use customer engagement data. With data-driven insights, reps can engage prospects with intelligence instead of guesswork – and course- correct in real time.


STRATEGY #2: IDENTIFY WHAT WORKS – AND MAKE SURE REPS REPEAT IT Research by Sirius Decisions found that 65 percent of content created for sellers never gets used. Best-in-class organizations ensure marketing con- tent resonates with customers – and doesn’t go to waste. They ensure reps can quickly find and leverage content proven to be successful in closing deals, with 62 percent maintaining a central library of marketing-approved assets for different selling situations. Best-in-class sales organizations are also 15 percent more likely than un- derperformers to use a formal selling methodology to identify optimal mes- saging and timing at each stage of the sales cycle – and 1.4 times more likely to align marketing content with specific stages of the sales cycle.


STRATEGY #3: PROVIDE ANY- TIME-ANYWHERE-ANY DEVICE ACCESS TO SALES CONTENT The bottom line: Mobile access to sales content makes sales teams more productive and effective. Best-in-class organizations that provide mobile access to sales content achieve 2.75 times more reduction in their sales cycle than all other organizations. Their reps are also twice as likely to achieve their quotas.


STRATEGY #4: GIVE YOUR SELLERS MORE TIME TO SELL Consider how much time your sales reps typically spend on administrative tasks, data entry, and searching for in- formation when they could be selling. So it’s no wonder that, according to an Accenture and CSO Insights sales performance optimization study, sales reps spend only 35 percent of their time interacting with customers. As mentioned in Strategy #2, above, top-performing sales orga-


nizations make accessing and using effective marketing content faster and easier. Most of these organizations also maintain a central library of marketing- approved assets for different selling situations – and allow sales reps to cus- tomize for specific customers. Going even further, Aberdeen Group found that personalizing sales presentations with prepared content improved lead conversion by 1.3 times.


STRATEGY #5: KNOW WHEN TO WALK AWAY Best-in-class organizations are bet- ter at prioritizing leads – and are 1.4 times more likely to walk away from


SELLING TIP


Eight Tips for Providing a Motivation-Nurturing Environment


For salespeople to be productive, they must be motivated to sell. Motivation is a force from within and, although motivation cannot be artificially induced, a positive environment can help instill motiva- tion in salespeople. Want to create an environment that encourages salespeople to pursue and attain their goals? Here are some tips. 1. Get to know each salesperson individually. Understand their problems and help with them where you can. Give each salesperson a sense of personal belonging to a greater cause.


2. Treat each salesperson as an individual and not as only a part of a collective sales force. Give individual praise for achievement – no matter how large or small that achievement may seem.


3. Stress the status and trust invested in each one as a sales professional.


4. Introduce your salespeople to important people you know who can make a contribu- tion to enriching their work


environment or their sense of accomplishment. This can take the form of secondary introduc- tions like cassette tapes you find beneficial or books you might recommend for increas- ing sales skills.


5. Let salespeople participate in training sessions, in sales meet- ings, and in setting quotas.


6. Read all reports and com- ment on them individually and promptly.


7. Maintain an open-door policy with your salespeople. Be avail- able and open-minded when they wish to contact you.


8. When evaluating, stress the in- dividual’s personal growth and development and encourage it, as well as reporting on his or her percentage of production in the company.


Although each individual must motivate himself or herself, sales managers can influence them by pro- viding a positive environment that encourages motivation and growth. — SELLING POWER EDITORS


SELLING POWER AUGUST 2016 | 13 © 2016 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.


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Dream big and dare to fail. –NORMAN VAUGHAN


deals unlikely to close. By making faster decisions to disqualify dead- end deals, sales reps can devote more time and energy to pursuing the most promising opportunities. 


To learn more about these and other strate- gies employed by best-in-class sales organiza- tions, view the webinar from Aberdeen Group and ClearSlide or download the white paper: “Transforming the Business of Selling.”


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