Objective Management Group Archives - Braveheart Sales Performance

Depend on Recurring Revenue? Here’s How to Contain Creation Costs

This article is written with field sales teams in mind. However, if you run an inside sales team exclusively, don’t despair, you may still find a nugget or two of helpful information as well.

Containing costs is important in every business. But for businesses where the costs of creating new customers are measured by lenders to determine the health of that business, they are especially important to manage.

In the electronic security industry, as well as SaaS, telecom and other recurring revenue businesses, customer creation costs are a key component which determines the company’s ability to borrow for expansion.

Conference Panel Insights

While attending […]

Some Gloomy, But Fixable, Selling Stats

We have known for years that the percentage of salespeople who hit quota is pathetically low. Regardless of what statistics you check, all entities that track and report on it show the quota achievement around or below 50%.

In 2018, CSO Insights reported that 54% of all sales reps met their quota. And for the same year, Forbes stated that 57% missed their quota.

Regardless of which information you believe, the fact remains that quota attainment is low. If given a letter grade, it would equate to an “F.”

What’s causing it to happen?

Are leaders setting quotas too high? Or are […]

Four Reasons Your Sales Training Fails

Have you spent money on sales training without seeing rewards? Are its promises of increased revenue and the vision of stress-free management evaporating? Well, you are not alone. And here are four reasons why:

1. Methodology Only

Many sales training organizations focus on tactics and strategies only. They teach a repeatable process which in and of itself is fine. In fact, getting everyone to use a repeatable process is essential and it absolutely will increase revenue some. Mapping out who the stakeholders are is also important. And establishing a sequential flow to any sales conversation is critical. These all make complete sense […]

The Harder the Questions; The Easier the Sale

Have you ever left a sales appointment and wished you had said something else? Or have you ever debriefed a sales rep’s call and find they didn’t ask the next logical question, and now critical information is missing?

Unfortunately, it’s a common problem. Most salespeople don’t ask enough questions.

Let’s examine some statistics. Only 11%* of salespeople ask the next, most important question when necessary. Further, the typical questions most salespeople ask are garden-variety ones; surface questions that are easily answered. Salespeople tend to accept too much at face value.

When the prospect says something like “This sounds great. Send me a proposal […]

Adapt or Die

I recently spent two days with about 40 sales leaders from across the country who primarily lead outside sales teams. It was exhilarating, intense, fun and, yes, I was exhausted!

Our theme was “Adapt or Die.” And for sales leaders this can be difficult – for they have tried and true ways of doing things.

Generally, sales managers come from the ranks of the sales staff. They know what worked for them when they were in the trenches. But, guess what? The marketplace, the people being hired, and the technology are no longer the same and will continue to change into the […]

Is the Pendulum Swinging Back?

If it isn’t obvious from my many posts using the Objective Management Group’s database, I love to mine facts on salespeople. I’m fortunate to have access to this large database and all the information it provides. And recently I’ve noticed a slight trend shift regarding how salespeople are motivated that needs to be shared.

Motivation Changes

In February 2019, the breakdown looked like this:

And as of November 2019, it looked like this:

To break it down, in just nine months’ time our data on over 550,000 salespeople indicates a 60% increase in the number who are motivated by rewards, recognition, and money from […]

Sales Effectiveness: Nature or Nurture?

There are no perfect salespeople born into this world. At least I haven’t met any.

Sure, there are numerous “natural born” salespeople. You know the type. They had a paper route growing up and by age thirteen had numerous other kids doing the route for them while they slept in and counted their profits. Or they were the cub scout or girl scout that sold the most popcorn or the most cookies (unaided by their parents).

The Benefits of Getting Help

I tend to believe that one’s natural behavior type or personality is not an indicator of success in sales. Sure, nature has […]

Improve Your Golf and Improve Your Selling

The other day, I played in a tournament with some other golfers, all trying to qualify for a national event. I failed.

I started off poorly. I quickly got into some situations on the course that were difficult to get out of and, to make matters worse, I did not putt well. My caddie encouraged me to focus on the upcoming holes and when we ran out of holes on the front nine, he said “That’s okay. You have the back nine. Just beat her on the back.”

Well, this might sound like fine advice. He was trying to get […]

Using Science to Hire Entry-Level Salespeople

What are the best qualities to look for when hiring an entry-level sales rep – someone who will have to be taught how to sell…the right way? It’s a question I get frequently. Most hiring managers feel it’s only about their ability to overcome adversity or their extroverted personality that predict success. Think again!

I reviewed the data on 82,167 salespeople who have one year or less in sales and found some precise measures that will predict success – these are the qualities that hiring managers should seek out.

The Traits Best Newbies Likely Have

Commitment: This means the level to […]

Can One Size Fit All Sales?

When it comes to sales, should salespeople do it all, or should individual functions be divided among multiple people, each having specialized responsibilities? I’ve had several conversations lately about the virtues of each approach.

Do it All vs. Split it Up

Is the do-it-all method, where one salesperson hunts, closes and then manages the accounts after the sale better than, say, where an inside salesperson handles the inbound or outbound calls (or a sales development rep, as they are commonly called, gets appointments scheduled) and other salespeople conduct those meetings and close the sale? The truth is: each way may be right […]

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