Editor’s Note

Our cover story Successful Sales People: Are They Made Or Born? by Dave Kahle talks about the essential character traits of a successful sales person. In this article, Dave discusses about the characteristics that define good sales people and also lays down the four essential characteristics one needs to become a successful salesperson.

Successful Sales People: Are They Made Or Born?: 4 characteristics that define good sales people

Since I spend most of my time teaching sales people how to become better at their jobs, I'm 100 percent in the "made” camp. There are best practices in the sales profession, and outstanding sales people do many of the same things. A sales person can, and should be, taught those best practices so they know how to do the job well.

Sales and Service Excellence April 2016 Advertisers

7 Critical Elements Of Accelerator Selling: A step-by-step process to be a great sales leader

Much has been written in recent years about the need for salespeople to provoke or challenge their customers. There’s a lot of truth to that within the trusted advisor concept, particularly when it’s done with genuine humility and curiosity rather than arrogance and condescension. However, our research suggests that’s only a piece of the pie, not the entire pie.

Sales Enablement: What does the new-fangled terminology mean?

I’ve been hearing more and more about this thing called Sales Enablement. I kind of thought I knew what it meant, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my understanding of it was pretty fuzzy.

M&A: Driving Team Performance: It’s critical to keep teams informed, engaged and retained

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become a reality in today’s challenging, hyper-competitive business landscape. Such activity can have a drastic impact on each business involved and cause a great deal of uncertainty for employees and customers alike; and it can be particularly challenging for sales teams.

Employees - The Brand New Ambassadors: Selling power of employee advocacy

Over the past few years, employee advocacy has been making headlines in the digital advertising industry. In fact, some have gone as far as saying that employee advocacy is set to be the new mega-trend in marketing and sales.

Beyond Compensation: Motivating and appreciating your sales team

Leaders of sales teams often focus on compensation as the major motivator for reps. However, it should not be the only focus. Doug Chung said it best in his April 2015 article in the Harvard Business Review, “How to Really Motivate Salespeople”: “To get the optimal work out of a rep, you should in theory tailor a compensation system to that individual … however, such an individualized plan would be extremely difficult and costly to administer.”

Prescription For Remarkable Service: Lessons from a non-oxymoron

Twenty-four hour viruses are mystery bugs. You typically are totally clueless about where they come from or what makes them go away. All you know is that a 102-degree fever is not normal and medical help might be needed if you intend to not be slowed down by the unwelcome malady!

How To Create A Caring Customer Support Team?: 3 tips

In a competitive marketplace, a company’s ability to consistently deliver a first-rate customer experience can make all the difference. Customer support agents are the face and voice of your company as far as your customers are concerned. And if support agents don’t treat customers fairly and respectfully every time, business will suffer, even if you offer an excellent product.