Is Your Sales Strategy Aligned with Your Business Objectives? Here’s How to Tell—and Fix It
In today’s fast-paced business landscape, sales teams are under immense pressure to deliver results. However, many organisations fall into the trap of pushing sales targets without ensuring that their sales strategy aligns with broader business objectives. The result? A disconnected, inefficient sales function that struggles to drive sustainable growth.
Sales Readiness for 2025 – Key Insights & Next Steps
As 2024 wrapped up, we conducted our annual Sales Future Readiness Assessment, drawing on key sales effectiveness insights for 2025 from leading research firms such as RAIN, Gartner, Bain, and others. Benchmarking teams against industry best practices and emerging trends, we evaluated over 10 key focus areas across strategy, customer engagement, talent development, and sales enablement—revealing clear patterns and opportunities for growth.
Modern Day Sales Leadership: A Guide to Success (Copy)
The world of sales is always changing. Traditional methods of selling are becoming outdated. Today’s sales leaders must be agile, adaptable, and forward-thinking.
This means understanding that the way buyers behave has changed. They now conduct thorough research online before contacting a sales representative. This blog post explores the essential skills and qualities needed for modern sales leadership. It emphasises coaching, continuous learning, and the importance of genuine connections.
The Hidden Key to Predictable Growth in 2025 - Empowering Sales Managers
In today’s fast-paced sales environment, success is often measured by the performance of individual sellers or the sophistication of sales technologies. But what if the real key to predictable, scalable growth lies elsewhere—specifically, in the hands of your sales managers?
Unlocking Sales Success: The Power of Storytelling in Modern Business
In today's competitive sales landscape, the ability to tell compelling stories has emerged as a pivotal skill for sales professionals. Business storytelling transcends traditional sales pitches by weaving narratives that resonate emotionally with clients, thereby fostering deeper connections and driving sales success.
Managing Longer Sales Cycles in Tougher Times
These days, sales are taking longer than usual. With inflation, higher interest rates, and shrinking budgets, buyers are more careful, focusing only on must-haves. Sales professionals are noticing the effects — more delays, more objections, and fewer big-ticket purchases. The challenge isn’t just the extra time it takes to close a deal but also the fact that deal sizes are shrinking as companies cut spending wherever they can.
How to Ask Better Questions in Sales
In the realm of sales, success hinges not merely on the products or services one offers but significantly on the strategy employed to engage and understand potential clients.
One pivotal aspect of this strategy is the Art of Questioning.
Strategic questioning can transform a mundane sales conversation into a powerful dialogue that uncovers needs, builds trust, and ultimately closes deals. This blog delves into the essence of effective questioning strategies, drawing insights from 30+ years of experience as a sales leader, and a plethora of real-world examples.
Elevate Your Sales Conversations: The Power of Insight
In the ever-evolving landscape of sales, one truth remains steadfast: the ability to hold meaningful, insightful conversations with clients is a game-changer. Research from Gartner, the RAIN Group, and FPS (Fresh Perspective Sales) reveals what sets top-performing salespeople apart and illuminates a path forward for those looking to elevate their sales game and build lasting, value-driven customer relationships.
Building a World-Class Sales Culture: Strategies and Insights
How do you build a Sales Culture that rocks?!
We all know the business world is more unpredictable than ever. Companies that were once giants are disappearing, and it's not just a trend—it's the new normal. Since 2000, over half of the Fortune 500 companies have either gone bust, been bought out, or vanished. And by 2027, about half of the S&P 500 firms will have been replaced.
Is adaptive sales coverage the key to market dynamics?
The shock of COVID-19 crisis is well over. Most organisations have seamlessly moved into a new normal, at least for the time being. There is an acceptance that market dynamics and customer buying patterns are highly volatile. Economic instability and recessionary forces are impacting all. Cost cutting while essential, is a short-term survival initiative. Revenue generation has to move the forefront of change.
The Importance of Creating and Maintaining a Sales Playbook
Imagine setting off on a road trip without a map or GPS. You might reach your destination, but it would likely involve a lot of wrong turns and wasted time. A sales playbook is your map. It guides your team through the sales journey, providing clear directions and strategies to navigate obstacles and reach your goals efficiently.
I am in Sales, but I’m not on LinkedIn! Should I be worried about Networking?
In the competitive world of sales, networking is not just an ancillary activity; it is a fundamental aspect of success. The power of networking lies in its ability to create meaningful connections, foster professional growth, and open doors to new opportunities – as well as obtain introductions to target prospects.
Unlocking Revenue Growth: Developing talent paves the fast track to success!
In every company, revenue growth strategies typically rely on increasing sales headcount, shortening ramp times, and boosting productivity per quota-bearing headcount. However, the success of these initiatives hinges on prioritising talent assessments and development planning to achieve sustainable revenue growth. Neglecting initiatives to enhance seller productivity can hinder organisations from realising their growth projections.
Turn Rejection into Connection: Expert Tips for Handling Cold Call Objections
Cold calling can feel like navigating a maze in the dark. You dial a number, introduce yourself, and—bam!—you hit a wall. The person on the other end isn’t interested or says they’re busy. It’s easy to get disheartened, but with a structured approach, you can turn these cold calls into warm conversations.
Stay Ahead: Boost Customer Loyalty Through Change Adaptability
In today’s fast-paced marketplace, adaptability is not just an advantageous strategy—it is a necessity.
Businesses are required to navigate through rapidly changing technological landscapes, evolving customer expectations, and ever-intensifying competition. A seamless adaptability to change determines not only business survival but also the ability to thrive and innovate.
Unlocking the Power of Open-Ended Questions
Too many times we see sales people solely ask closed-ended questions. Questions that provide the prospect or customer an easy-way out by simply answering “yes” or ”no”.
Instead, one of the most powerful tools in a salesperson's arsenal is the open-ended question. When meeting with prospects or customers, using open-ended questions can make a significant difference in the outcome of the conversation and, ultimately, the success of the sale.
Why it's crucial to have documented sales & sales leader competencies & capabilities
There are many reasons why a business should have clearly defined and documented competencies & capabilities for sales individuals, sales leaders and customer facing individuals.
They are in fact crucial for global, geographically dispersed sales teams and can serve as a foundation for building a high-performing sales team, driving growth, and achieving business objectives.
Leading the Decision Journey
Navigating and leading the decision journey for customers in a multi-layered and complex deal can be challenging for any business. However, with the right approach, it can also be an opportunity to demonstrate value and build long-term relationships with customers.
Not winning enough NEW business?
Sales is the lifeblood of any business, and winning new deals is crucial to achieving growth and profitability. However, if you're facing the challenge of not winning enough new deals, it can be frustrating and demotivating.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to address this challenge and improve your sales results.
Get rid of the left-hand side of your bell-curve
As a seasoned sales leader with over 30 years of experience, I have learned that being a great sales leader is more than just about driving sales numbers. It's about leading a team of individuals to achieve their full potential and deliver exceptional results.
Get rid of the ‘left-hand side of your bell curve’, which can be up to 10% of your entire team
Non-performing individuals typically take up all your time (‘cause you think you should coach them...), suck all the oxygen and energy out of the team, and they can be(come) cancerous.