Internal competition is formed when two separate market revenue sellable solutions have simultaneous customer suitability; and you are only compensated on one of the two solutions. Good topic to address with your manager and sales operations. Also an opportunity for you to improve your value proposition statement in order to remain competitive. Keep you skillsContinue reading “Internal Competition”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Effective Teamwork
Easier said than done, yet critical to your company’s continued success. Most folks understand “team”, but it’s the “work” that salespeople often skimp over. Work is time spent. Work with management to work on reasonable team goals that benefit all team members. Problems with team effort arise when not all members contribute equally; slippery slopeContinue reading “Effective Teamwork”
Manage Up
Don’t lose alone. Important opportunities require management visibility; make sure to reflect the key constructs of your opportunity in your pipeline report and initiate a resource discussion with your manager. This is an exciting period in lifecycle of your opportunity.
Next Steps
Until that commission check clears, there is more work to be done. Until then, start listing out the remaining steps to the finish line. Prioritize and adjust often. The next step could be the one.
On Time
Time is our only constant. Make it your friend and start reaping the benefits of timely actions. View time as an integral success factor for your sales plan. All forecasted opportunities are driven by time, for you or against you. Make your actions count over time.
Budget Cycles
You need to understand your Customer’s budget cycles. There are four (4) ingredients that you need to understand: When does the planning phase start When does it get approved When can it be spent Can budget allocations be extended to the next cycles This will dictate the timing that your sales plan needs to win.Continue reading “Budget Cycles”
Communicate Effectively
What does that mean? No one is quite sure exactly, but it does generate a lot of activity for the self-help industry. Keeping it simple, effective communications (EC) is just that. Focus on understanding your next step to securing the opportunity and winning. Do it in a manner that aligns with your personal choice decisionsContinue reading “Communicate Effectively”
Conversion Rate
You need to know what percent of your opportunities actually translate into a sale. If you find yourself with a lower than desirable percentage then you need to increase the top of your pipeline (add more opportunities). The desirable percentage is normalized by your ability to retire to your quota. Make sure that you andContinue reading “Conversion Rate”
Sales Acumen
A good idea that can’t be sold is a bad idea. Improving your sales acumen will help you maintain better sales planning. In sales, “better” refers to growing sales revenue faster. Understand what works and what doesn’t work for you. Adjust what you can and escalate to your manager the things that you can’t. It’sContinue reading “Sales Acumen”
Happy New Year – 2022
Let’s start this new year with a powerful commitment to setting meaningful goals and exceeding them. My goad this CY-2022 is to continue to grow the Sales Academy by helping Engineers make the transformation to Sales. If you have a particular hurdle that is preventing you from completing the transformation, post them here and letContinue reading “Happy New Year – 2022”