July is flying by! Are you taking the time to enjoy the summer? I sure hope that you are finding that work/life balance; it is too essential to ignore. Get outside, spend time with your family, soak up some Vitamin D – particularly for all my friends in the Northern parts of the country! An active weekend will leave you refreshed and rejuvenated when you restart the work week each Monday.
I like to kick off my work week with my Business Growth Roundup as a source of information and inspiration. It helps me plan out and fine-tune my strategies for my week. Every Monday, I like to go through what I’m reading and what is trending from some of today’s thought leaders and business growth experts. This is my roundup of the people I’ve been following this week, and their recent innovative and insightful business growth articles and strategies. Enjoy!
The Untapped Power of Sales Discovery Skills
Mike Kunkle
Do you consider discovering what is important to your prospects a basic skill? Or is Sales Discovery a strategic thought process, a series of tactical skills, almost elevated to an art form? It’s an interesting question. Maybe a bit of both? In Mike’s blog post, he reminds us that the better we understand our buyer’s situation, challenges, opportunities, concerns, perspective, business needs, personal motivators, etc. the better we can develop a solution that is relevant, compelling, and creates value. And he points out that we have really big skill gaps. This is an extensive article and very valuable. I highly recommend that you read it in its entirety, from start to finish.. Mike offers a lot of insights and critical reminders that every salesperson needs to consider, and reconsider, regularly.
3 Keys to Survival in the Sales Jungle
Nancy Nardin
This is a great business growth strategy focusing on how to sell with a comparison of sales in the “jungle” to Man vs. Wild. A funny, but quite accurate view in today’s economy. Here’s a passage that I think sums up Nancy’s metaphor really well:
“In nearly every episode of Man vs. Wild, Bear (yes, that’s his first name) explains how critical it is to understand your options; and that you can’t understand your options until you can see where you are in relation to everything around you. It’s the “lay-of-the-land” principle. His recommendation? Climb to the highest spot you can find whether it’s a tree, or a butte. Not until you’re at the highest point looking down and all around, can you see where it is you want to go, and the best way to get there.”
Read the entire article here. I think you’ll enjoy it and I think your sales team, no matter their position in the company, will benefit from this viewpoint.
Customer Engagement Has Evolved. Can Your Sales Team Keep Up?
Peter Ostrow
This is a trust and value economy and today’s customers have more power than ever. Peter has written an interesting article about how, with customers relying on Facebook, Google, and word of mouth to help them decide where to spend their money, a single tweet can bring down years of brand-building. He poses the question, “how is a modern seller best provided with an opportunity to restore equilibrium to the buyer/seller dynamic?” Good question. Your customers are savvier and better informed than ever before. We need to re-think the sales information engine that drives continuous revenue. Read Peter’s article to take a closer look.
For Sale, Not On Sale – The True Cost of Discounting and What to Do About It
Mark Schlueter & Tom Pisello
Yes, this is a very important subject. In today’s trust and value economy, there is a lot of pressure to offer discounts. As a result, sales reps need more transactions than ever just to make the numbers. Mark and Tom explore both the reasons behind today’s different market, and what to do about it. “So how can you reduce the average discount your sales reps are surrendering by 10%, 15%, or more? It all comes down to the ability for your sales reps to communicate and quantify your unique value – earlier in buyer’s decision cycles, and reinforced often throughout the buyer’s journey…” Read the full article here.
So there you have it. My pick of this week’s can’t-miss business growth strategies. And check back next week, when I share more of my favorite strategies for the week. Have a great, productive day,
Meridith
