Why a Gin Company Hired Musicians as Part-Time Salespeople. The cost of recruiting and retaining new salespeople was bleeding Martin Miller’s Gin company dry.
That is, until two and a half years ago when CEO Jacob Ehrenkrona had a bright idea for tapping into a new part-time salesforce. Ehrenkrona realized that young musicians would make the perfect salespeople for his product. For one thing, they’re already in the places where he wants his gin to be — such as clubs, trendy bars, and hip restaurants. Musicians add the cool factor that Martin Miller’s needed to inject into their product in order to attract the next generation of consumers. Then, there are transferrable skills: he finds musicians to be organized, educated, authentic, and intentional in their focus. The shift in recruitment is working. Esteban Kolsky sur Twitter : "yeah, but those exceptions shouldn’t make the rule… most don’t engender that level of trust #B2B #Sales #CNX15. B2B Research: Don’t Sleep on the Sales Rep. A recently-released study from SiriusDecisions made some waves in the B2B marketing world, as it challenged the notion (spurred in part by SiriusDecisions’ own research) that digital has disintermediated sales, with much of the buying process complete before contact with a vendor is made.
In fact, in a notable finding, the study indicates that buyers’ most important content asset is a sales presentation. Following are some highlights from the study that illuminate the power of human interactions, which were found to generally be more prevalent the higher the expenditure level. Human Interactions Matter, No Matter The Buyer’s Behavior The study breaks B2B buying behaviors into three clusters, which show varying dependencies on sales representatives. Independent. The Technology Trends That Matter to Sales Teams. The convergence of mobile, analytics, context-rich systems, and the cloud, together with an explosion of information, is transforming sales, and enabling buyers and salespeople to engage with each other in more effective and efficient ways.
Recently, information technology research and advisory company Gartner compiled a list of top 10 strategic technology trends. At least five of these trends have significant implications for sales forces, including: Expert Advice at C3: Notes From 4 Key Thought Leaders. CallidusCloud Connections (C3) 2015 is now in the books, and the attendees are now back home, digesting what was shared and learned.
That’s going to take a while – there was a lot announced by Leslie Stretch in the keynote (as we said in the blog last week, and as you can see for yourself in the form of a streamed replay of the keynote), but there was even more shared in the breakout sessions. As the coordinator for the thought leader sessions at the show, I spent much of my time in those talks. The lessons came fast and furious, but luckily I was also heading up our social media efforts for the show, which meant I was Tweeting a lot. I learned many years ago from Dr. Natalie Petouhoff that copious Tweeting could later serve as notes – so, I review of my Tweets from last week was helpful in boosting my recall (he said, offering a nod to the Litmos team and their C3 announcement as well).
Tad Travis, Gartner Paul Greenberg, the 56 Group. Cloud-Based Sales Software Pipedrive Closes $9 Million Series A. Pipedrive, which offers Software-as-a-Service designed to help small companies manage and increase sales, has closed another deal of its own.
The Estonia/U.S. -based startup and AngelPad alumni has raised a $9 million Series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, money it will use to accelerate growth and further build out its product. Paua Ventures also participated, along with existing investors, Rembrandt Venture Partners and AngelPad, the latter of which incubated Pipedrive in all the way back 2012. 10 Stats on the Business Impact of Marketing and Sales Alignment. The Sales Director Who Turned Work into a Fantasy Sports Competition. When to Sell with Facts and Figures, and When to Appeal to Emotions. When should salespeople sell with facts and figures, and when should we try to speak to the buyer’s emotional subconscious, instead?
When do you talk to Mr. Intuitive, and when to Mr. Rational? I’d argue that too often, selling to Mr. Rational leads to analysis paralysis, especially for complex products or services. The circus known as Dreamforce and the company behind it: A 2014 Retrospective. Over 150,000 registrants, 5,000,000 online streaming views, and well over 1,000,000 meals to help feed the hungry.
The stage(s) featured execs from some of the most recognized organizations in the world, a former US Vice President (Al Gore) and Secretary of State (Hillary Rodham Clinton), the poster persona for Self Help (Tony Robbins), the Beach Boys, Bruno Mars, Cake, a consumer product launch from another well known pop music artist – will.i.am, and a heavy focus on philanthropy and global issues. If you haven’t been there (lately), the description might sound strange for an event that is hosted by the world’s most well known CRM technology vendor. What Salesforce has done with Dreamforce is astounding. Which sales methodologies do you subscribe to and why? CRM Idol 2012. CRM Idol 2012. The Buyer-Designed Sales Organization. Bonuses Should Be Tied to Customer Value, Not Sales Targets - Deirdre Connelly. Why would you eliminate sales targets as a way to evaluate, motivate, and reward your sales staff?
That is perhaps the most frequent question I’ve received since 2011 when GlaxoSmithKline changed the link between the bonus pay of our pharmaceutical sales professionals in the United States and the numbers of prescription sold for a particular medicine. It is after all a well-established incentive plan used across a spectrum of industries. But at GSK and across the pharmaceutical industry, we have a very special responsibility to patients and caregivers. They depend on us to do more, feel better, and live longer. Sales Tactics: Avoiding the Dark Stage. Top 100 Social Selling Influencers. When researching the social sales industry, we discovered an outstanding group of sales professionals whose innovative ideas and approaches to prospecting and cultivating relationships with customers and prospects demonstrate how to use social media and sales intelligence to effectively drive sales at scale.
The Death of Relationship Selling. Is relationship selling dead?
It sure feels like it these days. Your prospects are quick to brush you off. They don't have time for chitchat. TooSaaSy : Thank you customers &... The Digitization of Everything: It’s Impact on the Buyer’s Journey and Marketing’s Role. For nearly a century, the buyer’s journey was relatively linear. Advertising messages distributed across a few mass media outlets were the primary method of spreading awareness.
Purchase consideration generally occurred by reading product brochures and conversing with salespeople, friends and family. The Data Behind What Makes an Effective Sales Process - The Infographic. We all know how important a sales team is to any organization. And we also know that fine tuning a sales team for optimal performance does wonders for the health and culture of a business. Here are some key insights to get your sales process delivering above par results for years to come. Click on the infographic below to view a larger version: View an enlarged version of this infographic » Click here to download a .pdf version of this infographic.
15 Psychological Triggers to Convert Leads into Customers. Would you like to know how to get more customers who can’t wait to buy your products and services? It’s a lot simpler than you might think. And the best part is that, as you strive to increase revenue, you actually will be serving your potential customers better. You don’t need to manipulate or hypnotize them into buying. You just need to give them what they want. The key to success in any business is an understanding of psychology. The digitization of everything — and its impact on customer experience - Customer Intelligence. Robertcialdini_jan23. Recording Details Influence: Does Your Sales Team Understand It? LinkedIn's Series B Pitch to Greylock: Pitch Advice for Entrepreneurs. 9.6K Flares9.6K Flares × At Greylock, my partners and I are driven by one guiding mission: always help entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter whether an entrepreneur is in our portfolio, whether we’re considering an investment, or whether we’re casually meeting for the first time.
Entrepreneurs often ask me for help with their pitch decks. The Stanford Study that just Might Help you Sell More. Three Myths of the “67 Percent” Statistic. Demand Creation Strategies,Executive Edge: CMO. Why Customers Don't Buy - Steve W. Martin. What a Great VP Sales Actually Does. Where The Magic Is. And When to Hire One. In SaaS, #1 most common mishire, with a bullet, is the VP/head of sales. In fact, there a VC saying that I used to really hate. Banish Indecision: Three Ways To Get To 'Yes'
Insight And Challenging Without Outcomes Is Just Dreaming. Our customers want insights–they want to learn more about what they could achieve, how they can improve, why they might change! Free eBook: 32 Sales Tools for 2013. In December 2012, six experts in the B2B Sales industry came together for a webinar to find 32 of the must have sales tools for 2013. Sales 2.0: How Your Business Should Adapt. How to Turn a Relationship Into a Sale - Keith Ferrazzi. McKinsey: 5 winning strategies of the world’s top sales organisations. Pär Edin and his colleagues at McKinsey believe they have identified the five winning strategies that distinguish the world’s leading sales organisations from their also-ran competitors.
Pär presented their findings at the excellent recent Sales and Marketing 2.0 conference in London - and showed that we all have the potential to emulate the success of these top performers. The team at McKinsey evaluated the results of over 700 sales projects and identified the companies that consistently delivered industry-leading sales performance - companies that grew their revenues an average of 48% faster and their EDITDA 80% faster than their peer groups over a 5-year period. Jon Ferrara at Sales 2.0 Conference. Social Selling Tactics that Work. On Demand Live session from May 16, 2012. How One Company Helps Sales Teams Leverage Their Social Influence. Want to Influence Others- Move to Creation From Need. IBM's Social Selling: The Computer Giant Finds B2B Leads in Social Media. Selling is Hard Work. OC Sales & Marketing Roundtable.
Compliance Is Not The Point Of CRM Systems! Trust: It matters (more than you think) Are your a Value Creator? Top 12 Ways Sales Leverages the Internet « InsideView's Sales Intelligence. Jump-Start the Week with These 10 Sales Posts « InsideView's Sales Intelligence. Logiciel CRM / GRC , Gestion de la Relation Client. MAI Series: A Sales View of Marketing Automation. The Sales 2.0 Conference. Selling Is Not About Relationships - Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. The Case for Sales Intelligence. Get the hottest trends from your friends.
How do you decide which customers are more important than others? What Happened To Common Sense? Blogging Innovation » How Top Salespeople are Using Social Media. Seven Personality Traits of Top Salespeople - Steve W. Martin. How do you get a small sales organization to buy in to CRM? Why sales should stop "checking in" and five tips to avoid it. How Sales Intelligence Helps a Hot SaaS Company Boost Sales Productivity. The Future of Buyer Relationships. There’s More To The Discovery Process Than Identifying Needs!