Editor’s Note

Retaining your best salespersons could be a daunting task. They expect to be compensated well for their services, among other advantages. With economists recently predicting a growing US economy, this could be the year employers can afford to give pay increases. However, 'Will that be enough to keep your best sales people?', 'Is keeping expensive employees the right decision for every business?', and 'Is there a better way?'

Sales and Service Excellence August 2015 Advertisers

Why Outsource Sales Efforts?: It makes financial sense, is faster and more focused

With economists recently predicting a growing US economy, this could be the year employers can afford to give pay increases. Will that be enough to keep your best sales people? Is keeping expensive employees the right decision for every business? Is there a better way?
A watchful eye on expenses is at the heart of every business. There are two key measures that companies, investors and executives rely on — simply put, money in and money out.

Is Your Sales V.P. Your Hero?: Some areas that need to be improved to be a hero

The V.P. has two key functions: leading people and getting results. Score As in these two vital areas and you’ll be the hero. And every organization needs one. To get superior results, the V. P. must lead his people (not manage) to become the superior sales team in the industry. The challenge is that over 90% of V.P.s don’t fall in the superior category themselves – and most CEOs let them be average, or worse, by not investing in a Mentor. It’s crucial to invest in the V.P. as s/he will learn what a great, servant leader acts like, people will grow and follow, and the business relationships will multiply in leaps and bounds.

Beliefs That Limit Salesperson's Performance: Do you have to believe in a product to sell it?

As a sales trainer, I often confront a difficult obstacle that stands in the way of developing more effective sales people. Too often sales people are hindered by limiting beliefs that prevent them from implementing the best practices, principles and processes that can multiply their results. They remain bound by internal barriers of their own conception.

No Wonder They Can/Can’t Sell!: Use personality styles to get more from your employees

Retailers have tried everything it seems to get employees to sell more. Sometimes training helps, sometimes it doesn’t and so many try to hire the natural born salesperson. That doesn’t really work either because generally they are few and far between, but if you leverage their personality styles, you can leverage their innate abilities and help them sell more. Everyone can sell. In fact, each of us is selling every day – even if we never call it that.

Disrupting Service Delivery: How to trigger service transformations in the marketplace?

“If I had asked customers what they wanted,” Henry Ford is rumored to have said, “They would have said faster horses.” Now, before you fire the market research department, it is important to remember Henry Ford’s arrogance about customers also lead him to chide, “Customers can have any color automobile they like as a long as it is black.” Not exactly customer-centric! However, visioning beyond the customer is the responsibility of every person interested in competitive advantage.

Cold Call Questions: The problems and the possibilities

Sometimes questions are so biased and restricted that the real answer might get overlooked. ‘Do you prefer the red ball or the blue ball?’ excludes not only the green ball, but a preference for a bat, or a discussion about the Responder’s color blindness. But a question such as: ‘What sort of a game implement could be easily carried and engage all employees?” might elicit a response of a ball or marbles or Monopoly and include more team members.

Benefits Of Outsourced Sales Team: 5 obvious reasons why it makes sense to outsource

Hiring and developing an in-house Sales Team involves considerable time, training and expense. Often organizations will hold on to underperforming sales people because of the considerable investment made in the onboarding, training and development of the sales person. It makes sense to outsource your sales team and here are 5 obvious benefits.

Sales Recruiting - Why Companies Fail: Top 10 reasons

Very few jobs are as cut and dry when it comes to measuring success as sales jobs. Sales positions are judged in no uncertain terms through dollars and cents, bottom lines, revenue and profit. Unfortunately, for CEOs, only a mere 10% of the total sales population are consistently high producing. In most cases, good sales people are born and not taught. That is why hiring the best in the industry is crucial to the success of a company. The issue is that those few elite sellers are very difficult to hire. In order to lure them in, it is important to avoid the most common mistakes during the recruiting process.