Blog

For some people, the word “sales” comes along with its own set of baggage and negative connotations. Your point of reference may relate to your personal experience with an overly aggressive “sales pitch” while going on a timeshare tour on your vacation. Or encountering manipulative “fear tactics” to purchase an extended warranty when you purchased your dishwasher. Unfortunately, this connotation can also find its way into business-to-business sales situations where companies get push back from their sales engineers and solution consultants who say their job is to help customers solve a problem - not to sell them more services.

Willie Sutton, an infamous bank robber, was asked why he robbed banks, and he responded, "Because that's where the money is." So why should you be extra diligent and motivated when prospecting toward the last quarter of a fiscal year? You guessed it because that's where the money is.

If you sell technology solutions, you know that meeting with Technology Officers early in the sales process can dramatically improve your odds of success. CTO’s set the technology strategy for the organization and then send the marching orders downstream. They also understand how your solution can potentially impact other departments within the organization—critical information in situations where you are navigating a complex sales process.

In our research report 5 Hallmarks of High-Impact Sales Organizations, we identified sales coaching as the top sales management action to improve sales team performance. One of the key benefits of sales coaching is that it helps managers transition from chief problem solvers to sales team enablers. This force multiplier is particularly powerful as sales reps improve selling skills and learn techniques to advance sales opportunities.

“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions to understand your needs better?” This is the go-to line most salespeople use as they transition the sales call from building rapport to discovery. But is this the best approach for selling to senior-level clients?

Inevitably at some point during a sales call, the customer will ask, “Who else have you done this for?” What they’re really asking is why they should believe or trust you. This is why it’s essential that early in the sales process, you establish credibility.