How can you make your sales team more profitable? How can you use social media more effectively in your sales funnel? What are some low-cost ways to improve your sales processes? If you’ve been asking yourself these questions, we have the answers you’ve been seeking.
In this week’s roundup, tips, tricks, and resources abound for every level of your sales organization. Based on some of the most cutting-edge organizational research, these resources highlight how to hire the best sales staff, get better returns on cold calls, and keep your staff feeling motivated and focused on selling.
- Top Sellers: Characteristics of a Superior Salesperson – University of Florida, IFAS Extension
Through studies conducted and presented in journals such as Nations Business and American City Business Journals, the authors of this white paper found several key indicators of a salesperson’s long term effectiveness. These include empathy, problem-solving, sociability, drive, competitive nature, and impersonal rejection reactions.Salespeople wanting to hone their skills or sales managers researching the kinds of employees that will be the best long-term investments can both learn from this article. - The VAGUE VOICEMAIL Strategy – Eyes on Sales
This blog post talks about the potentially damaging effect of a tactic called the “Vague Voicemail,” in which sales professionals try to get callbacks by leaving vague messages. The author, Michael Pedone, suggests that this can prompt a backlash when the potential client calls back hoping to make a new customer and finds that it has been a sales call. Pedone suggests some great alternatives for getting callbacks, which makes this a great article for salespeople who do intensive cold-calling sessions. - Can Social Really Help Me Sell? – Selling Power
The editors of Selling Power really pack a punch with this gem, stating that 70% of sales professionals using social media outperform their peers and meet quotas 23% more often. In addition, they provide some great Twitter lists of people to follow and highlight the effectiveness of LinkedIn groups for selling. This article also includes tips for how to engage on social media, making this an excellent article for anyone interested in adding social media to their sales toolbox. - 6 Tasks Tops Sales Agents Delegate – Prophet
Prophet shares some excellent tips that help salespeople save time and focus their selling energy. Some of the duties they suggest delegating include scheduling meetings, answering phone calls and emails, and completing CRM forms. In addition, they make a compelling argument for using relationship management software solutions to take care of many of these time-consuming tasks automatically. It’s a perfect article for business owners, sales staff, or real estate agents who are considering a CRM program. - The Best $100 You Ever Spent in Sales – SalesMarks.com
From beach parties to fax machines, several high-producing sales professionals reveal the best $100 relationship management investments they ever made. This fun, easy-to-read article also offers great ideas that any sales manager can use to improve morale and increase the bottom line. Some of our favorites include buying donuts for the production team, investing in a clear headset for better call quality, and taking the boss for a round of high-quality golf. - Why Your Web Copy is Missing the Mark (And How You Can Fix It) – Marketing Profs
Author Tara Chila articulates some of the basics of how to get your content marketing pieces noticed and increase your internet-driven sales. Perfect for any sales professional who utilizes content marketing as a sales tool, this article encourages writers to keep their content short, article titles memorable, and SEO keywords carefully chosen. In addition, Chila highlights the audience as a key component of content marketing success, and suggests writers spend time on attracting the right readers through headlines and search results snippets. - 12 Reasons Your Sales Results Are Plummeting – Sales & Marketing Management
Zorian Rotenberg, VP of Sales and Marketing for InsightSquared, shares his extensive experience about the things that damage the motivation of sales teams and deter sales professionals from performing their best. Although some issues (such as lack of sales process, or misunderstanding the sales pipeline) primarily affect only sales professionals and the business team, other issues (like poor time management or a devalued product) can directly impact customer management. This is a good read for both sales professionals and management. - 10 Steps for Hiring Your Next Rock Star – Entrepreneur
Hiring the right person can take your business to the next level. That’s the argument that Jeff Shore makes with this excellent, results-driven article. This post explains how hiring managers can best choose the right person based on how a new hire will fit holistically with company values. In addition, there are great suggestions for using social media to find candidates, prepare for interviews, and empower new staff to bring their “A” game to your organization. - Why Salespeople Shouldn’t Multitask – Business 2 Community
Nick Hedges puts together a captivating argument that multitasking in sales actually costs businesses both time and money. Quoting research from David Strayer, Sibson Consulting, and Joshua Rubenstein, this piece shows that multitaskers take more time completing tasks, and do so with less accuracy than their “single-tasking” colleagues. Hedges highlights instead the concept of automatic prioritization – in which tasks are always given a predetermined level of attention. This is a great research article for sales managers and producers to consider.
What Do You Think?
These articles and resources are great starting points for leading discussions with your sales team, or making changes in the way that you connect with leads and colleagues. If you want to know more about saving time and money in your sales processes, you might also like Run Out of Sales Leads? 4 Signs You Need a CRM.
What online articles have inspired you and your team lately? Let us know in the comments!