Buyer, will you remember me? It is a curious thing. Most B2B buyers do not perceive sellers as different from one another. Given how much work goes into the development of products and services, this feels like a bucket of cold water over the head. In our work with sales teams, we hear, “but [...]
Mid-year is such a turning point for a sales team. You can notice trends, problems, and opportunities. However, those problems can be magnified when the sales team is behind in its mid-year goal. On the individual level, sales professionals often feel pressured to push harder to meet assigned quotas as we reach mid-year. The [...]
Even in the Before Time (remember those years before COVID?), buyers were moving away from salespeople and changing when and how sales conversations happened. In our first white paper, Window Into the Buyer’s Mind, we noted that 70.2% of B2B buyers interacted with buyers after they defined their needs (All That Glitters Is Not [...]
Are you a lawyer, consultant, C-level executive, architect, project manager, engineer, or freelancer? Regardless of your profession, you are likely responsible for maintaining clients and attracting new business. However, selling and persuading others may not come naturally to those without a sales background. Instead of trying to be a "salesperson," consider using a framework [...]
In Part 2, our two-part segment discusses the study “The Present and Future of the B2B Sales Profession”. We believe that learning and understanding what is happening with seller-buyer behavior is a critical factor in successfully applying data and skills when in conversations. In Part 1, we covered an interesting study found in the [...]
With this post, we’re doing a two-part segment. Understanding the evolving dynamics of seller-buyer interactions is a critical element for effectively utilizing data and skills in B2B sales conversations In this first part, we cover an exciting study found in the Journal of Selling & Sales Management. In the second part, you will read [...]
In a business-to-business (B2B) selling situation, persuading potential buyers to purchase is essential to the sales process. However, the methods used to persuade can have different impacts on the ethical implications of the sales pitch. In this blog post, we will compare ethical persuasion to traditional methods of persuasion in a B2B selling situation. [...]
Ethical Persuasion Has Arrived Persuasion often seems to be about someone else trying to convince you. This does not always feel good. However, in the current business environment, organizations are looking for more. Customers know their power and seek companies that take an ethical stance regarding their interactions. Could ethical persuasion effectively drive sales [...]
"If we can focus on making clear what parts of our day are within our control and what parts are not, we will not only be happier; we will have a distinct advantage over other people who fail to realize they are fighting an unwinnable battle……." Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman … The Daily [...]
We have discussed the negative impact of authoritarian sales leadership in previous posts because of its negative impact on performance. Democratic or egalitarian leaders lead elite, high-performing sales teams. Workplace Bullying According to WBI – The Workplace Bullying Institute's 2014 national survey, the number of workers affected by workplace bullying is estimated to be [...]
