines help business owners discover five key insights, one of which is where they have resource gaps and overallocation. This means sales managers and owners have data on where they need more salespeople — and why. The pipeline has multiple stages, starting with prospecting, then continuing through lead qualification, demos and meetings, proposals, and beyond. As with any part of the sales process, or running a business in general, data is key. When considering the sales pipeline, metrics matter. These metrics include lead source, deal size, and a lead’s current location in the pipeline. For more on sales pipelines, check out this infographic.
Read the full article at: www.salesforce.com
In today’s current market conditions, leaders need to accept that the success of their teams and their companies will rely heavily on striking a collaborative, coordinated balance between creative strategic thinking and effective implementation. The previous model of leadership through top-down, silo-driven ‘command and control’ thinking will no longer suffice. Here are five steps we see collaborative leaders taking right now to adapt to, and thrive in, the extraordinary circumstances we all face – a rapidly changing marketplace where there is no “normal.”
1. Support the sales leaders. Of course, we need to prioritize revenue generation. That means we want to double down on sales management.
Read the full article at: www.sandler.com
When your business begins to take off, it is necessary to start expanding your team to cover all the important roles. Some of the most crucial roles that help your business succeed belong to the sales team. These staff members are responsible for boosting your company’s sales and ensuring that all your products and services are noticed and procured by your target market. But finding the best salespeople could be challenging. You need to ensure that the people you will include in the team possess the right characteristics needed to fulfill their duties. Sales recruitment needs proper strategies so you can get the best people for your company. But how will you determine if you hired the right people? Here are several characteristics that you must look for when hiring the best recruitment team for your business.
Read the full article at: www.pixelproductionsinc.com
In sales, you are only as good as your last deal. Every day, week, month, or quarter is a fresh start where, once again, your team needs to gear up and deliver. Great sales leaders are able to push or pull a team whether they are at 120% or at 50% of their goal, and they are able to recruit and maintain high-performing sales teams over a long period of time. There is no silver bullet for sustaining a high performing sales team, but here are a few things that I think are important: You win the battle on the battlefieldAny great sales leader has had to be a top self-contributor in the past, which means that she or he has what it takes, and, deep inside, loves the kill.
Read the full article at: thenextweb.com
In order to cultivate relationships with existing clients and expand the influence of your brand, you need talented, dedicated salespeople out there generating excitement about the work you’re doing. But sales is a high-pressure industry, and most departments see a significant rate of attrition and new hiring every year. Reducing turnover rates is essential if you want to get the most out of your team and foster the kinds of deep relationships that drive long-term success, so if this is an issue for your sales department, here is a 4-point plan that can help you build a resilient, tight-knit team that will deliver results.
Read the full article at: www.entrepreneurshipinabox.com
In sales, you are only as good as your last deal. Every day, week, month, or quarter is a fresh start where, once again, your team needs to gear up and deliver. Great sales leaders are able to push or pull a team whether they are at 120% or at 50% of their goal, and they are able to recruit and maintain high-performing sales teams over a long period of time. There is no silver bullet for sustaining a high performing sales team, but here are a few things that I think are important: You win the battle on the battlefieldAny great sales leader has had to be a top self-contributor in the past, which means that she or he has what it takes, and, deep inside, loves the kill.
Read the full article at: feedproxy.google.com
This article provides specific and practical techniques for measuring the performance of your company’s sales managers. Perhaps no position in the sales organization has less accountability than the sales manager position—in part because many companies don’t know how to measure sales manager performance. For example, the primary (and sometimes only) metric most companies use to measure sales managers is “team sales results.” But that’s a mistake. Why? Because when a sales team misses its quarterly number, the focus invariably shifts to one or more salespeople that missed their individual sales forecasts. And so the accountability for poor team results shifts away from the sales manager toward specific underperforming salespeople.
Read the full article at: toplineleadership.com
It seems like just yesterday we were living our day-to-day lives - commuting to work, having lunches at a nearby restaurant, hanging out with our colleagues after hours. Yet, it’s already been half a year since most of us have been to an office (or any other place other than home or a grocery store, for that matter). And while remote work was the only way to keep a business running under the new circumstances, that transition came at a price. As 98% of sales executives are still adapting to the new reality, according to the Revenue Enablement Institute, their team productivity has dropped by 20% since the beginning of the pandemic. Most sales leaders also agree that there’s no way back - the way we sell has changed forever.
Read the full article at: blog.leadiq.com
We can agree that having top sales talent is essential for the success of your business. But, the fact that the sales landscape has changed and evolved tremendously over the past decade, makes the already complex process of hiring the right people for the job even more challenging. No wonder that only 16.4% of sales leaders agree that they have top performers that will drive success in the future. The trick is in finding and vetting experts capable of staying on top of the latest trends and building relationships with your future clients at scale.
Read the full article at: autoklose.com
Hiring the wrong sales leader or salesperson can seriously hinder your business in more than one way. Why aren’t more companies taking the necessary steps to make sure their new person is right for their company? Financial Cost When it comes to the cost associated with a bad hire, people often jump to financial loss. The United States Department of Labor states “the cost of a bad hire at up to 30% of the employee’s wages for the first year.” For example, if you take an employee with an annual income of $100,000, the organization’s cost loss can be $30,000. CareerBuilder states, “74 percent of companies who made a poor hire lost an average of $14,900 per poor hire.” This might not seem like a lot, but for a smaller business, it can seriously hurt them. But the cost of a bad hire isn’t always tied to merely financial loss.
Read the full article at: pivotaladvisors.com
Your success or failure as a sales manager or business owner is directly dependent on the quality of the talented sales staff you hire and train
Great sales managers are made by great sales staff. Good managers can be pulled down by a weak staff. Knowing that your staff is the key to success, it becomes apparent that hiring is your No. 1 job. Hiring and developing excellent people will ensure you of long-term growth and success. Once you realize the importance of recruiting, this 10-step plan will become second nature to you. 1. Always, Always, Always Be RecruitingIt does not matter that you are currently staffed with great people. Things will happen to change that. Promotion, illness, career opportunities elsewhere, maternity leaves or tragedies. This can mean at any time, one or more of your best people may leave.
Read the full article at: strongcloser.com
Ask any sales leader whether they want to build a high-performing team, and the immediate answer will be “Yes.” But what are the specific best practices that support this goal? Here are three that we have seen in organizations that are thriving in 2021. First and foremost, create clarity about the salesperson’s role. A simple and effective way to begin to do this is to invest a little time in a KARE analysis. Is the role you are looking at primarily responsible for KEEPING existing customers, for ACQUIRING new customers, for RECAPTURING customers who have been lost, or for EXPANDING business within a current account? These are four very different priorities, and a written job description should clearly identify for you and for the sales professional exactly what the expectations are for the role in question. Next, identify the high performers on your current team. Taking the role you have just identified into account, ask yourself these questions: Who would you most want to hold on to? Who would you replicate if you had the power to do that? Who would you most want to serve as a role model to other sales professionals in your organization?
Read the full article at: www.sandler.com
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