Recently the tumultuous state of the economy has caused firms to cut costs wherever possible, and it seems that all too often training for sales reps is the first thing to go; however this practice may not be so wise. Even during a recession, revenuesare usually expected to grow, and a firm’s sales force is a major driving force for continuing »more...
A recent search on Google for “cold calling” returned more than 33 million hits with titles such as, “Still Cold Calling for B2B Lead Generation?”, “Cold Calling is a Waste of Time”, “Never Cold Call Again” and the old standby, “Cold Calling is Dead”. Are the rumors true? Is the old-school method of telephone lead generation »more...
In these challenging economic times, Sales Leaders are being asked to do more with less. To achieve the same sales goals, but with fewer selling resources, less travel, less spending etc. Therefore, optimizing your sales territory design and aligning your finite resources with the best sales opportunities is more important than ever before. The good news »more...
A recent Aberdeen Group research paper, Sales Intelligence: The Secret to Sales Nirvana, points to some key findings that reveal how “best-in-class” sales organizations* achieve above-average results–even as budgets shrink and sales cycles stretch out. Economic Challenges No Surprise, But Lead Quality Trumps Lead Quantity What is pressuring sales leaders, and what actions are they taking in »more...
An Interview with Phil Garlick, President of OneSource… Do you foresee changes in the way that businesses will be utilizing business information in 2009, given the state of the global economy? Everyone is suffering in this economy, of course, but there are pockets and sectors that are still prospering. Being able to target those effectively is important. »more...
With the recession underway, many companies that are looking for ways to reduce spending have tightened their travel budgets by cutting back on air travel, enforcing stricter travel allowances and substituting trips with web and video conferencing. Indeed, according to a recent corporate travel spending survey by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), 33 percent »more...
Companies no longer operate in an ethical vacuum, but have come to understand that a broader stakeholder analysis is important in the way they interact with customers, employees, vendors, and society at large. Some companies have gone so far as to evaluate and document their stakeholder analyses in a document called the “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) report. »more...
Companies that call their prospects with the most targeted, relevant messages win more deals. Those that don’t do the research, or take too much time searching for information will miss out on opportunities. Here are 3 ways to boost results: 1. Get the “Golden Nugget” Before the Call 30 seconds. That’s the most time a caller has »more...
One of the key questions that needs to be determined by sales reps is “against whom am I competing?” The answer determines not only pricing, but overall positioning of your firm’s value proposition and how to avoid the likely traps competitors will set for your firm. If the rep cannot get a direct answer from »more...