July 30th, 2012
Monthly Archives: July 2012
In most organizations, reviewing every won or lost opportunity is impossible. While there is so much information about each sales opportunity in your funnel readily available, there is a point of diminishing returns. As the process owner or executive sponsor, you need to determine what’s most important and how much is “too much.”
The only certainty in life is change, and this is especially true in sales. Sales organizations are in a constant state of flux. By many estimates, the average tenure of a sales leader is somewhere between 19 and 24 months (which is comparable to CEO tenure). This churn at the top brings with it new ideas and hopes and the need to do things differently to hit your numbers. Every year brings new quotas and comp plans, new goals and expectations, reassignment of accounts, new products and solutions, new technologies, new competitors, and any number of changes and complications. You sometimes wonder how an organization continues to function.
In our work with leading sales organizations, we have certainly seen a change in the buying landscape. Today’s buyers are more sophisticated, have more data available, and often have already defined a solution before ever involving a salesperson. This has created a real challenge for sales organizations and reps. Techniques and methodologies that worked twenty years ago do not necessarily work now. As buyers change, sellers too must change — but how?
July 23rd, 2012
Is Your Sales Strategy Being Executed? Take This Simple Test
Fewer than 10% of organizations properly translate sales strategy into action, and many make no attempt at all to do this. Some people refer to this as the ability to close the “knowing-doing gap.” I know what I’m supposed to do, but I don’t know how or lack the discipline to change.
The financial services industry has faced incredible challenges over the past few years. All in all, the nation’s banks are getting healthier, and the worst seems to be behind them — but they’re all struggling to find new sources of revenue amid a tougher regulatory environment.
July 18th, 2012
Five Life-saving Ideas to Save a Strategic Account at Risk
One of your strategic accounts is at risk. Do you know how to act fast to neutralize the threat before you lose your customer?
In my last post, I discussed the importance of strategic accounts and shared five critical signs that a key account may be in trouble. Here are five of the best strategies we’ve seen work with our customers to preserve at-risk strategic accounts and the essential revenue they generate — before it’s too late.
July 16th, 2012
Five Signs Your Strategic Accounts Are at Risk
You depend on strategic accounts to deliver critical revenue — are you paying attention for signs that those valuable customers may be at risk?
Some say that strategic accounts follow the 80/20 rule — as in, 20% of an organization’s customers account for 80% of its business. Others calculate that 5% of your customer base provides 50% of your revenue. Regardless of the exact percentage, as a sales leader, you know your strategic accounts are critical to meeting forecasts and exceeding quotas.
When you view a key strategic account from your customer’s perspective, you find more ways to help significantly enhance the customer’s performance. Join Richardson’s SVP, Andrea Grodnitzky in this short video where she looks at the importance of linking your solutions to your customer’s goals and objectives and challenging issues. Learn more about Richardson’s sales training solutions at http://www.richardson.com
About Richardson
Richardson: Sales Training & Strategy Execution
Richardson helps leaders prepare their organization to execute sales strategies and achieve business objectives.
We have the expertise and resources to help you scale your initiative quickly and confidently across your entire sales force and supporting functions. With you, we establish sales best practices, evaluate talent, build capability and consistency through world class training, and sustain necessary change. We ensure your solution reflects your unique culture and values, which drives rapid adoption and lasting results.
Richardson’s Selling with Insights™
Richardson’s Selling with Insights™ training program teaches your sales reps advanced preparation techniques and dialogue skills to present insights, challenge the customer’s thinking, add more value, differentiate your solution, and build credibility as a trusted business partner. Click here to learn more!
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Dario F. Priolo
Chief Strategy Officer
Even a great sales strategy will fail without effective execution. It is our mission to provide you with insight and best practices for executing your sales strategy and bringing your sales vision to life. We want to help you understand what you need to know and what you need to do to be successful.
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