Create a Sweet 100 List

Build a list of the 100 sweetest, most ideal companies you’d like as your clients. Prospect to the top 20-30 companies right now. Choose a manageable number to start with and put

Cash Burning a Hole in Your Sales Prospects’ Pockets?

Businesses are looking at what is left in their budgets, and they want to spend it now before the cash is gone. They don’t know what next year will bring. Start checking

What Does Your Linkedin Profile Say About You?

Your LinkedIn profile should represent the best of your career. Have it reflect the ways you help people and your expertise in a way that aligns with what your current prospects need.

One Easy Way to Close Sales Faster – Set Expectations

Many salespeople are terrible at moving their prospects toward a decision! Here’s what you can do to close sales faster. Guide your prospects by setting expectations for them. Tell them what their

3 Ways to Grow Your SMB Business

Sales prospecting and lead generation get a bad rap, especially in IT companies with small sales teams and where the principal still has a role in sales. I can’t tell you how

3 Sales Strategies to Keep Clients Loyal in a Volatile Market

Volatility surrounds us. The world is on edge right now. Businesses are wondering, will inflation, the banking crisis, and interest rate hikes lead to a recession? Or will we weather it and

How to Lead Prospects through the Sales Process Faster

Your sales prospects don’t know how to be good prospects. They don’t ignore you out of spite. They don’t avoid sharing their proposal decisions to annoy you. They do those things because

Nasty Review? Yes, You Need to Reply

Bad reviews are sometimes an icky part of business. Sometimes people are having a bad day and they’re taking it out on your company online. Sometimes, it’s justified. Either way, it’s always

Success by the Numbers

It takes more than an annual sales goal and positive thinking to hit your quota. You need a number to continue measuring your success against. Take your revenue goal for the year

Aim Higher

To have your strategic recommendations heard and their value fully understood, you need to talk with the person who sets the vision for the company. This is the CEO or CFO in

Social media offers an opportunity to build a strong professional reputation as an expert in your industry. When you have active and up-to-date social media accounts, regularly engage on LinkedIn and Twitter,

Three Indicators If You’ll Achieve Your Sales Goals This Year

It’s the start of a new year. Here we go again: new year, new quota. Maybe even a new target market, new product you’re launching, or regional expansion. The thing about a

Bid with More Oomph!

Prospects are looking at more than your price. They want to know who will meet their needs, and they won’t just take your word for it. They need to hear from someone

2 Tricks to Smarter New Business Development

When new business development focuses only on prospects who will close within the next 90 days, while ignoring everyone else, lots of real opportunities are lost in the shuffle. Instead, use a

Peeking Ahead to Q1? Why Ignoring Q4 is a Very Bad Idea

It’s the fourth quarter. Your sales numbers aren’t where you’d like them to be. The calendar is changing. The minutes are ticking down. Tick-tock. You may be feeling discouraged, annoyed, even angry.

Close the Lingering Proposals

Q4 is here! The pressure to meet quota is on! Want to finish the year strong? Focus on what you can close. Look at all of the proposals that are lingering in

Three Questions Every Testimonial Must Answer to Win More Sales

Every salesperson knows that client testimonials are like gold in the sales process. The right testimonial can avoid the need for lengthy reference sharing. It can keep you in a highly competitive

How to Know if You’re Selling to the Right Person

Sometimes it’s not apparent if you’re selling to the right person and you’ll waste time. Here’s a quick trick: If your contact is engaged with your strategic recommendations and asks tough questions,

Why Your New Business Development Approach isn’t Working

Business owners don’t understand the fundamental law of how new business development actually happens. If you’re stuck in a mentality of looking only for opportunities that will close in the next 90

How to Know if You’re Selling High Enough in the Organization

Every successful salesperson knows that you’re supposed to sell to the decision maker. It’s one of the primary qualification questions in requirements gathering right out of the gate: who will be making

When Sales Reps Aren’t Selling, What’s the Real Problem?

So often when sales reps aren’t selling the first inclination is to blame the sales rep. They aren’t making calls. They aren’t going on enough appointments. They don’t know how to close.

Improve cold calling results with brand recognition

While cold calling is the fastest way (but sometimes one of the hardest ways) to uncover leads, be more visible to improve your odds of getting in the door. Use email, lead

What to do when lead generation isn’t working

It can take a minimum of six months to start getting replies from lead generation campaigns. If you’re not getting replies in <6 months, don’t despair – and don’t start making desperate

Update your subject lines

The rules of email are ever-changing and you need to keep up with the changes to make sure your emails get through! Subject lines are a critical part of this. Generally speaking,