There are certain common things that the best of sales people believe in and do. One is the internal locus of control they subscribe to. This means that all success and failure of their targets depends purely on them, leaving nothing to chance or the starting point. They also tend to be resourceful, so get their targets done somehow. They are also domain experts within their areas. This inherent knowledge plus the experience gives them the supreme confidence to lead as selling requires. They work with a sense of urgency but not recklessness. The bets of sales people also believe in team work, so tend to be good at talent management. This is why they usually end up helping each other.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/12/the-5-things-all-great-salespeople-do

Uploaded Date:28 December 2018

Since the inception of large-scale advertising, push marketing became the biggest weapon that the largest of companies possessed. This was driven by a combination of print, TV and billboards to reach the maximum possible targeted market. It was a blanket targeting, but it worked due to scale, with luck also factored in. But over the last decade or so, with the advent of digital marketing, the move has taken place towards the pull methods. Here, specific targeted market, using granular bits of data available on the customer base. However, those firms that totally pushed aside the push method also learnt to their detriment this to be a fatal flaw. The human condition is such that these grandiose marketing statements also play a part in convincing the customer. So, a combo of the two methods will now be needed to be integrated.

Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/11/21/from-push-to-pull-and-back-again-integrated-marketing-in-the-digital-age/#7d29178f286b

Uploaded Date:26 November 2018

This is a time when the trust on traditional sources such as media, government and corporates is at an all time low, there is the need to retire another object from a bygone era- the sales funnel. This funnel is also ineffective in capturing the momentum. In an era where digital marketing especially around social media can be so effective, there remains no point of beginning each quarter from a clean slate as the sales flywheel model dictates. Instead of the funnel, a sales flywheel is now more effective. This is because the more force than is applied to a flywheel, the more force it moves around with. This is needed at a time when at several places the information gap between the sales rep and the customer has dwindled. Another factor in its application is that friction can be better eliminated. This happens due to increased customer interaction, greater investment on information technology and sharpened employee skills.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/11/replacing-the-sales-funnel-with-the-sales-flywheel?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=dailyalert_activesubs&utm_content=signinnudge&referral=00563&deliveryName=DM19479

Uploaded Date:23 November 2018

Till about a decade back Account Based Marketing (ABM) was a restricted niche. But now it is used across the B2B spectrum. Now it is so widespread that the term has evolved into ABE or Account Based Everything. This shift has occurred due to the overall marketing changes from being broad-based one-size-fits-all to personalized and targeted. Multiple stakeholders from across departments are needed to make ABM a success. But there exist some major flaws. One of them is the fact that ABM is run like most other sales functions with the “land and expand” policy. Under this, winning new leads and customers is given priority rather than retaining and servicing the existing ones. That is where ABM has a lot to learn from CS (Customer Success). The alignment between ABM and CS can bring several benefits. Key among them is the fact that ABM gathers critical business intelligence before targeting them. This intelligence must later be shared with the servicing team so they can service better. ABM must also recognize the Pareto Principle where a fifth of the leads provide 80% of the revenues. Thus, catering to this 20% becomes extremely crucial, and that is where CS principles must be applied. Add in relationship management to the equation, it becomes a potent business formula.

Source:https://www.martechadvisor.com/articles/account-based-marketing-abm/the-big-gap-in-abm/

Uploaded Date:10 November 2018