Dave Stein's Blog for Sales Leaders

I’ve been down with Swine Flu.  First I thought it would just kind of breeze by… an  H¾ N¾  kind-of-thing.  But I did get the full rendition—H1N1 all the way. I’ve been in bed, taking care of minor things here and there, but can’t really focus my brain on a few challenging projects on my [...]

Filed under: Book Recommendation, Hiring, Sales Strategy | 4 Comments »

As ESR continues to dig into the sales-related challenges of our clients’ companies, we often see a lack of understanding around the issue of relationships between sellers and buyers—often referred to as relationship selling.
Here are some points to consider or debate (with me or among your team):

Beginning in 2000, I heard sales leader after sales [...]

Filed under: Buyers, Relationships, Sales Strategy, Sales Training Companies | 6 Comments »

When the subject of hiring salespeople comes up, the Rolodex, virtual or otherwise, isn’t far behind.
A salesperson’s business networks are only of some value.  Certainly not as much value as many candidates would like their interviewers to believe.
In my experience, a candidate’s business network is only one component of their overall Personal Capital.  Their experience, [...]

Filed under: Hiring, Sales Strategy | 7 Comments »

Years ago, as VP of marketing, I was responsible for industry analyst relations. Early on I made plenty of mistakes, but as time went on I figured out how to effectively manage my company’s relationships with industry research analysts, resulting in correct positioning, sales leads and plenty of positive coverage.
I vividly remember the penalty for [...]

Filed under: Account Management, Industry Analyst, Sales Strategy, Sales Training Companies | 4 Comments »

I was asked by my friend Charlie Green representing The Customer Collective to contribute to an e-book that was just published. I recommend that you download it, read it and use it.
Selling Through A Slump: An Industry-by-Industry Playbook
A Guide by Salespeople for Salespeople on How to Sell Your Way to Recovery

Download this Free eBook
Selling [...]

Filed under: Book Recommendation, Economy, Sales Strategy, Sales Tactics | No Comments »

ESR’s Sales Training Vendor Guide: Third Edition was published this morning.
The Guide analyzes, compares, and contrasts 23 leading sales training providers across many areas including:

Solutions Range
Range of Target Companies
Range of Target Audiences
Range of Training Programs
Adaptability
Range of Instructional Aids & Tools
Quality of Instructional Design
Measurement Programs
Post-training Reinforcement
Supporting Technology
Yield Growth
Return-On-Training (ROT)
Utilization among sales teams
Ease of Learning/Adoption

The Guide weighs [...]

Filed under: Book Recommendation, Buyers, Methodology, Research, Sales 2.0, Sales Strategy, Sales Training Companies, Technology, sales process | No Comments »

With the assistance of The TAS Group, ESR recently surveyed nearly 400 users of the following technologies to determine the effects that these new technologies in helping them win B2B sales opportunities:

Jigsaw;
LinkedIn;
Twitter;
Plaxo;
Facebook;
Hoover’s or OneSource.

The pace of technology development today is dizzying. It seems as though a new sales-related technology appears daily. The question is, do [...]

Filed under: Marketing, Relationships, Sales Strategy, Technology | 9 Comments »

A while back messaging and branding expert Maureen Blandford asked me to lend an endorsement to what was then her new book, Branding Doesn’t Work in Business to Business. I had not met Maureen.  I was skeptical. By the time I got through with the book, I was a Maureen Blandford fan.  Why?  Maureen provides [...]

Filed under: Buyers, Marketing, Sales Strategy | No Comments »

I’ve been involved in a number of posts on The Customer Collective where there have been some personal attacks by a few social media zealots against some of us that have a more balanced view of the capabilities and tools required for effective B2B selling going forward in this new(est) economy.   Jonathan Farrington1, Dave Brock, [...]

Filed under: Buyers, Economy, Professionalism, Relationships, Research, Sales Strategy, Technology, sales process | 5 Comments »

After seven days on a bike tour through Northern Thailand, my wife and I wound up at the Anantara Resort at the Golden Triangle.  She was ready to sit by the pool for the day.  I was ready for one more ride.  Last day.  Only 25 miles.
I got used to the left-side-of-the-road traffic the very [...]

Filed under: On the Road, Sales Strategy | 1 Comment »