What should a sales manager do when faced with a situation when a high-producing salespeople cannot follow company sales practices or engages in unethical conduct? I call them “Cowboys” and “Cowgirls” because of their desire to operate like they were in the American Wild West, without rules or much supervision. As a sales manager, I… Read More
CEOs Beware do you have a Product-Centric Sales Focus?
Every technology company must continually and convincingly tell their product (and service) differentiation story, particularly newer or less established companies. However, while having a great product gets you into the game, it is not enough to win a complex, B2B sale. The tech company graveyard is littered with the bones of companies that had great… Read More
Challenging the Corporate Mystique
Linda Richardson in conversation with Joanne Black The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan opens with the words, “The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange…sense of dissatisfaction…” Ms. Friedan was writing about “the problem that has no name.” Today, that problem – gender discrimination –… Read More
Client-Centric Satisfaction
You just received an email from the chain hotel where you recently stayed. Along with offering their gratitude, the hotel seeks your feedback through a survey, no doubt in the interest of continuous improvement. And they ask you to provide satisfaction ratings for some very important categories they’ve chosen. Listed are food quality, staff friendliness,… Read More
Close the Deal: Augmenting Sales Professionals with AI for Higher Sales Performance
Introductory paragraph: By its nature, sales is centered on the ability of a representative to engage a prospect, build a relationship, and fulfill his or her needs to close the deal. While digital channels might garner curiosity, sales representatives must guide prospects from initial interest through to the final signature. Trusted conversations between sales representatives… Read More
Coaching Sales People into Champions
Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions is your playbook to creating a thriving coaching culture and building a team of top producers. This book is packed with case studies, a 30 Day Turnaround Strategy for underperformers, a library of coaching templates and scripts, as well as hundreds of powerful coaching questions you can use immediately to coach… Read More
Confessions of a Sales Rebel
I still remember when the first CRM was rolled out. Prior to that, we used an XLS spread sheet macro at the branch and division level that rolled up to HQ. The old process was simple enough. We measured, at the rep level, calls, appointments scheduled, sales, and revenue. Every Friday, I plugged in my… Read More
Conversations That Sell
Today’s buyers want more from sales professionals than a simple consultation… What they’re hungry for are meaningful, collaborative conversations built on mutual value and trust, that result in a Win3 …where they, the seller, and the organization, achieve a winning outcome. “Conversations That Sell” introduces sales professionals to the collaborative conversation skills they need to capture the… Read More
CRM and Business Technology Implementations are no longer an IT Matter
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I don’t know which half.” This famous line was reportedly first uttered in the 19th century by store merchant and Postmaster General John Vansant Wanamaker (1838 – 1922). He must have been onto something because here we are, more than 150 years later, still… Read More
Crushing Quota
Jonathan Farrington in conversation with Michelle Vazzana PhD, CEO and Partner, Vantage Point Performance Amongst the questions I put to Michelle was what differentiates her new book, Crushing Quota? Michelle responded: “Firstly, it is the result of two multiyear research projects into the coaching practices of high performing sales managers. It’s based on science, not anecdote…. Read More
Cultural Revolution: The 4 Elements That Will Transform Your Outbound Sales Prospecting Team’s Culture
If there’s one question that Sales Managers ask more than any other, it’s what they can do to get the best performance from their teams. Hitting your number depends on a lot of factors — the quality of your product, the effectiveness of your sales process and the inherent skill of your reps, among others… Read More
Currently, Gender Parity in Sales Hasn’t Happened. In The Economic Sector As a Whole, Women Still Lag Behind Men
Even though women account for roughly half of the labor force supply and more than half of global consumer demand, they are not widely represented in a range of industries like sales and are not earning as much as men in sales. While women are over-represented in underpaying jobs, they aren’t moving into more lucrative… Read More
Customer Experience, Customer Centricity, Customer Success, Is There any Difference?
Jonathan Farrington in conversation with Tiffani Bova. “Customer Experience, Customer Centricity, Customer Success, Is There any Difference?” is the subject of the latest JF Interview and Jonathan’s guest is Tiffani Bova, Sales Strategist and Futurist Global Growth and Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce. They both have much to say on the topic and we think you will enjoy… Read More
Defining Success in the Midst of Change
As we all move forward, our plans and strategies will evolve. That well-overused term – the New Normal, is a challenge all selling organizations face. Examining the future durability of our business models will result in adjustments and in some cases, major overhauls. But before we gather our socially-distanced management teams in conference rooms for… Read More
Demand Generation Should Be Part Of Sales DNA
Is your phone ringing constantly with new leads? Is your pipeline full with qualified opportunities? If so, you must be doing a great job with existing customers. Exceeding their expectations and delighting them in ways that motivate them to recommend you to others. If not, then this article is for you. I will start with… Read More
Design Thinking: How The Most Customer Focused & Transformational Sales Strategies Are Built
Designers make everything better. They know what everyone wants, and then they deliver. When something looks good, we can tell. When something feels right, we know. When something just works the way it should, we connect. That is what makes designers so valuable, they create things we feel like we have always needed. Designers are not smarter… Read More
Developing Millennials Into Great Salespeople
Jonathan Farrington in Conversation with Bill Butler Jonathan’s guest this week is Bill Butler, CEO of Journey Sales and they are discussing a very hot topic, “Developing Millennials into Great Salespeople” Amongst the questions Jonathan poses are,“Can Millennials become great B2B salespeople?” “What are some of the differences between a boomer and a Millennial salesperson?”… Read More
DISCOVER Questions Get You Connected: for professional sellers
Make every sales call count and be the ONE seller buyers want to talk to! With DISCOVER Questions™ , you will be able to differentiate yourself from the pack, create value for your buyers and connect is ways you never knew were possible. The research (over 15 years of it with sellers like you!) and… Read More
Discover the Difference Between Great Slides and Great Presentations
Jonathan Farrington is in conversation with Simon Morton Simon Morton is an internationally recognized expert on presentation development and is the founder of Eyeful Presentations, one of the top three presentation consultancy and design companies in the world. In this latest episode of the JF Interview series, Simon discusses, amongst other things, the need to… Read More
Does Your Hiring Process Get You The Results You Want?
Let’s face it, we all want to hire well when adding to our sales team. If we consider our sales engine to be the driver of lead generation and ultimately the revenue generator for the company’s existence, each and every new sales agent should be hand-picked, well-vetted and carefully on-boarded in order to assure their… Read More
Don’t be that boss! Be that coach!
Coaching to drive performance is a hot topic and with good reason: Coaching consistently helps drive stronger results. What’s more, employees with great coaches usually outperform their peers, they’re more engaged on the job, and they expend more discretionary effort to get the job done. But how can you shift from being a that boss… Read More
Don’t Let Technology Dumb You Down
Brian, a technology sales rep, was on the phone speaking to Corey, the IT manager for a new account. It was a brief scheduled call to introduce Brian as the go-to contact for future technology purchases. While Corey was talking, I noticed Brian skimming his incoming e-mail. He stole a few seconds to fire a… Read More
Don’t Worry, Be Happy as a Social Seller
Social selling is your new secret weapon for reaching your sales targets. If you currently hold a quota-carrying sales position or had one in the past, then you’ve likely worried about reaching your targets at one point in time or another. This stress simply comes with the territory. Everyone in sales has months or quarters… Read More
Double Click: HubSpot’s Formula for Predictable, Scalable Revenue Growth
In thinking about my interview with Mark Roberge, Chief Revenue Officer of HubSpot Sales Products my intention was to focus on HubSpot’s all in one sales and marketing solution designed to transform businesses. But as I learned that Mark increased revenue over 6,000% and expanded his sales and services team from 1 to 450 team… Read More