How Should We Transition to a Proper Sales Process?

Often, people write me to ask for assistance launching sales process initiatives:

“I am trying to learn and introduce a Six Sigma Selling system into my company – My boss has asked me to speak to companies similar to ours who have made a successful transition …”

The first concern I have on hearing a request like this is “What, exactly, do they mean when they say ‘Six Sigma Selling System’?” Not many people use such terms. Many sales Read more

How to Get Salespeople to Call on the Right Customers (members only)

Four Qualification Mistakes Your Salespeople Are Probably Making Today and What You Can Do About It

Qualification is a crucial element of an effective sales process, and one of the easiest to improve. If your sales managers know how to do it, results improve quickly. Unfortunately, most companies do not have a proper framework or foundation for their qualification criteria, have Read more

Perry Marshall and B&B Electronics part 2 (members only)

This is part two of Perry Marshall’s great interview with Michael Fahrion of B&B Electronics. Part 1 is here. (Warning: If you have a slow connection speed you may want to download the mp3 files rather than listening on line. ) [display_podcast]

Perry Marshall and B&B Electronics part 1 (members only)

Perry Marshall Interviews Michael Fahrion of B&B Electronics on how this industrially oriented company has tripled in size in the last seven years. If you are in an engineering-oriented business with technical products, and if you have puzzled over how to grow sales, you face some special Read more

Help Sales Managers Put Out the Fires to Improve Results THIS Year

Chances are your sales managers are fighting more than one success-killing fire these days:

Undesirable Results Sales Managers Face

• Not enough highly qualified prospects
• Prospects gun-shy even when they need to buy
• Prospects who don’t perceive your value
• Inconsistent performance among salespeople
• Customers with unsatisfactory experience with your sales organization
• Not enough time in the field
• Difficult customers you wish you hadn’t won

What can you do to help them put Read more

Is a sales process the same as a sales methodology?

Susan Niemchak, Director of the Sales Training Community at TrainingIndustry.com asked me a question that seemed innocuous at first:

Is a “process” the same as a “methodology?”

“Loosely speaking, ‘process’ and ‘methodology’ are synonymous,” I answered. “Unfortunately, ‘loose lips sink ships,’ and may cause an occasional bar fight as well. Not to Read more

Deciphering Sales Process Cost (members only)

Save Money in Sales and Marketing: How Financial Analysis Helps Your Sales Team Spend Less Time and Money While Selling More Customers at Higher Margins

In Chapter 3 of Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way I described a powerful technique called the “Sales Operating Audit.” This webinar, with my friend and CPA Ralph Jeswald of Dopkins & Company, LLP, describes the approach we have used many times with sales and marketing executives Read more

Five Things Sales and Marketing Can Learn From Lean Production

Some companies already know a lot about the transition from traditional to lean production operations. As it turns out, there are remarkable parallels between the lean journey in manufacturing and the lean journey in sales and marketing (sales kaizen). When implemented effectively, both the benefits and the Read more

Pre-Sales Engineers … Overhead or Revenue Driver? (Members Only)

Phil Janus Presents Empowering the Pre-Sales Engineer

Many companies today are struggling because salespeople are over burdened and stressed. Meanwhile pre-sales engineers stand by quietly, untrained and untapped, because their sales VPs do not understand their real potential. In this webinar, Phil Janus, founder of Sales Engineering.com explains a means of leveraging Read more

Optimizing B2B Internet Sales Processes (members only)

An Interview with David Bullock – Four Case Examples

Most B2B organizations have a hard time changing their marketing and selling to match their customer’s preferences for using the Internet. David Bullock’s presentation demonstrates what is involved in successful Internet marketing for B2B companies. This webinar provides a guided tour of four fascinating internet Read more