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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Mark Roberge
Read between
February 13 - March 10, 2023
“World-class sales hiring is the most important driver of sales success.”
“Statistics suggest salespeople who are intelligent and helpful, rather than aggressive and high-pressure, are most successful with today's empowered buyer.”
Great salespeople educate potential customers through the questions they ask. Their questions are thought-provoking and elicit introspection. “You know, nobody has ever asked me that before. Now that I think about it.…”
Don't hire a recruiting agency. Don't build a corporate recruiting team. Build a recruiting agency within your corporation.
“Defining the sales methodology enables the sales training formula to be scalable and predictable. The three elements of the sales methodology are the buyer journey, the sales process, and the qualifying matrix.”
Alignment with the buying journey increases the likelihood that the salesperson will be perceived as helpful through the process, as the next steps in the process between the buyer and salesperson are in sync.
“Buyers should not be asked to understand the salesperson's solution and how it can help with their own goals. Instead, the salesperson should understand the buyers' goals and how his own solution can help achieve those goals.”
Modern selling feels less like a seller/buyer relationship and more like a doctor/patient relationship.
“A common sales management mistake is to overwhelm the salesperson with coaching too many skills simultaneously. Pick one skill and focus.”
I never understood why tenure was a factor for promotion in so many sales organizations. Sales is such a measurable, meritocratic function that I simply left tenure out.
“Sales contests are an effective tool to drive short-term behaviors and build team culture within the sales organization.”
Align the contest with a short-term behavior change desired for the majority of the team.
“Before formal promotion, let qualified leadership candidates hire, train, and manage one new salesperson while still carrying their individual quota responsibilities.”
check the “Sent Items” folders on your salespeople's email server. Salespeople often send the same canned responses to their prospects as they address questions that arise throughout the buying journey. These canned emails make for exceptional blog articles.
How to find topics for blog articles
As the salesperson attempts to connect with the buyer through a sequence of voicemails and emails, the salesperson should treat the process like a dialogue. Even though buyers do not always call back, they are usually listening.
“The dysfunctional relationship between Sales and Marketing is the kiss of death in a buyer-driven world.”
“The buyer needs more leads, just like everyone else.” No kidding! Why? How many? How did they come up with that number? What happens if they do not generate more leads? Where does increasing lead flow fit on their overall priority list? If our salespeople didn't have these answers, it was a bad sign.
qualifying matrix GPCT (Goal, Plan, Challenges, Timeline).
