Sales

Some reps evolve from a promising new hire to a sales team all-star in a way that’s easy to miss. If you’re a manager or even the owner of a company, you probably have so much to do you just hope every rep will stay on top of their account list and work diligently towards their number. Anything

Selling is about appealing to the head while drawing upon the heart. You have to convince your customers to make a purchase based on rational arguments. No matter what facts and figures you pull together to make those arguments, however, they need to feel you believe them at your core. Though

This is the great paradox of working in sales: it’s one of the most sociable jobs in the world and also, occasionally, one of the loneliest. Sales reps often demonstrate outstanding interpersonal skills when they initially meet with a client, deliver a formal pitch and close deals, for example.

A lot of entrepreneurs like to begin with the end in mind: that nirvana where you’ve not only achieved product-market fit but attracted a critical mass of happy customers who will lay the foundation for you to scale your startup. There’s nothing wrong with imagining what your business will look

A company's commission structure needs to be thought through carefully. Learn how a poor structure can affect a company’s ability to attract talent.

Signing up a new customer can be a moment of almost fairy-tale happiness, but unfortunately not every relationship leads to a “happily ever after.” Customers come, but customers also go. They cancel their subscription. They decide not to bother upgrading. They opt out of receiving communication

Your first sale as a startup might feel like a minor miracle. The second, third and fourth sale might seem like a series of happy accidents. By the time you’re seeing a steady influx of sales, though, it’s time to stop treating them as isolated incidents and more of a guide to the ongoing health

One of the most common ways to define productivity among sales teams is wrong, so let’s correct it right away. Being productive in sales does not refer to a salesperson closing deal after deal in quick succession. That’s an outcome. It’s crushing your quota, or boosting your win rate. Amassing a

“Whoops!” If there is only one word a salesperson should never utter while conducting a product demo in front of a customer or prospect, that’s the one. Though there are variations on it, that “Whoops” is a place-holder for what everyone watching the demo knows is going on in the salesperson's

Unless they’re being particularly direct — and feel compelled to proactively further your professional development as a salesperson — you’ll rarely hear a customer say something like, “You’re not actively listening to me!” The consequences of failing to develop active listening tend to be less