Jill Konrath's Blog, page 18

[Webinar] Smart Sales Intelligence: Turning Insights into Action

Don't miss this FREE, but invaluable session!

With all the data out there, a big challenge for today's sales and marketing teams is knowing what to pay attention to. Our customers and prospects are overwhelmed as well. Yet to be effective, we need to cut through all this "noise" to connect with them. 

In this 1-hour webinar with me & Joe Lucas (smart guy from InsideView), you'll discover how to:

The Secret to Getting a New Sales Job Fast

Looking for a new sales job right now? According to research by Glassdoor, 45% of salespeople plan to start their search in the next three months and 68% want to switch in the upcoming year. 

Wowza! That's a whopping number of you who are open to new opportunities. It also means you'll probably have tons of competition for any good position you find. 

How do you stand out from the crowd?  

Sales leaders are looking to hire self-starters. Of course, every salesperson describes him/herself that way ... but very few demonstrate it during the interview process. If you can, there's a high likelihood you'll move yourself into the front runner position. 

10 Sales Plan Activities That'll Quickly Improve Prospecting Results

Are you at the cusp of something new? Perhaps you've taken a new sales position. Maybe you're selling into new markets or to new buyers. You could be launching a new product or service. You might be responsible for onboarding a new rep.

Or just maybe you've finally realized that you're doomed unless you figure out how to deal with today's savvy, frazzled, sales-averse decision makers.

What's common between all those scenarios? You – or your new reps – are thrown into learning mode again.

You're overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of the task. You're not sure you'll ever figure it out. But here's the deal: to make that happen, you need to take control of your learning. It can't be done in bits and pieces, with no rhyme or reason on what you're learning first.

[Webinar] 5 Strategies for Leading a Quota-Busting Sales Team

Join me on August 14th!

How can you get your sales team to consistently overachieve? 

It’s a real challenge today, especially since so much has changed in the past few years — including customer expectations. Salespeople are struggling to catch up.

In this free 30-minute webinar, you’ll get fresh insights and rock solid take-aways you can use right away. Specifically, you'll discover:

3 Components Every Value Proposition Must Have

What's a value proposition – and why is it important? It's a clear statement of the tangible business value that companies get from using your product or service. It's the outcome of using your offering – not what your offering is.

For example, I do training. No one cares about training. But, when I work with my clients, I help them with new client acquisition and faster sales cycles. That's what they get from my training programs – and that's the ONLY reason people hire me.

So, your challenge is to figure out what your outcomes are. Here's a tip. Every value proposition has three components:

Easy Sales Tool That Can Increase Close Rates by 18%

Did you know that sales pros spend 3.9 hours/day doing stuff that isn’t selling? [That’s straight from this 2014 study.] One of the biggest time suckers of all is dealing with the minutiae required to get proposals and contracts negotiated and signed.

Unfortunately, the longer it takes, the bigger the risk that the deal will completely fall apart, turning into a "closed lost" sale. Not good!

The good news is that studies have shown that making your proposals and contracts available online can increase close rates by 18%.

The Challenges of 1st Time Sales Managers – And How to Overcome Them

Recently I sat down to talk with Ken Thoreson, president of Acumen Management. He just came out with a new book called, SLAMMED!!! For the First Time Sales Manager.  

I'll never forget when I was first promoted into management. It was a real wake-up call – and very frustrating. I was working harder than ever, but barely seeing the results.

If you've recently moved into a sales management position, or are hoping it'll be your next career move, read on. There's some good advice ahead.

Competitive Differentiation Is Easy if You Do This

When your prospect has decided to change from the status quo, they start seriously considering their options. How can you differentiate yourself from others who are also competing for their business?

Most salespeople feel compelled to brag about their company's service or talk about all the awards their company won. Everyone does that. It's not differentiation.

True competitive differentiation comes from helping your prospect make a good decision. Here's the most effective thing you can say:

How to Leverage Trigger Events for Faster Sales

Have you ever heard of trigger events? If not, you're in for a wonderful wakeup call.

A trigger event is a sudden change in a company's priorities. Your prospect may have been happy with the status quo yesterday, but these new circumstances create or deepen business issues that can no longer be ignored. 

Here are some examples of events that can potentially create sales opportunities for you:

If You're Not Using This Email Prospecting Tool, You're Missing Out

You know what I hate? Not knowing if my prospect has opened my emails ... wondering if they disappeared into a black hole ... and never being able to catch them on the phone. I suspect you feel the same way.

That's why I wanted to let you know about Signals, a new, free and easy email prospecting tool that I'm loving. Here's why: