Stephen Howell
-
Sales Trifecta – Performance, Process, and Quality Assurance
Sales performance, process and quality assurance are intricately linked. High performing sales teams follow rigorous processes and assess quality at every step which in turn leads to the highest performance possible. Sales quality assurance (or Sales QA) helps sales teams uphold the standards and expectations of the company. Sales QA determines where the sales team…
-
How to Succeed in Sales Without Really Trying
The 1967 American romcom How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying turned a 1961 stage musical and earlier book by Shepherd Mead by the same name into a hit film starring Robert Morse, Rudy Vallee and Michele Lee. The movie plot loosely depicts how an ambitious new employee climbs the corporate ladder of the…
-
Keep Your Customers Close and Your Competitors Closer
The phrase “Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer.” is most often attributed to Michael Corleone in “The Godfather Part II” from 1974. Other sources attribute it to a bad translation of Machiavelli’s political treatise “The Prince” from the 16th-century. Still others ascribe it to Sun Tzu a Chinese general and military strategist in…
-
The Do’s and Don’ts of Prospecting
The do’s and don’ts of prospecting is about developing your personal best practices and uncovering techniques and tactics that are essential to achieving success outbound prospecting. Prospecting is not always easy; it can be challenging work. Like with any profession, you will need to learn new skills. It will take practice and patience. There is…
-
Add Value by Solving a Problem that Your Prospect Does Not Know They Have
Problem solving, that is the real value your sales team brings to each interaction with a prospect. Having valuable products or services is important but do they solve to prospect’s problem? If you help a business do more business your sales team will fuel the growth of your business and that of your customers. People…
-
Anti-ghosting Tactics that Turn Leads into Calls that Turn into Appointments
It can feel like you are trying to connect with a brick wall. You make multiple calls to a lead only to end up leaving voicemail after voicemail. You send email after email that are never viewed. You reach out on social media only to end up being ignored. You might even send a text…
-
Sales Bots are Disrupting the Way Live Salespeople Sell
Disruptive has become an overused word. Back in a June 2014 article in New York magazine Kevin Roose said, “Let’s all stop saying ‘disrupt’ right this instant.” For years now, every where you turned you heard about disruptive technology. And it has bled into the vernacular of other disciplines and industries as well. Roose declares…
-
Sales Activities Lead to No Response
Is your sales team’s response rate above or below expectations? Why is their response rate above or below expectations? What actions should you take? Understanding the Problem Long gone are the days of hustling prospects from the phone book. Long since has passed a time when you could jump your competition just by sending an…
-
Your Sales Team’s Follow-up Is Non-existent and Ineffective
Is your sales team’s follow-up above or below expectations? Why is their follow-up above or below expectations? What action should you take? Understanding the Problem Prospects go without follow-up or the follow-up is ineffective. It is not uncommon when sales teams are overwhelmed with high volumes of leads that some leads – in some cases…
-
Which Do You Choose: Leading KPIs, Lagging KPIs or Both?
If you are looking out the windshield, you are watching the road ahead. You are considering what is coming at you on the highway. If you are looking out the rearview mirror, you are observing what has already happened. You are noticing what has already based you by. And if you are looking out the…