Staff turnover in sales teams is typically twice the level of the general workforce. Some see the revolving door of sales staff coming and going as inevitable: ‘it’s how things are in sales.’ But what a colossal waste of time, money and opportunity! And it’s not inevitable. Some sales leaders decide to do something about it and stop the revolving door from spinning. When you look at the cost that comes with the revolving door you wonder why more sales leaders don’t take actio

I recently ran a poll on Linkedin, asking the question - What is the most difficult part of cold calling new business prospects for you or your team? I gave four options and these four options are things that I hear from delegates in my training rooms up and down the country. 1. Overcoming Fear and Demotivation 2. Getting Past the Gatekeeper 3. Gaining Interest from the Prospect 4. Closing for an Appointment The results really surprised me. I thought, based on what I hear in

Do you see prospecting as an activity or a culture? What’s the difference, you might ask? In most sales teams, it’s an activity. It’s something that switches on reluctantly when the supply of leads starts to dry up. It’s why our research has found that 79% of salespeople regard finding new prospects as the biggest challenge they face. In high performing sales teams, it’s part of the culture. It’s habitual, continuous, and recognised for the vital skill that it is. How will

Would a single golf lesson make you a scratch player overnight? Sounds like a daft question, doesn’t it? Being shown or told how things should be done might help improve your game a bit. Self-learning is also valuable. But what really makes the difference is training aimed at specific skills you need to improve. Skills that you reinforce over time - with coaching to make sure you don’t slip back into old habits. And there’s the problem with the training a lot of sales teams

Does Online Sales Training Really Work?

At the weekly sales team meeting, prospecting was the number one item on the agenda. “The pipeline’s drying up folks,” said Cathy, the Sales Director. “Hit those phones and get some appointments booked in.” The next couple of weeks were all about cold-calling prospects, trying to swerve around gatekeepers and frantically scrambling to fill the diary with meetings. For a few weeks after that Cathy surveyed what Sales Directors like to see: a deserted sales office. Everyone was

Why Do You Need a Prospecting Culture?

The Impact of Poor Prospecting

They are good people! I can’t afford to replace them! I haven’t got the time to develop them! Better the devil you know! These are all statements that I have heard over the years from sales managers who consistently put up with poor performance from their sales staff. They would rather put up with their people not hitting their targets than have to dedicate time to either improving or replacing them. It’s surprising how many sales people get away with not producing top perfor

So, you need to recruit new talent for your sales team. Let me ask you this question, Why should your target recruit come to work for you? Is it because you will pay them well? Is it because you have a great product or service to sell? Is it because you are a great company to work for? I would imagine it's all of those things and possibly more, but could you make your offer even more attractive? Many employers will look for established, proven sales people who have a history

Many business owners and sales people need to use the phone to book themselves appointments with prospect customers. To be successful at this you need to be confident in the relationship-building aspect of telemarketing. You are responsible for presenting your product or service in a trustworthy and professional light and you recognise the importance of what it means to exceed the expectations of your prospects. All of that said, what can you do to ensure your best chance of

In part one of our blog we explored SureTrain’s top 5 benefits of implementing an ongoing programme of training for your sales team. These benefits were clear, demonstrating the need for such a plan. Much like any other investment however, a strategic approach is necessary to ensure it can be delivered well. Introducing new processes can affect the operational aspects of the workplace and your sales team will need to know what to expect so a clear structure to the training p

Are you neglecting the opportunities that exist in your current customer portfolio?