Sales

Thumbnail image for Sales IQ: What Assumptions Can You Make About Your Audience?

Sales IQ: What Assumptions Can You Make About Your Audience?

When I say “Sales IQ,” I’m referring to the presumed intelligence level of your audience that you’re projecting when you deliver your sales pitch. Obviously there are a few ways to go. Here are some thoughts on intelligence (related to your solution) and engagement.

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: When is a sale lost?

The Professional Confessional: When is a sale lost?

Lately I’ve been hitting some snags in my sales cycle. Without a doubt, my strength lies in the early stages of the sale. As the Marketing Manager for the past two years, I’ve been crafting our messaging, so I know it inside and out and can generate interest very quickly and lock in meetings. However, I’m having trouble closing.

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Thumbnail image for Marketing and Sales: Can’t we all just get along?

Marketing and Sales: Can’t we all just get along?

Please help me understand the thought process behind separating sales and marketing; in many cases the two departments literally undermine one another. I’ve just never understood why most teams don’t work side by side: it’s like driving around without knowing where you are going. The blind leading the blind. The right side of your brain not being connected to the left.

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Thumbnail image for Sales 2.0 Conference: A Stream of Consciousness Report

Sales 2.0 Conference: A Stream of Consciousness Report

“I’d like to begin with an exercise. Cover your eyes with your left hand and with your right hand point north.” 500 people stand up and do just that. “Okay, now open your eyes.” Most people are pointing toward the podium – North – but some clearly have a faulty internal GPS.

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Thumbnail image for Top 5 On-Demand Applications to Boost Sales and Marketing Productivity

Top 5 On-Demand Applications to Boost Sales and Marketing Productivity

Today I’d like to showcase five applications that individually offer great value and functionality, and when considered holistically, represent a complete solution to enable collaboration and increase productivity of Sales & Marketing departments.

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Thumbnail image for Sales 2.0 Conference Here We Come

Sales 2.0 Conference Here We Come

Today and tomorrow we’ll be attending the Sales 2.0 Conference at San Francisco’s InterContinental Hotel. The theme this year is How to Accelerate Sales in a Slow Economy and I plan to share with you as much information as I can absorb or inscribe.

If you can’t make it but wish you could, @damphoux will be live-blogging the event via Twitter; follow #sales20.

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Thumbnail image for How Will Print Publications Survive?

How Will Print Publications Survive?

For a while the print industry was doing an okay job of rolling with the punches being delivered by online media, but with the decline of our economy it would seem that print is on the ground for the final knock out.

Is it too late to save print?

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Thumbnail image for The Best Articles We’ve Read This Week: The Feb 27 HitList

The Best Articles We’ve Read This Week: The Feb 27 HitList

Every Friday The Daily Anchor offers up the best articles we’ve read all week. Most are recent, some are old, but hopefully they’ll all be useful, interesting or entertaining. The list isn’t huge and it isn’t exhaustive, because if it were there’d be no chance you’d read them all.

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Thumbnail image for Leveraging Personal Connections with InsideView

Leveraging Personal Connections with InsideView

As a follow up to my initial high-level overview and review of Insideview’s SalesView application, I’d like to dig a little deeper into a particular key feature that make this a standout product. Also notable is that since reviewing the app, Insideview has secured $6.5 million in Series B funding, which you can read more about here.

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Thumbnail image for Writing Effective Emails: Some Lifesaving Tips

Writing Effective Emails: Some Lifesaving Tips

We live in a tech world and it’s growing more techy by the minute. I know many sales reps who believe the only way to prospect is to pound the streets or make calls, but whether you like it or not, email is an essential tool for reaching clients and prospects. If you write a good email you’re far more likely to get a response than a callback from a voicemail.

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Thumbnail image for Key Performance Indicators: Paralysis by Analysis

Key Performance Indicators: Paralysis by Analysis

Some thoughts on best practices for Sales & Marketing benchmarking. What’s essential, and can it go too far?

I’ve had mixed results over the past few years working with both Sales & Marketing organizations that have recognized the need for tracking metrics & key performance indicators (KPIs). As staunch believers in CRM, we have…

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Thumbnail image for The Best Articles We’ve Read This Week: The Feb 20 HitList

The Best Articles We’ve Read This Week: The Feb 20 HitList

This is the second in a series of Friday posts in which we’ll cover the best articles we’ve read all week. Most will be new, some will be old, but hopefully they’ll all be useful, interesting or entertaining.

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Thumbnail image for The Perfect Sales Pitch: What Would Aristotle Do?

The Perfect Sales Pitch: What Would Aristotle Do?

As a Rhetoric and Media Studies major, Aristotle’s teachings are the foundation of my approach to many aspects of business. What can we learn from his methods of presentation, persuasion and appeal to help boost Sales in a downturn?

If your presentation skills are lacking, then use this as your starting point.

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: DIY or Die – Follow Up

The Professional Confessional: DIY or Die – Follow Up

Last week’s Pro/Con column had me left in the lurch by several colleagues and struggling to complete a lengthy RFP on my own. The shit continued to hit the fan, proving to be one of my largest f-ups to date, so I offer this follow-up.

My assessment that only self-reliance would equal success needs serious re-evaluation. I attempted to complete the RFP with just about a week remaining leading up to the due date…

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Thumbnail image for The Best Articles We’ve Read This Week: The Feb 13 Hit List

The Best Articles We’ve Read This Week: The Feb 13 Hit List

This is the first in a series of Friday posts in which we’ll cover the best articles we’ve read all week. Most will be new, some will be old, but hopefully they’ll all be useful. The list isn’t huge and it isn’t exhaustive, because if it were there’d be no chance you’d read them all.

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: DIY or Die

The Professional Confessional: DIY or Die

I’m actually stunned to admit being guilty of this; usually I’m a pretty Do-it-Yourself (DIY) guy. In my current position, 99% of the time I take the position of “If you want something done right, you’ve got to Do It Yourself!” It’s that other 1% that really screwed me this time.

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Thumbnail image for How to Grow Sales in a Down Economy

How to Grow Sales in a Down Economy

2008 was a tough year. 2009 looks like it will be even tougher. Every day you open the newspaper and read the news online, there seems to be more bad news on the economy, but not everyone is focusing on the down economy. Some companies are using this period of economic uncertainty and business challenge as a time to gain market share and mind share.

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: Anatomy of a Sale

The Professional Confessional: Anatomy of a Sale

I’m happy to say, I closed my first new account of 2009! Since I’m in a good mood, I thought I’d mix it up a bit this week and analyze the pros and cons of the sales cycle for this win.

Some key stats:
-Relative value: 60% of my Monthly Quota
-Turnaround time from lead to close: 23 days (16 business days)
-Number of formal meetings: 1 online, 1 onsite

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Thumbnail image for Yes, YOU Can! Sell Even When No One Wants to Buy

Yes, YOU Can! Sell Even When No One Wants to Buy

Sales people need to buck up and shut up. Get low to the ground, focus, and hustle. The pity party needs to stop if you want to live through this recession. We all need a refresher here and there, and I am helping by giving a huge wake-up call to all you whiners! Together we will get through this downturn, but it’ll take focus, determination, and love for sales. Do it. Just sell.

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: Getting Ahead of Yourself

The Professional Confessional: Getting Ahead of Yourself

Every Tuesday Mike offers up the biggest mistakes, oversights, blunders and bonehead moves he commits in the fast-paced world of software-as-a-service, where he’s a Marketing Manager moonlighting as a Sales Account Executive… “This is extremely embarrassing, and unfortunately completely true. However, in the spirit of this column, I must come clean. Last Friday, I stayed at work beyond 5 PM to help…”

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