A Sales Compass – A Blog by B2B Sales Connections

Is sales training really necessary?  To answer that question, you need to look at the facts.  (more…)

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Before you place a job ad and start to interview candidates, ask yourself if you know exactly what you are looking for.  What are the sales skills required to be successful at selling your product?  What are the personality traits of your top performers?    Take the time to clearly define your perfect sales professionals so that you will recognize it when you see them.  There is not one definition of the ideal sales candidate that fits everyone, but there is one definition that fits you! 

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com,  www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

For automated tools to help you with your sales recruiting, check out our Recruiting, Hiring & Human Resources Tool Kit at http://www.b2bsalesconnections.com/automated_tools.php

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Have a mindset that you report to your sales team, as opposed to them reporting to you as the sales manager.  Ask them what three things you can do to help them service their customers better.  If you make their lives easier and make it easier for them to sell, they will do a better job.  Customers will buy more, making your whole team more successful.  After all, this is what your boss wants anyway, right?

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

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Did you know that business people who read at least 7 business books a year earn over 2.3 times more than people who read only one book per year?  Think you don’t have time to spend on your own ongoing personal development? Did you know that if you spend just 10 minutes a day reading, that adds up to over 60 hours a year?

Investing in yourself is always a safe bet!

Strategies that Win Sales – Best Practices of the World’s Leading Organizations by Mark Marone and Seleste Lunsford (more…)

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By most predictions 2010 is looking like a better year for business and the economy. Your company has probably cut expenses to the bone and there is no budget for sales training programs that don’t produce results. 

So why not start your New Year off on the right foot by setting goals and getting back to basics? 

(more…)

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Once again this week a learning opportunity knocked on my door. As background information, I should explain that the City of Ottawa is launching a new green bin recycling program early in the New Year.  This week they first went door to door to drop off our new recycling bins, and then yesterday they had crews going door to door answering residents’ questions. 

The program has raised a number of concerns with the public, and some would argue is quite controversial.  Since I don’t fully understand the program myself, I welcomed the opportunity to receive the answers to my questions.  I was soon frustrated and disappointed by what I was hearing, however the reason why had nothing to do with the recycling program.  It was because I wasn’t getting any answers!  Finally, after the fourth “I don’t know” I gave up.  (more…)

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When you point your finger at a sales rep telling them they are doing a bad job, there are three fingers pointing back at you.  A mistake or customer complaint is just as much our fault as managers as it is the sales representatives. If we are not giving the tools to do the job right and not training the employees how to use them, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We always have to remember to teach, not preach!

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com or www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns

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What are you distinct competitive advantages? You will drastically increase your chances of winning the sale when together you and your prospect identify problems that you can fix better than the competition can.

Aim Higher!
Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com or www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns

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Do you regularly receive updates to important computer files like price lists?  Add the date to the file name when you save it.  That way, you will ensure that you are always using the most up to date version.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections
www.b2bsalesconnections.com or www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns

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Have you ever been told, “Here’s your business cards, there’s a street.  Now go and bang on some doors.”?  Or how about, “Here is the phone book, start dialing!”  Although these shotgun methods of prospecting may produce results, it really is sheer luck if they do.  The chances that you happen to knock on the right door, or dial the right number, at the exact time when a prospect is ready to buy are actually quite slim. 

Granted, sales is a numbers game, requiring you to make a certain number of calls to find one prospect, but what if you could improve the odds?  If it used to take you 20 calls to find one prospect, how much more would you sell if it only took you 10 calls? (more…)

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