Mike Schultz's Blog, page 2

12 Essential Appointment-Setting Tips

What Is Appointment Setting?

Appointment setting is the process of qualifying and scheduling meetings between sellers and potential buyers. It’s a part of the larger process of prospecting, starting the sales conversation and converting interest into pipeline opportunities.

3 Key Priorities for Sales Excellence in 2025

Sellers in 2025 face a perfect storm: economic and political uncertainty, rapid tech advancements, lengthening sales cycles, and increasingly complex buying committees. Expectations haven’t adjusted to this new reality; sales leaders are still on the hook for aggressive growth.

One word defines this moment: complex.

Common Sales Training Implementation Challenges

While our recent research on the state of sales training and continuous learning highlighted the clear benefits of highly effective sales training, it also revealed that many organizations struggle to achieve these results. As part of our survey of 242 sales professionals across various industries and regions, we asked respondents to identify the biggest challenges their organizations face in providing effective sales training and development for people in sales roles.

How to Drive Sales Velocity: Unlocking the Power of the Buyer Change Blueprint

Let’s be real: getting buyers to take action isn’t easy.

You’ve been there; a deal is progressing, conversations are moving along, and then—boom—it stalls. The buyer goes quiet. They hesitate. And suddenly, what seemed like a sure thing turns into an endless cycle of follow-ups and ghosting.

Why does this happen?

It’s a common challenge in sales: while buyers might recognize the need for change, they don’t feel the urgency to act now.

The 9 Top Sales Skills of The Best Sellers

To find and win business consistently, you need the right mix of sales skills across the sales process, from filling the front-end of the pipeline to growing accounts. Too many sales teams have significant skill deficits preventing them from turning their potential for growth into reality.

In our The Top-Performing Sales Organization study, we looked at the differences between Top Performers and The Rest across sales skills and knowledge needed to drive sales performance. The gaps in skills are eye-opening.

The ROI of Effective Sales Training: Making the Business Case

As a sales enablement or learning & development (L&D) professional, you know that sales training is critical. But securing executive buy-in and budget for training requires more than just intuition—it demands a compelling business case backed by data.

B2B Sales: Definition, Skills, and Best Practices

What Is B2B Sales?

B2B (business-to-business) sales refers to one business selling products, services, or solutions to another business. The dynamics of B2B sales tend to be more complicated than business-to-consumer (B2C) sales because they often involve higher dollar value solutions, longer sales cycles, and multiple decision makers.

Which Sales Skills Do You Need to Master? Find Out in 10 Minutes

Did you know that Top-Performing Sellers are 2.4x more likely to meet their sales goals? In a competitive sales environment, understanding and improving your selling skills can make the difference between hitting your targets and falling short.

But how do you know which skills to focus on? That's where RAIN Group's free Selling Skills Self-Assessment comes in.

The 3 Key Drivers of Effective Sales Training

Most sales training disappoints.

That's not just an opinion—it's a sobering finding from our latest research. In fact, 67% of respondents rate their organization’s sales training and development as only moderately, slightly, or not at all effective at achieving strong sales performance and productivity.

25 Ways to Maximize Your Sales Enablement Budget in 2025

Sales enablement leaders are under more pressure than ever. You’re tasked with boosting seller performance, driving revenue growth, and delivering measurable results—all while working with tight budgets and limited resources. In 2025, doing more with less isn’t just a goal; it’s a survival strategy.

But here’s the good news: constraints breed creativity. The right strategies can transform limited budgets into big wins, turning challenges into opportunities for innovation and efficiency.