Articles »

Explaining Salesforce.com to the CEO: Top 5 Misconceptions
By David Taber, author of Salesforce.com Secrets of Success
The CEO's most dangerous misconceptions, which may be shared by sales and marketing, won't be about Salesforce.com itself but about how it should be deployed and used. Because an SFA or CRM system without relevant, up-to-date information is just an empty shell, the value of the system comes from the customer data it holds. Read more »

Resilience During the Recession: Focusing on the 3Rs
By Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and CLOSE
Now, more than ever, it is critical for marketing to do a better job of identifying and targeting predisposed prospects, delivering sales-ready opportunities into the pipeline, and optimizing the value and return on customer relationships. The sales force, in turn, must rely on marketing for more relevant messaging, content and campaigns that trigger buying and repeat purchase. Read more »

Books »

A Seat at the Table: How Top Salespeople Connect and Drive Decisions at the Executive Level

Customers only care about one thing: value. And the only proven way to increase sales productivity is to deliver new and different forms of value. Salespeople must become experts in their customers' businesses and help them generate better results. Readers will learn that evolving from "salespeople" to "businesspeople who sell" will earn them a seat at the table--the place reserved for those select people who guide the strategic direction of an enterprise. When they can do this, salespeople will be in a position to create demand for their products and services, protect their core business, and close more sales. Available from Amazon »

The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them

Early in his sales career, David Sandler observed that some salespeople work hard and struggle for every deal, while others consistently, and almost effortlessly, uncover new opportunities and close sales. Why is it, he wondered, that two salespeople selling the same product in the same market can have such different results? Using Eric Berne's Transactional Analysis, Sandler devised a selling system and distilled forty-nine unforgettable rules that are frank, sometimes fun, and always easy to put to use. Available from Amazon »

Experts & Opinions »

Dignity: Salesmanship and the Beatle-card Close
By Paul Shearstone for ConnectIT
Salespeople put their livelihoods, their dignity and their self-respect on the line, every time they meet a new customer.

Software Does Not Follow Up Sales Leads, People Do
By Richard Erschik, founder of Leads to Sales Inc.
When it comes to trade show lead follow-up today, the word ACT should be considered a VERB. But too many marketing and sales people are treating it like a NOUN and distraction from the daunting task of personal sales lead follow-up.

Put ‘em Back in the Greenhouse
By Nigel Edelshain, founder of Sales 2.0
Sales people should minimize the number of people they call. Yes, I said minimize. One of the biggest challenges for sales people is time management. As a sales person you should be calling people who you can convert into customers. You need to focus your efforts on a well-qualified list of people.

Conquering Closed-Loop Lead Management
By Brian Carroll, CEO of InTouch, Inc. and author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale
Carroll provides insight that helps you build a playbook for your sales and marketing departments to nurture the leads you generate.

Channel Performance Outlook Study
By CMO Council
Nearly 80% of resellers say they experienced significant, or some conflict or competition with vendor sales organizations.

The Sales-Incentive Entitlement Culture
By David C. Bello and Summer Barnes
When variable pay designed to single out top performers converts into a reliable paycheck, motivation drops and incentive plans fail.

Proactive Sales Intelligence: The New Requirement for Getting Into the Game
By Jim Dickie and Barry Trailer, Partners, CSO Insights
A key objective for any Chief Sales Officer (CSO) is to optimize the allocation of limited resources.

More expert insights »

Webcasts and Podcasts »

Podcast Series: The Cold Calling Podcast
This podcast, produced for salespeople and marketers working in the business to business environment, is about telephone prospecting and lead generation. Mike OHara and Greg Grimer cover the entire skill set you need to maximise your effectiveness at hunting out new decision-makers and prospecting new business opportunities.

Webcast: Top Trends for Lead Generation Tactics in 2008
Hear Bob Hanson, president of Quantum Leap Marketing, share the findings of the recent QLM 2008 Marketing Tactics and Strategies Survey.

Podcast: How to Motivate and Coach Salespeople
AllBusiness.com's Paul Kilduff interviews Keith Rosen, Sales Advisor for AllBusiness.com and author of "Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions."

Podcast: Rapport Building in Sales
The ability to develop instant rapport and credibility is often the foundation for a successful sale, even in long sales cycle and complex sales situations. Shane Gibson, leading sale performance and sales training specialist and co-author of "Closing Bigger: the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals," offers his advice.

Podcast Series: SalesRepRadio
Professional sales consultants share tips, advice and best practices on a wide variety of issues that affect sales professionals every day, on a weekly basis. Their wisdom is shared in easily digestible 10-minute audio interviews in a fast-paced "talk radio" style format.

Webcast and Podcast Archive »