sales strategy posts, articles, and infographics

2 Reasons your sales are stalled or non-existent

April 6, 2011 by Pamela Slim with 65 views

Selling is a tricky thing. In addition to making sure that you create something truly useful that people will get value from, you have to clearly identify your ideal client. And figure out the ecosystems and watering holes where they hang out. Then there is the sales letter — a slippery thing even for a wizard like Sonia Simone. You... [read more]

If you live by price - you will die by price

April 21, 2010 by Alen Mejer with 153 views

If your prospect does not see the value in your product or service, and if the only difference between you and the competitors is in pricing, you didn’t do a good job as a sales person. The main description of your position inside the company is to create the value, not just to show your price list. Teaching and educating customers... [read more]

Overhaul the sales process or fine tune it?

March 16, 2010 by Editor Bloggertone with 183 views

Over the last ten days sales managers in three major firms outlined how their sales process needed to be changed, it wasn’t working and in particular it wasn’t helping to generate new opportunities. These firms were ready to embark on a major overhaul of their process. In each of these cases the question needed to be asked is an... [read more]

Open buying and open selling

March 6, 2010 by Seth Godin with 128 views

If I can sell you something without a sales call or expensive ad campaign, I can sell it cheaper. If you want to buy a business development relationship but you're not willing to negotiate, do contracts and invest a lot of time, you're going to get a lesser deal. It seems like a paradox, but it's not. Firefox is free, largely because... [read more]

Time for lateral thinking about B2B selling

March 5, 2010 by Editor Bloggertone with 205 views

You have no doubt heard the saying ‘discovery is not about seeking out new lands, but looking at existing lands with new eyes’. Well, that pretty much sums up the rationale behind lateral, or creative thinking. When something is very familiar, it can be a challenge to look at it a-fresh. But it is only by so doing that new... [read more]

Cool Sales Tools to Make Prospecting Easier

February 27, 2010 by Kendra Lee with 235 views

Prospecting has never been harder – or easier. Yes, it’s hard to get responses, but you have all the tools at your finger tips to increase your odds of grabbing the attention of your top contacts and getting a reply. Gone is the dialing for dollars mentality. You can do better than that. You can use these tools to do everything from... [read more]

Customers Are Available for Everyone, at Any Time

February 8, 2010 by Alen Mejer with 469 views

You’re a sales genius. They love you; they trust you; and some of them keep on coming back for more. However, you can very suddenly go from Hero to Zero if you don’t keep your sales figures up to scratch. As a sales genius, you’ll be working hard to have deals lined up for weeks in advance so that you’re not enslaved by what has been... [read more]

Melting the “ICE” Out of Price

September 14, 2009 by promodiva with 102 views

We’re living in challenging economic times, and that is certainly reflected in consumer spending. It’s not as if there was some surreptitious tightening of the belts across the country; it’s simply an obstacle that everyone is aware of — especially the small business owner. Now, I’ve said this before — you shouldn’t be positioning... [read more]

Getting Past the Executive Gatekeeper

November 29, 2008 by Kendra Lee with 43 views

Some sellers fail miserably when trying to gain access to a company executive. Unfortunately, rather than taking the time to develop a strategy, they smile and dial, hoping their canned pitch will be enough to get an appointment. This strategy doesn't get many sellers past today's sophisticated executive gatekeepers, and many aren't... [read more]

Be Patient and Realistic When Suitors Call

April 13, 2008 by Jeff Cornwall with 140 views

In my column this week at the Tennessean I talk about the exit process: The formal process of selling a business usually starts with a letter of inquiry. The first time you get one, the temptation is to start counting all the money you think you are about to get. But this stage is about as serious as a smile and a wink at a singles bar... [read more]

Sales 2.0: Taking sales to another level

November 11, 2007 by SaaStream with 47 views

Yes, the '2.0' hype is getting somehow out of hand and the moniker now comes to Sales … There’s been a lot of talk recently about 'Sales 2.0' and how companies can benefit from adopting Web 2.0 concepts and technologies in sales. The movement is under way to classify and clarify this latest version of sales-related technology. So... [read more]

Why is the Company Really Up for Sale?

October 21, 2007 by Jon Paul with 34 views

Selling a company can be a very emotional moment, especially if it’s been held for a long period of time including across multiple generations. For many owners this has been their livelihood, this has defined their life and it’s not an easy thing to let go of. A key is to understand why the owner really wants to sell. If it doesn’t... [read more]