Let’s unpack that. Most business owners think they understand what their sales department costs. You can see the salaries, commissions, and software subscriptions. It all sits neatly on a P&L. But that number is not the full story. There is a massive difference...
If you’ve been around sales and marketing for more than five minutes, you’ve heard this advice: “Define your ICP.” Good advice. Until it isn’t. Here’s what I see every day. Companies proudly holding up beautifully documented ICPs while their pipelines starve. Sellers...
In honor of Valentine’s Day this past weekend, let me ask you a personal question: do you love your sales pipeline?I don’t mean “are you glad it exists?” or “does it look respectable in a dashboard?” I mean love-love. The kind where you check in regularly, invest...
February is when reality sets in. Q1 is already moving fast, and if your sales pipeline isn’t where you expected it to be, it’s usually for one simple reason: new business development keeps getting pushed aside for “more urgent” work. The problem? What feels urgent...
It can be very frustrating when prospects don't call back!Here are a few of the strategies we use which work. We email the decision maker a content rich, compelling (short) email on a Sunday night. Our email becomes one of the first, if not the first, read on Monday...
Over the last year I’ve heard several stories about lost sales opportunities. Many occurred as a direct result of post-conference oversights that could have been avoided. It happens too often. Join me by shaking your head as you read the story below. Then, vow to...
Make the most of your summer by seizing new business opportunities while your competition plays miniature golf! While it’s true that most people do vacation in August, I don’t know anyone who goes away for 4 weeks straight! What does this mean for you? It means people...
When decision makers say, “No thank you," should you keep trying or cut your losses? My experience is that as long as the prospect is someone whom your research indicates is an “A” level prospect there is no reason to give up, unless you receive new information that...
It was 4pm on a Thursday and I was sitting in my car outside Starbucks. It had been one of those days. You’ve probably had one like this too. Phone call followed by phone call followed by meetings and then more phone calls. I had one more call to go. One call standing...
Most business leaders and sellers are good at setting next steps at the end of a prospect meeting. They are also fairly good at executing the follow up, especially if there is an immediate need. Where too many fail miserably is in effectively nurturing prospect...
Did you have as many new prospect meetings as you wanted in the last 12 months? If not, why not? And, most importantly, what will you do differently in the next 12 months that will yield better results? If you didn't get as many meetings as you wanted it's important...
A seminar attendee once said, “If a prospect cancels a meeting, it obviously means the prospect is not interested. Further, if the meeting is rescheduled and the prospect cancels again, the prospect is not only uninterested, but also rude and unworthy of my...