What is sustainable selling?

You might think this is about selling sustainability. Maybe you imagine sustainability consultants who help organisations build their green plans. Or you think of companies selling composting boxes or green bins. But sustainable selling isn’t about what you sell. It’s about how you do it. It’s ensuring that your sales capability is sustainable over time.…

Should you be using AI in sales?

When it comes to deciding whether AI in sales can positively impact a business, there are many factors that must be considered. We’ve said many times that sales is all about people: It’s about the talent you recruit into your team and about the way you train and lead them. It’s also about the quirky…

What are the benefits of a part-time Sales Director?

Many growing businesses don’t consider the advantages of hiring a part-time Sales Director. Business owners think of employing a Sales Director as a binary decision: when we’re big enough I can employ a Sales Director. Until then I’ll manage without. The problem is, this is not how your customers behave. As your business grows there’ll…

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…

How to create meaningful sales measures

We wrote last month about the importance of sales funnel measures. This month we’re focusing more on sales measures and results. How many sales measures should I have? A question you might want to consider is how many sales measures you should have. We’ve seen everything from one to twenty! We’ve yet to see a…

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…

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.…

Influencing customers without pitching

Why? You might ask ? When it comes to influencing customers without pitching, just think – how many times have you met someone at a networking or business event and been forced to listen to them drone on about how important they are? At what point did you mentally switch off and start looking for…

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 a sales culture and how do I get one?

Building a strong sales culture is critical to building a successful business. But it’s much easier said than done. Sales culture isn’t really about sales; it comes from a combination of leadership and teamwork. In this blog post, we’re exploring ‘what’s a sales culture and how can you build one in your business?’. Perhaps the…