Sales Management

Having interacted with sales managers and their teams quite often during my 25 years in the industry, I often recall what my husband always asks me after every training session. He doesn’t ask about the performance of the sales executives, but rather, his question is, “How are Read More

We all know that selling and marketing go hand-in-hand. Your marketing attracts potential buyers, and the sales team transforms them into revenue.However, this is far from guaranteed. External and internal factors can influence whether the prospect will buy from you. A better Read More

When we survey dealers to find out what they need, the answer most often relates to finding, hiring and retaining sales reps. Spending 32 years in this industry has given me the opportunity to see almost every sales compensation plan possible. I’ve seen them favor the dealer, the Read More

I’m sure you’ve heard the comment, “there’s nothing new under the sun.” And although technology continually changes, making new things possible, some believe that sales best practices are timeless and will be around forever. I was recently on a conference call with a gentleman Read More

Looking for work? The position I have requires 10 to 12 hours a day of completely dedicated effort. If you’re going to be successful, you’ll have to document every single thing you do each day, all day long, in real-time. I want you to know right up front, you’ll face immense Read More

Industry research shows that many companies don’t have a comprehensive automated sales process around how to manage their customer base. Implementing a base management strategy (BMS) starts with having a strategic plan aligned with your goals and objectives. You also need a clear Read More

Recently at an onsite sales training session I saw the lights go on for a group of 20 transactional “box slinging” salesmen as to how they would share a value proposition to a C-Level prospect. They’ve had absolutely NO success in setting appointments with C-Level targets and had Read More

I’m sitting here at the dealer show in Vegas for one of the manufacturers we represent. Two of my friends are sitting with me and I’m listening to each of them talk about moving their businesses into the future. Although the products that the manufacturer is showing are Read More

I was rushing around this week trying to get a few more deals closed. It’s the last week of the month and we all know what that means. I have a fair amount of leases throughout the year, which keeps me at quota. My Sales Manager pushes us every week and although he’s a friend, he Read More

In the increasingly crowded Imaging industry, it’s become more challenging than ever to win new customers and keep the ones you have. If you’re a small to medium size business (SMB) those challenges increase ten-fold. Not only are market share and margins shrinking, chances are Read More

Look at any day’s worth of emails or cruise through any group in LinkedIn and you’ll find a hundred different opinions on cold calling. “Cold calls are dead!” “Five new ways not to make cold calls!” “Cold calling best practices!” For over 30 years in most marketplaces, sales reps Read More

There are many ways to analyze a business and equally as many ways to break down the details around it. Below are the ten most popular topics discussed with dealers over the last few years. Finding Your Way To The Future Building “Differentiation” Selling Deliverables Clients Read More

I’ve written a lot about the ups and downs of sales and marketing execution. I don’t know that I’ve ever encountered a perfect organization but there are certainly companies that execute very well. Naturally, there are those that don’t. When a dealer engages a consultant, it Read More

Good sales managers spend a significant portion of their time on the coaching and development of their salespeople.  This is your opportunity to become a difference maker in your salespeople’s career.  Something you need to understand is this:  Your entire value to your company Read More

Across our industry there is often an underlying understanding with dealer principals that the salary they provide to attract sales talent is only bait used to catch the next sales rep. It’s an attraction and comes without clear expectations or authority to define any of the Read More