Sales and Marketing – BL – 1

You keep telling your reps to sell the benefits rather than the features. Yet you still hear them pitch the latest product feature on their sales calls. But what if there’s a sales methodology that forces them to sell the solution? Enter concept selling. Concept selling, or conceptual selling, uses... Read more »

Excellent pipeline visibility can make sales managers feel like superheroes. It’s easy to swoop in and save the day when you can see which deals are at risk of stagnating. Being able to instantly tell executives the exact number and value of sales in your pipeline is like having spidey... Read more »

It’s hard to become a sales manager without first being a good sales rep. After all, when the majority of your own quota is based on your team’s sales performance, you need to know how to sell.  But that doesn’t mean the best closer is guaranteed to make the best... Read more »

Sales territories get a bad rep.  Reps moan that they’re unfair, especially if they get lumped with the Dakotas and Wyoming while their deskmate gets San Francisco.  But that’s not a problem with sales territories as a whole so much as it’s a problem with how those territories were created... Read more »

A sales manager without sales reports is like an explorer without a map. It’s hard to understand where you’ve come from or where to go next.  While sales reports may seem like another task on your never-ending list of things to do as a sales manager, they offer amazing insights... Read more »

Every sales team is the same. (Well, sort of.) Sales leaders and managers serve as coaches to help close deals. They coach all sales reps (some top performers, some bottom performers, and a whole bunch of “in the middle” performers) with the ultimate goal of exceeding goals and blowing targets... Read more »

Visibility is everything in sales. If you can’t see where each deal is in your sales process and how long it’s been there, you’ll struggle to improve it.  That’s why building and managing a sales pipeline is so important.  A well-defined sales pipeline makes your sales process transparent, allowing you... Read more »

This article is part of the Gong Labs series, where we publish findings from our data research team. We analyze sales conversations and deals using the Gong Reality Platform’s proprietary AI, then share the results to help you win more deals. Subscribe here to read upcoming research. “Do more, with less.” “Boost... Read more »

Do you have complete visibility into deals, team performance, and market changes? Do you know what’s really happening in customer conversations with insights and guidance for every level of your org? If not, keep reading … especially if you work in Customer Success. This article will define Revenue Intelligence, share... Read more »

You can’t build a successful sales team with poorly defined sales strategies.  Consistency is key if you want to meet revenue targets month after month, year after year. And nothing breeds consistency like a detailed, repeatable sales cycle.  By outlining the steps your reps need to take to move each... Read more »

Enterprise sales are a different beast than small to medium-sized business (SMB) transactions. They involve more decision-makers and have larger values. A strong sales process is crucial to navigate these deals successfully.  But how do you handle multiple decision-makers? How do you maintain deal momentum and keep large deals from... Read more »

B2B sales is a rapidly evolving discipline. Boiler rooms are a thing of the past (largely). Modern initiatives focus heavily on relationship-building.  Take the rapid adoption of account-based marketing, for instance. A recent study found that 87% of businesses are putting a stronger focus on account-based strategies.   With this in... Read more »

Learn everything you need to know about the enterprise sales process and how you can improve it using Gong’s revenue intelligence software. The post  The Complete Guide to Enterprise Sales appeared first on Gong.... Read more »

A sales pitch without a story is like a frame without a picture: it’s just a thing.... The post Win More Deals With Storytelling: Best Practices to Improve Your Buyer-Seller Connection appeared first on Sales Hacker.... Read more »

I’ve been an SDR, an SDR director, and now run a sales team at a startup. I’ve... The post Your SDRs Have Too Many Accounts — & It’s Hurting Attainment appeared first on Sales Hacker.... Read more »

Want to write sales emails like a pro? Kristina and Will look at common email mistakes (using... The post Episode 50: Why Are Lead Gen Companies Bad at Lead Gen appeared first on Sales Hacker.... Read more »

Imagine this scenario. You walk into a department store.  A sales associate says, “Can I help you?”... The post Objection Handling Masterclass with Josh Braun appeared first on Sales Hacker.... Read more »

Let’s call a spade a spade. Layoffs suck. The past few weeks months years have proven to... The post Laid Off? Make a 30-60-90 Day Plan. (Really.) appeared first on Sales Hacker.... Read more »

If you’re looking to move up the ladder into a sales leadership role, your resume is key... The post Best Practices for Writing a Sales Leadership Resume appeared first on Sales Hacker.... Read more »

Companies in the top quartile of employee engagement have 23% higher profitability. Did you realize how much weight... The post Sales Coaching Mistakes That’ll Cost You More Than You Think appeared first on Sales Hacker.... Read more »

Month-on-month and quarter-on-quarter, the job to be done for anyone in the RevOps world gets harder and... The post Revenue Operator Heroes of the Roundtable appeared first on Sales Hacker.... Read more »

Overwhelmed by your Q4 quota? Seeing your conversion rates drop? Let’s be real, the economy is not... The post Top KPI’s to Focus on for Sales Productivity 📈 appeared first on Sales Hacker.... Read more »

Success Doesn’t Come Easy For Ultra-High Performers Ultra-high performers aren’t born knowing how to sell— they have just learned to adapt. Here’s how your setbacks can set you up for success, and the three things you need to remember on the road to Ultra-High Performance. They’re Not “Born That Way”... Read more »

Struggling To Build A Connection? Try This! Sometimes you just won’t click with a buyer right away. This doesn’t mean you’ve hit a dead end! Try out these two suggestions for enhancing engagement and creating a more authentic conversation. Have you ever been in a sales meeting and asked all... Read more »

Who Are You Really Competing Against? Sports newscasts typically talk about the upcoming games of the day. They say things like, “this pitcher is going against that pitcher”, “this quarterback is matched up against that quarterback”, or, “this coach is playing that coach.” The announcers pit one person against the... Read more »

In today’s world there are few barriers to career change. Top sales talent can walk out of your door to another career opportunity at any time. This puts more pressure on sales leaders than ever before to foster a sales culture and team environment that compels people to stay. On... Read more »

They say you can’t make more time. On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, I challenge you to consider how you can make more time through improvements in sales productivity and reinventing the way that you work. I want you to take a moment and think back to the... Read more »

Economic winter is coming. Storm clouds are brewing. And with it is going to be a recession. On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount discusses why you need to prepare right now for the economic storm. This Time Will Be Different This recession will be different than... Read more »

Recession. Inflation. Stagflation. Stockmarket Free Fall. Energy Crisis. Supply Chain Crisis. Political Divisiveness.War. We are living and selling in a time of deep volatility. It is more challenging to close business, objections are harsher, and qualified buyers are becoming more scarce. On this special episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast,... Read more »

Be Right Now When the economy turns sour, fear is palpable. In vain, amid the relentless stream of bad news, people search for certainty where there is none. All You Have Is The Present (An excerpt from Selling In a Crisis by Jeb Blount) For sales professionals the stress and... Read more »

On this episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount and Jennifer Smith, CEO of Scribe, give you tips and tactics for working smarter, dealing with repetitive tasks that slow you down, and getting more done in less time with better outcomes. You must protect your prime selling time at all... Read more »

In addition to our Sunday App of the Week feature, we also summarize some of our favorite B2B sales & marketing posts from around the web each week. We’ll miss a ton of great stuff, so if you found something you think is worth sharing please add it to the... Read more »

By Karla Sanders, Engagement Manager at Heinz Marketing As B2B marketers, we often hear how vital customer data is and how data is king. We all hold personalization and data-driven campaigns to a high standard. The risk of “bad data” disrupting our marketing initiatives, muddying our reports, and obscuring our... Read more »

By Sarah Threet, Marketing Consultant at Heinz Marketing Social media is a powerful tool we use in marketing; it’s a powerful tool because it has the ability to spread messaging far, wide, and like wildfire if done correctly (or sometimes incorrectly). Younger generations who have grown up with the internet,... Read more »

By Maria Geokezas, Chief Operating Office at Heinz Marketing It’s time to “batten down the hatches.” At least according to Jeff Bezos and other renowned economists. Of course, when someone as well positioned to weather a recession as Bezos issues a warning, everyone listens. But businesses can’t hide through a... Read more »

If you’re in sales or marketing, then you know how important it is to have a finger on the pulse of the latest content trends. And if you’ve kept up with our previous App of the Week recommendations, you know that we’re always on the look-out for software and apps... Read more »

In addition to our Sunday App of the Week feature, we also summarize some of our favorite B2B sales & marketing posts from around the web each week. We’ll miss a ton of great stuff, so if you found something you think is worth sharing please add it to the... Read more »

By Carly Bauer, Marketing Consultant at Heinz Marketing We are in the midst of a potential recession; current budgets are being evaluated and cuts are being made to areas less prioritized. For many we are also nearing the end of the fiscal year and are working on new budgets for 2023.... Read more »

Tips from top-tier sales experts help you hit your targets as you close the fiscal year.... Read more »

Commerce teams should create a seamless checkout experience for customers. Here’s how to make sure yours is as easy as it can be.... Read more »

The newly-released Trust Imperative 3.0 Report reveals new insights into the value of personalized and proactive services in government.... Read more »

Educate and entertain yourself with this collection of some of our best podcast episodes from the last 12 months, curated by our own podcast team leader.... Read more »

Strategy design combines user experience knowledge and business thinking to drive human-centered innovation.... Read more »

Discover Trailblazer Virtual Bootcamps - learning programs with self-paced content and live sessions with Salesforce Certified Instructors.... Read more »

Roughly ⅓ of insurance customers have switched providers over the past year. We surveyed leading financial services executives to learn more about how a more personalized customer service approach can improve retention rates.... Read more »

While it’s easy to be swept away in the fast lane of daily life, don't forget to stop, take stock, and practice gratitude with these four tips.... Read more »

Commit to a plan of action, fueled by optimum digital buying experiences, team alignment, and customer-centric selling.... Read more »

What’s your plan to stay in touch with the customer after the sale?   Too many salespeople land a customer and then go out and try to get another customer. Hey, wait a minute! The cheapest customer you’re ever going to get is the one you already have.  1.... Read more »

If you model your behavior after a top performer, it’s amazing how you can become one, too. I know these 10 things are going to resonate with you. What can you start practicing today? 1. Leverage time. Top performers protect their time. The fourth quarter is a shorter quarter... Read more »

Can you still prospect in the months of November and December? Yes, you can.  Putting in the effort now boosts your fourth quarter, while simultaneously setting up the new year for success. Let’s walk through 10 strategies and approaches that you can use to prospect during Q4. 1. Thanksgiving... Read more »

Your current customers are an untapped source for sales.  Of course, current customers can’t be your only focus. That would lead to a dry or clogged pipeline.  But if your pipeline is looking okay, and you need another year-end sales strategy to meet your goals, it’s time to go back... Read more »

Sure, you’ve got a number to hit, but prospecting looks a little bit different in the fourth quarter. Time isn’t on your side. So what do we most need to focus on? See my 10 insights below on how to adjust for success in the 4th quarter. 1. Know... Read more »

This is not the time of year to boil the ocean.  Really, there’s no time of the year to boil the ocean, but end of year especially, it’s time to keep your activities and processes simple. So what works best if simplicity is the name of the game? Check out... Read more »

Let’s talk about how you can maximize your year end.  This is Part I of a 4-Part Year-End Sales Strategies series.  You must know, if you don’t have your goals in place and don’t understand how to leverage your time, there’s no sense of even trying to get to the... Read more »

The 4th quarter is the accountability quarter.  Some of you are thinking, “Hey, it’s been a great year,” because you’ve done well in Q1-3. Others are saying, “Ugh,” because you simply didn’t accomplish everything you hoped.  Giving up is not an option! If you want to make the fourth quarter... Read more »

A healthy network makes you more valuable. Why? You’ve heard it said: What’s the best way to increase your net worth? Increase your network.  Let’s dive into 5 ways to ensure your network is an incredible asset.  1. Power list I recently moved to Dallas. Before I moved to... Read more »

56% of surveyed consumers have made a purchase from a company after reading their blog and 10% of marketers who use blogging say it generates the biggest return on investment. If you're writing a blog for a business, those stats make blog SEO a pretty big deal.... Read more »

What makes a blog post bad? The most pervasive problem we find is poor flow. The post jumps from one idea to the next or the post reads like a stream of consciousness – except it’s not a stylistic choice.... Read more »

The creator economy has seen exceptional growth over the last few years and will only grow more in the future. So, what does that mean for brands, and how can marketers leverage this booming economy? To answer this question, I spoke to a couple of HubSpot's marketing experts and researched... Read more »

Promoting a local business isn’t easy these days. Whether it’s because of oversaturation or complicated search engine algorithms, it’s all too easy to feel like no one will find your business in the local search results.... Read more »

Reading sample business plans is essential when you’re writing your own. As you explore business plan examples from real companies and brands, you’ll learn how to write one that gets your business off on the right foot, convinces investors to provide funding, and ensures your venture is sustainable for the... Read more »

Whether you want that job promotion or to sidestep into a new field, you'll need to commit to learning new skills. One of the best ways you can do that is by taking free online courses.... Read more »

Webinars, video campaigns, and social media posts are relatively new channels for marketers to reach their customers. But, your contemporary communication methods shouldn’t distract you from one of the oldest, yet most effective, strategies — email marketing. In fact, email ROI is an impressive $36 for every $1 spent. ... Read more »

Like a tree falling in the woods, if you plan a product launch without spreading the word — will anyone use it? Will anyone even want it?... Read more »

With how accessible the internet is today, would you believe me if I told you the number of people who go online every day is still increasing?... Read more »

When you’re considering a new venture, one of the first things you should do is determine whether there is a valuable market for it.... Read more »

When I was 12 years old, I used to be confused about my cousin's CD collection. Why have CDs when I could go on iTunes and listen to all my favorite songs? This is a perfect example of a product life cycle (PLC) in action.... Read more »

The project management field is growing. By 2027, employers will have 88 million PM roles, according to the Project Management Institute. To capitalize on new opportunities, PMs must keep up-to-date with industry trends and insights.... Read more »

This post is a part of The Crisis of Disconnection, a thought leadership series examining the latest research and insights to uncover how businesses can meet their growth goals, even amidst unprecedented changes to the way we work.... Read more »

Posting Instagram content when your audience is most active on the app increases chances of engagement, brand awareness, referral traffic, and conversions. However, it's not always efficient to hover over your phone or laptop to post on Instagram at the perfect moment — so you'll need a way to schedule... Read more »