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Create A Great Sales Organization series

What An MBA Didn’t Teach You About Sales

The sales profession is challenging. You need to work hard at it to succeed. You need to learn from the best. You need to improve your skills continuously. If you think you can sell since you are a hit at parties and have a lot of friends, you may soon find that you are a failure as a salesperson. Blunt truth:

because the sales profession is so hard, you have to focus on doing everything in sales very well, or you will be considered a failure.

I call this blog, Skinned Knees because I try to relate all of the learning that I have done over the past 4+ decades (while skinning my knees in the learning process).

I hope that you learn from my mistakes so that your business will grow!

Ace of Hearts: Joint sales calls with top management: Role-playing for Different Scenarios

Role-playing is a critical strategy for preparing for a sales call involving top management. It replicates the actual sales scenario, including realistic data and potential objections, allowing for feedback and strategy refinement. It also enhances the sales team’s ability to handle objections confidently and promotes active listening for better client engagement. Implementing role-playing as a standard practice serves multiple purposes such as aligning strategies among team members and enforcing a robust, collaborative framework that elevates the overall sales approach.

King of Spades: Pre-Call Strategic Planning: Prepare in Advance to Present a United Front With Management During Sales Calls

Harmonizing Sales and Management: A Prelude to Success The intricate dance of a joint sales call, where the sales team and top management come together, can be likened to a finely tuned orchestra. Each member plays a distinct part, but harmony is only achieved when everyone is attuned to the same melody. As such, aligning the sales strategy with the expectations of top management is not just beneficial—it’s essential. Dissonance here can lead to a… King of Spades: Pre-Call Strategic Planning: Prepare in Advance to Present a United Front With Management During Sales Calls

Queen of Spades: Providing Constructive Feedback: Give Actionable Advice to Aid Improvement

In B2B sales, where every interaction and every closed deal matters, providing constructive feedback is not merely an addendum to the daily operations—it is a pivotal aspect of the sales narrative, a determinant of success. The intricacy of feedback, however, cannot be overstated. It is a craft that, when honed, can propel the underperforming to new heights of achievement and the proficient to unprecedented mastery. The Anatomy of Actionable Feedback Consider the feedback mechanism as… Queen of Spades: Providing Constructive Feedback: Give Actionable Advice to Aid Improvement

Jack of Spades: Setting Up Performance Improvement Plans: Offer structured guidance for those not meeting benchmarks.

In the tightly woven tapestry of a sales organization, each thread—each salesperson—must hold its own for the entire structure to maintain its integrity. Imagine a well-practiced orchestra where each musician is critical to the harmonious output. If even one violinist is off-key, it disrupts not just the symphony but also influences the collective perception of the audience. Similarly, when one salesperson consistently misses the mark, the dissonance affects not just their numbers but the collective… Jack of Spades: Setting Up Performance Improvement Plans: Offer structured guidance for those not meeting benchmarks.

Ten of Spades: Addressing Salesperson Underperformance: Identifying Training Needs: Recognize areas for skill development to boost performance

Elevating Sales Performance: Why Targeted Training is Non-Negotiable Visualize your sales team as a high-performance sports car: every part is intricately designed to maximize output and speed. When one part fails or underperforms, the entire machine is impacted. An underperforming salesperson isn’t just a localized problem; their performance deficit has a cascading effect on the entire team and, by extension, the organization. It’s critical to realize that top-performing salespeople—let’s call them the eagles of the… Ten of Spades: Addressing Salesperson Underperformance: Identifying Training Needs: Recognize areas for skill development to boost performance

Nine of Spades: Addressing Salesperson Underperformance: Setting Performance Benchmarks: Define standards for success to measure against.

Understanding the Nature of Sales Benchmarks Let’s start by grounding ourselves in the foundational premise: Sales benchmarks are not merely numerical goals but the defining coordinates of success. If you will, consider them as your organization’s North Star, guiding your sales team through the complexities of quotas, customer relationships, and revenue targets. Benchmarks transcend the limitations of raw numbers and extend into the realm of qualitative assessment—whether it’s the ability to understand customer needs or… Nine of Spades: Addressing Salesperson Underperformance: Setting Performance Benchmarks: Define standards for success to measure against.

Eight of Spades: Defining your corporate sales strategy: Crafting a Sales Process Flowchart: Visualize the stages in your sales process for consistency

The Quintessential Blueprint for Sales Mastery In architecture, the blueprint guides turn an imagined design into a tangible, functional building. Similarly, a Sales Process Flowchart is the foundational structure upon which sales organizations can build scalable, consistent, and successful strategies. The importance of this tool lies in its ability to crystallize the sales process into a series of actionable steps, thereby providing a roadmap to success. The goal is to achieve consistency, predictability, and scalability,… Eight of Spades: Defining your corporate sales strategy: Crafting a Sales Process Flowchart: Visualize the stages in your sales process for consistency

Seven of Spades: Defining your corporate sales strategy: Creating Unique Selling Propositions (USPs): Define what makes your offering distinct and appealing to prospects.

Crafting the Beacon in Sales: The Art of Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) The challenge in the modern B2B marketplace isn’t merely about getting noticed but about leaving an indelible mark. For businesses navigating this complex market, the guiding light—their Unique Selling Proposition (USP)—is the deciding factor. But why is a USP so quintessential, and how does one etch it masterfully? Picture, if you will, an animated marketplace: myriad sellers, each echoing their offerings. Amidst this… Seven of Spades: Defining your corporate sales strategy: Creating Unique Selling Propositions (USPs): Define what makes your offering distinct and appealing to prospects.

Six of Spades: Defining your corporate sales strategy: Segmenting Target Market: Categorize potential clients to tailor strategies effectively.

The Art of Tailoring Sales: Why Market Segmentation Matters Embark with me on a journey across the sprawling business landscape, an expanse echoing with the cacophony of countless potential clients. As vast as this sounds, CEOs and sales leaders quickly recognize a fundamental truth: their offerings aren’t for everyone, no matter how exceptional. The cost of gaining any customer, regardless of that prospect’s business, location, or specialty, risks the profitability of selling to them all.… Six of Spades: Defining your corporate sales strategy: Segmenting Target Market: Categorize potential clients to tailor strategies effectively.

Five of Spades: Defining your corporate sales strategy: Setting Clear Sales Objectives and Goals: Establish targets to drive sales team efforts.

Crafting a Resonant Sales Symphony: The Power of Clear Objectives and Goals In the vast ocean of corporate strategy, the sales department functions much like a ship’s heartbeat, rhythmic and essential, setting the pace for the vessel’s journey. But what, or who calibrates this pulse? How do we ensure that this heart doesn’t race uncontrollably or, worse, skip a beat? CEOs and sales managers would concur that the answer is embedded in well-articulated sales objectives… Five of Spades: Defining your corporate sales strategy: Setting Clear Sales Objectives and Goals: Establish targets to drive sales team efforts.