The Missing Sales Link with Michelle Richardson

The Missing Sales Link: Michelle Richardson, our VP of Sales Performance Research, shares six valuable resources that can I.M.P.A.C.T. your sales team and sales goals. Time is valuable, so let's get to it:

·      Insight: Prospecting is one of the most important activities – and one of the greatest challenges – for today’s B2B sales teams. Effective prospecting fuels a healthy sales pipeline, and without consistent lead generation, sales teams miss out on viable opportunities and risk missing their number. So, what works in prospecting today? How do sellers get their prospects’ attention, and what methods and messaging work best? Join me and Shellie Burkart on Friday, November 4th for insight into our new prospecting research and strategies for effective lead generation. Learn more and register for the webinar here.  

·      Market Trends: Move over Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting – the newest labor trend, according to Inc., is “Quick Quitting.” The article cites LinkedIn data reflecting an increase in the short tenure rate, or the rate at which employees quit within a year of starting a new job. The rise in quick quitting is noted across several industries, including financial services, professional services, and technology, and represents an opportunity for hiring organizations to assess their hiring and onboarding practices.

·      Page Turner: I recommend Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss with Tahl Raz. Negotiation skills are considered critical for most B2B sales teams, and “splitting the difference” is often the fallback method to reach agreements in business transactions. As a former FBI hostage negotiator, Chriss Voss offers an approach to negotiations based on real-world experience, providing techniques to help the reader connect with and influence others more effectively, and achieve better outcomes.

·      Assessments: Emotionally intelligent sales professionals are self-aware and resilient – able to bounce back from losses or setbacks. Our Brooks Talent Index Emotional Quotient (EQ) assessment can improve team performance through: Improved communication with buyers, enhanced team selling and collaboration with colleagues, and reduced job burnout. Interested in learning more about EQ? Check out our online resources for more information.

·      Clever Sales Data: The Brooks Group recently completed research on prospecting, including a survey of B2B buyers to determine what factors prompted them to accept a meeting with a seller. (Join us for our webinar on November 4 when we reveal our results!) In the meantime, check out this HBR article on What B2Bs Need to Know About Their Buyers. The authors reference 2 important factors – previous experience with a vendor and recommendations from colleagues – which align with our own findings.

·      Thoughts: Are you wondering what’s needed to level up your sales team for the future? A recent article from Harvard Business Review, titled 5 Skills Every Salesperson Needs to Succeed, offers a perspective for consideration. Based on a review of more than 20,000 sales job listings, the authors have identified 5 “forward-looking qualities” they deem as important for sales success, including anticipating the customer’s future business, internal and external collaboration, leverage digital and virtual tools, the ability to work with data, and the capacity to adapt.