Building A Negotiation Strategy Into Your Sales Process (members-only)

By Michael Webb and Brian Deitmeyer Whether you are in a recession, or in a healthy economy, it pays to have a sales process designed specifically to enhance your negotiating position. In a recession, purchasing departments can more easily initiate bidding wars and reopen negotiations with suppliers, Read more

How Do You Get A Sales Team Off On The Right Foot With Sales Process Improvement? (members-only)

The numbers are down. You’ve had to do a lay off. The sales team is frustrated. Something needs to change, and you think it is time to institute process improvement… real, honest-to-God, data-driven sales process improvement. You’ve scheduled a team meeting, to gather information and ideas, and Read more

Why Is It So Hard to Create Improvements in the Sales Department?

Some people didn’t like the word “Easy” in last week’s blog post: “Six Easy Ways to Boost Your Company’s Sales Results.” For example, reader Tony Cole said:

“If it were easy then everyone would be doing it. … “Let’s address the issues of why companies, sales leaders, and salespeople fail to implement and execute basic fundamental sales processes or techniques, let alone the sophisticated process improvements you talk about here.”

I called Tony to find out more about what Read more

Six Easy Ways to Boost Your Company’s Sales Results

I hope the spring weather has reached your area. We've finally had rain here in Atlanta, and the buds and blooms are vigorous.

Recently, a reader asked: "What is the 20% of sales process improvement that generates 80% of the results?"

It's a great question, because it is the right way to think about business in general, and the sales process in particular. Here is our list of the six most important components of a healthy functioning sales process.

Get these down, and you'll get an 80% improvement … or better!

Visit Six Easy Ways to Boost Your Company’s Sales Results to read more!

Michael Webb

April 14, 2009

Six Easy Ways to Boost Your Company’s Sales Results

Recently, a reader asked: “What is the 20% of sales process improvement that generates 80% of the results?” It’s a great question, because it is the right way to think about business in general, and the sales process in particular. Here is our list of the six Read more

Are You Improving Your Selling System? (Or Repeating the Same Old Grind?)

Some people have a choice in the way they approach sales and marketing: They can work IN the production system, or ON it. Salespeople are inherently IN the system. Their job is to do the best they can to get prospects to a successful conclusion as effectively Read more

April SPIF! Professional: new webinars, conquering fear, and solving your problems

Hello everyone – In the last month, we’ve covered a wide range of useful topics in the Sales Kaizen webinar series. Three new webinars have been posted to the SPIF! website (links require log in):

• Nurturing: How to Double Sales Productivity by Building Nurturing into Your Sales Process
• Customer Value: How to Map Customer Value so Customers Will Buy Now and Pay More
• Negotiation: How to Increase Margin 1% to 10% and Lower Your Risk by Building Negotiation Strategy into Your Sales Process

Read more

How to Double Sales Productivity by Building Nurturing into Your Sales Process

An Interview with Jim Cecil, co-founder of The Nurture Institute

Michael Webb interviews Jim Cecil on how to develop and implement nurturing campaigns. Companies suffer when they do not have enough prospects ready to buy now. Lead generation campaigns usually generate far more future prospects than current ones. The returns on these campaigns are reduced Read more

Quick Sales Productivity Boosts

If you are a salesperson and you need a productivity boost, there are lots of possibilities, such as better meeting preparation, more practice presenting, maintaining your relationships, and working to become more organized. However, what if your entire organization needs a sales productivity boost? What can an Read more