Posts

Wait Right There. I’ll Bring in the Real Salesperson.

, , , ,

Is your sales team the “real” sellers of your product or service? We are habituated to having a group we call our sales team. We hold them accountable for revenue, give them a quota, and provide them with a target account list. However, depending on the requirements of your sale, the sales salesperson may only have modest influence and control of the sale. Members of the consulting team or content experts may be the “real salesperson(s)”. This issue is common in complex, high-consideration, and consultative sales. It is vital to align the sales roles in consultative and complex sales.

Read more

/by

I’ll Pretend I’m Selling, If You Pretend You’re Buying

, , , , ,

In my four decades in sales leadership at both large enterprises and early-stage growth companies, and in my subsequent consulting & sales advisory practice, I have witnessed and resolved many poor sales practices.  If sales leaders do not diagnose and correct these Deadly Sins of Selling, then accelerated and predictable sales outcomes will be in jeopardy. I recount these sins with amusement since they also tell us something about human nature and how that factors into successful selling practices. Individual sellers, their sales managers, sales trainers, and sales coaches can all benefit from being on alert to these common sins.

Read more

/0 Comments/by

Sherwin’s 10 Deadly Sins of Sales

, , ,

 

During my three decades in sales leadership roles at large enterprises, early-stage growth companies, and my management consulting practice, I have witnessed and corrected many bad sales practices. These practices, if not course-corrected, would lead to zero sales. When they numbered an even ten, they became Sherwin’s 10 Deadly Sins of Sales. Out of the office with senior executives, I would recount them to their great amusement.

Read more

/by

Selecting Marketing Automation and CRM Solutions

, , , , ,

 

Consider Revenue Architecture When Selecting Your Tech Stack

Face it, buyers don’t care whether they are interacting with your marketing or your sales organization, they follow their buying process – often in an unstructured and unpredictable way. They self-sell on the web,  research with influencers, and engage 1:1 with salespeople.   An effective buyer experience across a dynamic buyer’s lifecycle requires that your revenue architecture is designed with a coordinated closed-loop process supported by an integrated technology stack.

We read a lot about Martech and SalesTech stacks. This is understandable because marketing and sales teams have traditionally pursued distinct missions with different needs. Yet if your marketing, sales, and service “front office”  needs to be more integrated to support dynamic buyer pathways, you might need to re-think your technology stack.  An integrated revenue process supported by integrated revenue technology helps deliver a single view of the customer and becomes more responsive and relevant as your buyers jig and jag along their dynamic buying processes.

Read more

/by

Good Selling Checklist: Activities and Competencies

, , , ,

There is a continuum of different B2B business models – from luminary consultants to commodity products – and each model needs to have a distinct structure for marketing and sales.  Before we assess sales team readiness, we begin by ensuring that the right revenue architecture (the product and process of marketing and sales) is in place and aligned with the target business architecture.

For businesses with a complex, solution sale or consulting sale, there are sales effectiveness attributes that we look for. Below, we’ve outlined competencies, activities, and attributes for good selling. Sales executives, client managers and account reps that sell complex products, business solutions or consultative services should possess the following:

Read more
/0 Comments/by