Inside Sales Lead Management Featured Article

In a battle, a fighter pilot can have up to 17 pieces of information at their fingertips at the same time. Taking that thought to the next level, it might lead to the conclusion that if sales reps have a similar amount of the right information at the right time to win deals, they also will win speedily, time and again.

According to a CSO Insights (News - Alert)' 2014 Sales Management Optimization study, the “win rate” of “forecast deals” was 45.9 percent. “With these types of wins rates, it's no wonder sales leaders are feverishly working to deliver actionable tools and insights to help reps win fast and win more deals,” according to a company statement.

Sales staffs also need to be motivated to achieve the highest levels of performance, and they often need to be motivated by factors other than just money.

To find out some important lessons on motivating sales staff, a recent webinar featured Jim Dickie, managing partner at CSO Insights, Brian Dietmeyer, CEO at 5600blue, and Jeri Smith, president of Galmont Consulting. They discussed problems with the more traditional approach to sales training.

In the presentation, they noted that, “Traditional methodologies miss the most important element of an effective sales process: Actionable data at each step of the sales cycle that enables both the buyer and seller to make informed decisions.”

Instead, the webinar shows the top priorities on which sales reps should focus, and how correct data at the right stage in the buy/sell cycle can be pushed to sales reps, which will help them close more deals, more quickly. And managers will learn how to develop and train sales reps to execute properly at each stage in the buy/sell cycle.