[Infographic] Period Table of Inside Sales Metrics

Source: The Bridge Group, Inc.

Motivational Quote of the Week

"Sales Moves the World. And it takes some of the best, hard working, masterful men and women in business to excel at it. People of high integrity, intelligence, discipline and authenticity.”

- Tal Tsfany, Why I'll Always Hire the Best Sales People

Resource: 8 Reports Every Marketer Needs

Marketo might be on of my company's competitors in the marketing automation space, but they sure do know how to make helpful content that one can put to use.

Take The Essential 8: Top Reports that Every Marketer Needs as an example -- what marketer wouldn't want more trace-ability of marketing's influence on sales pipeline?

If I were to improve upon the eBook linked above, I'd add a section about getting Sales' buy in on CRM compliance. Without having complete Opportunity information (including semi-accurate valuation) as well as associated Contacts correctly logged, marketing will not have accurate data to tell which program are working and which are not.

Letter To Past Self: Setting Goals

Dear Past Self:

Let's flash back to a few years ago when you were faced with a goal you instinctively felt you couldn't achieve. You were new to the job, bringing with you rookie experience in a completely new sale territory. Your quota seemed obscene, but you were motivated. When you missed, you had no idea what to aim for in front of that point.

It's okay, self. You may have felt like you failed (and by definition, you did fail), but here is your consolation, as well as advice for the future:

Set more short-term, obtainable goals that will help you get to that big carrot.

Example sub goals:

• Read all those industry resources that have been building up in your inbox.
• Pursue active listening instead of presenting.
• Uncover departmental and individual motives for change.
• Never forget to establish a next step.

All the best,

Present Self


P.S. Immediate future self should refer to this as well as this.

Quote of the Week

"Repetition is one of the easiest and most widespread methods of persuasion." 
- Dr. Jeremy Dean

This is one of the most basic principles I learned as a student of Advertising, yet it seems to be underutilized in the word of Sales. Sales people only have so much time in front prospects, so being redundant seems counter-intuitive. However, so much gets lost between meetings! For this reason, I will strive to reestablish key points over the course of a sales cycle.


Source: Hubspot

Gushing on Tamsen Webster's ideas regarding "Why Your Marketing Doesn't Work"

I'm very much crushing on Tamsen Webster at the moment for the creation of this podcast about why marketing doesn't work.

Her key points reinforce several of my betterment pursuits, including how to give an effective presentation:

• The brain cannot take more than 20 minutes of content at any given time
• Any presentation scheduled to go for more than 20 minutes should be split into 20 minute chunks! At least change the format by asking the audience to answer a question, participate in an activity, tell a story, watch a video, etc.
• Keep the inspiration for change -- i.e.,  "how this affects you" proof statement -- in front of the presentation.

She also shares a really clever simile about how brand are like religion:  

• Our devotion to brands happens in a similar way to devotion to religion, and you're rarely going to convert anyone by yelling out orders to repent.
• It's up to marketers to create beliefs, not just educate.
• Who am I talking to, and what do I want them to do?
• What do they need to belief in order to do the thing I want them to do?
• Key for sales: It's important to paint the picture of why it is worth it to make a change and instill confidence in the resulting decision.

Furthermore, Kerry acknowledges the role of emotion in decision-making, a factor that is often perceived as shameful but impossible to remove. 

• In the end, it's usually an irrational, emotional decision that gets made. We use facts and numbers to justify our emotional reactions. 

And I love her perspective on what makes a great salesperson!

• Great sales people understand how prospects pay attention, process information, what they will respond to, how they make decisions, and what they understand. They are extremely perceptive. 

Curing FOPS: How to give a compelling presentation

Remember my Fear Of Public Speaking?

"Sell vs. Tell" is this week's motto:

"The best way to sell something is to let the customer talk himself [or herself] into it, according to Dale Carnegie. Which means the most effective sales and marketing presentations are collaborative conversations where both sides are contributing."

Source: MarketingProfs