Three steps guaranteed to boost sales team effectiveness

If you’re really short on time, the ways to boost sales team effectiveness can probably be summarised in three words: Direction, leadership and skills. Business owners often stress about recruiting the right sales person – then spend more time worrying about whether they’ve done the right thing. Yet in our experience the biggest determining factor…

The importance of customer loyalty and how to measure it

If sales measures had a Greatest Hits catalogue then customer loyalty would be the one everyone is singing along to. Customer loyalty is the banger that keeps everyone singing long after the band have left the stage. Customer loyalty is what gets you more deals, at higher prices, at a lower cost of acquisition. It’s…

The importance of sales funnel metrics

Sales is all about the numbers, right? If you’re in a sales job and you’re falling short of budget then you’ll have questions to answer. In some organisations if you miss target for three months in a row you’ll be out of the door. It’s a target-driven environment and results count. But this is all…

5 mistakes that lead to unsustainable sales deals

Sustainable selling is something we frequently speak about. Why is that? It’s because sales is a specialism that’s full of people offering quick fixes, which can result in unsustainable sales. Search Google for sales questions and you’ll find plenty of “clever” questions designed to manipulate customers. Not to mention the countless lead gen businesses promising…

Moving sales from an artform to a science

Successful selling. Is it about working alongside someone and collaborating on solutions, or is it about getting them to do what you want? Is it about helping them or manipulating them? We hear both of these views and there are believers in both approaches. Nor is it easy to draw the line between these styles.…

Lead gen – 7 questions to consider before you invest in lead gen

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a small wooden cottage in a forest. This was home to the sales fairy. Thanks to the internet the sales fairy was able to sell lead gen services to hopeful business owners. Signing them up to unapproved mailing lists she was able to…

5 ways to increase sales for 2023

We’re now at that time of year when leaves are tumbling from the trees. Clocks have gone back and you can count the days down to Christmas. It’s not the time to talk about your “beach-ready” body. But it is the time to think about your sales priorities for the new year and how you…

Sales Suspect vs. Prospect: How do you define your Suspects?

If you enjoy a good TV cop drama you could be well on the way to answering this one. So what are we talking about when it comes to a Sales Suspect vs. Prospect? A Suspect is someone who’s better defined than just a lead. You’ve done enough research into their attributes, challenges and needs…

Does My Business Need A CRM System?

Whether you’re already using one or you’ve been putting it off for a while now, at some point most business owners are going to ask: does my business need a CRM system? They can seem like more trouble than they’re worth, but the key is to remember that they’re only as good as the information…

What’s Customer Lifetime Value and why is it important?

Sometimes, companies will be all over you when you’re making your initial purchase but will disappear as soon as you’ve made your decision to buy. This may be because they don’t understand the importance of customer lifetime value.

Where does marketing stop and sales start?

This is one of the most important handover points to get right in any company. But the boundaries are really fuzzy. How many times have you heard comments like this? “We could improve performance if only Sales followed up on the leads we give them” “We could grow sales if only Marketing gave us decent…

Overcoming sales objections

Sales objections aren’t always what they seem. A lack of immediate agreement to buy does not automatically mean “No”. It might mean “I have another question you’ve not answered yet”. Learning to embrace sales objections rather than fear them can make all the difference to whether you win a sale or let an opportunity slip…