Mike Schultz's Blog, page 21

5 Key Takeaways from Our Top-Performing Sales Organization Research

It’s never been more important for your sales organization to be firing on all thrusters. As buyers are tightening their purse strings and uncertainty in both health and economic spheres are plaguing companies, you need an optimized sales organization.

In our Top-Performing Sales Organization research, we studied what the organizations with the highest win rates, revenue growth, and sales goal achievement do differently that allow them to achieve these results.

The #1 Tactic Buyers Use in Sales Negotiations

As the global economy teeters on the edge of uncertainty, companies are already canceling engagements, dropping vendors, and tightening their purse strings.

They’re looking for any way to make their dollar stretch, and there’s no better time to do that than in contract negotiations.

For industries still in buying mode, negotiations pose a unique opportunity to take advantage of desperate sellers struggling to meet their numbers.

The Massive Difference of Being a Top Performing Sales Negotiator

As businesses shut down and stock markets plummet during this global crisis, buyers are more money conscious than ever. In most industries, sales are stalling. Buyers are cutting spend and pushing vendors for deep discounts. 

This is an unprecedented time. 

It's essential that sellers are the best they can be, and that includes in sales negotiation. In fact, every dollar preserved in a negotiation goes straight to your bottom line. How much of a difference can it make?

On-Demand Webinar: 9 Key Principles of Virtual Learning Success

COVID-19 has rapidly accelerated changes in how business is done around the world. With employees working from home, travel bans, and new developments daily, virtual training has become an imperative.

But many organizations have never done virtual training, and many L&D and sales enablement professionals are looking for new ideas and approaches. It’s easy for virtual training to fail, so how do you make it truly successful with so much riding on it?

Complimentary Webinar: 9 Key Principles of Virtual Learning Success

Date: Thursday, April 2, 2020
Time: 3-4:30 PM EDT 
Presenters: Andy Springer & Lindsay Bridger
Cost: Free 

COVID-19 has rapidly accelerated changes in how business is done around the world. With employees working from home, travel bans, and new developments daily, virtual training has become an imperative.

Complimentary Webinar: 9 Keys to Virtual Learning Success

Date: Thursday, March 26, 2020
Time: 11 AM ET 
Presenter: Ago Cluytens
Cost: Free 

COVID-19 has rapidly accelerated changes in how business is done around the world. With employees working from home, travel bans, and new developments daily, virtual training has become an imperative.

Sales Training Reinforcement: How to Get it Right

Reinforcement has been a trend in the world of sales training for a while now. All the research data in sales training—and learning and development in general—supports the need for robust reinforcement.

But it’s still not happening often enough.

According to Aberdeen, fewer than half (44%) of companies formally follow-up initial sales training with reinforcement. At the same time, the companies that do reinforce training see 20% more sellers achieve sales quotas.

3-Step Framework for Leading Effective Sales Coaching Conversations

Many sales managers and coaches are never taught how to lead effective sales coaching conversations. 

So they start with, “What’s up?” 

Then they listen to sellers for an hour with a bit of back and forth about this opportunity or that one. They may talk about the need to fill the pipeline or come up with an idea to move one of the opportunities forward. And then the hour is up.

How to Write a Proposal

"Can you send me a proposal?"

Sellers love to hear these six words from buyers. Once you submit a proposal, you can move forward to the win.

While a good proposal summarizes what you've already discussed and agreed to, a proposal is, at its core, a persuasive document that communicates to buyers why they should buy, and why they should buy from you.

How Often Do Sellers Cave on Price?

Seller: “Based on your requirements X, Y, and Z, with setup and 90 days of consultation time, the price for the project will be $475,000.”

Buyer: “Is this the best you can do? It’s more than I was expecting. While I’d prefer to go with you, [competitor] said they can do it for less.”

Seller: “We are pretty confident in our pricing, but let me see what I can do and get back to you.”

This is oversimplified, but it’s an all too common scenario in B2B selling. 

When you’re buying something big, you likely ask for discounts. If you do, it makes sense that others do, too. If you don’t ask for discounts, guess what? You’re in the minority.