A Sales Compass – A Blog by B2B Sales Connections

Whether you are dealing with customers or managing a sales team, if you keep saying yes to exceptions, they will become expectations.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Coach from B2B Sales Connections

www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, www.facebook.com/B2BSalesConnections, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

Do you spend most of your time working with the sales representatives on your team who produce the least amount of sales? If you can’t remember the last time you did a joint sales call with your top performer, you need to make some changes. (more…)

I used to work in an industry where the summer was a dead time for the sales team. The customers would shut their production down for a week or two. Contacts were on vacation and nothing moved. Then late August and early September would come and sales would start happening. This resulted in the sales people moving too fast and mistakes happening.  I effected both the sales person and the customer.

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When it comes to sales contests, it is important to communicate a sales representative’s progress towards winning. The more excitement you can generate, the better. In fact, many managers believe that the communication about the contest is more important than the prize itself. (more…)

Have you ever been in an internal meeting and asked “why do we do that?”, only to receive the response “because we have always done it that way”?  Have you ever heard a prospect say the same thing in response to one of your fact find questions?  In my opinion, this is a very dangerous response.  More importantly, it often presents a great opportunity for improvement and could result in an excellent sales opportunity.  Here’s is a story to illustrate why:  (more…)

Most would say that the best test of a sales manager’s abilities is what happens if he or she is no longer there. In other words, if you were to leave the organization tomorrow, could your sales team carry on and still produce at the sales level they are now?

To help you answer that question, think back to your first day at work after your last vacation. Did you return to the office to find that everything came to a grinding halt while were away, or did they barely miss you while you were gone? I am asking about the last time you took a real vacation; one where you set your auto-reply email, changed your voice mail message and left the Blackberry at the office. (more…)

In sales, rejection is just something your sales team deals with every day.  Even your top performers hear “no” many more times than they hear “yes”.  When they let it get them down, it shows to everyone they meet, including their customers and their colleagues.  As such, as a sales manager, you must do everything you can to help them stay in a positive frame of mind. 

Sometimes it the simplest of things we do as managers that can put a negative spin on things in a sales rep’s mind.  For example, many sales managers always ask the question “How did it go?” after a sales call.  Unless they signed the contract, most sales representatives will give you a negative answer like “I screwed up part of the presentation”, “I didn’t get the sale” or “not as well as I hoped it would.” (more…)

I know it seems a little early to talk about the summer months, but as a sales manager you have to look that far ahead.  Business can really slow down in the summer, and if your sales team does not have enough prospects in their funnel today, it can be a very difficult to make your sales goals once July and August rolls around.   

A great way for your team to generate many new prospects in a very short period of time is a blitz day.  A blitz day is essentially when everyone on the sales team sets aside time to prospect all at the same time, either on the telephone or face to face prospecting.  (more…)

A direct sales position is quite a different role than that of a sales manager.  As such, it requires a different skill set to be successful.  I think this is one of the biggest reasons why so many sales people fail when they are promoted to management.

Earlier in my career, I was a top producing sales rep who was promoted into management.  I was one of the few who made this transition successfully, eventually developing into a top producing sales manager as well.  Looking back, I think there were four basic reasons why I was able to make this move, where so many others have not. (more…)

As you turn the page to the New Year, I thought I would share with you a great website where you can download some great electronic and printable calendar and planner templates. 

Vertex42 is a leading provider of Spreadsheet Templates, Calendars, and Calculators for Microsoft® Excel®, OpenOffice.org, and Google Docs.  Check out their free calendar templates at http://www.vertex42.com/calendars.  I am not, nor is B2B Sales Connections, affiliated in any way to Vertex42.  I am just passing on some information with some excellent tools for sales and business management.

Remember, plan your work, then work your plan.  Happy New Year everyone!

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

Stay positive in the New Year with the eBook, Daily Motivational Quotes – If misery loves company, then motivation breeds happiness.  For a limited time, this eBook is available for free in our Download Centre.