Most sellers want to have better meetings with senior executives but don’t know how to do so. They want to get away from surface-level pitches and have actual conversations. They envision meetings that build deeper relationships and uncover more ways they can help their clients. Speaking to senior executives can be intimidating. Many sellers, when asked what’s holding them back from talking with the C-suite, say things like, "I don't feel comfortable," "I have nothing to offer to them," or "I'm not at their level."

How to Increase Sales Win Rates on Your Most Important Opportunities + Video

Ago Cluytens
January 15, 2020

When sellers lose a sale, we often hear something like: The other vendor had an in. Our competitor offered a lower price. We didn’t have the best solution. They decided to do nothing at all.

Why Social Selling Will Soon Just Be...Selling

Ago Cluytens
March 7, 2016

Back in 1997 when I started my career, there were two things that everyone believed were going to revolutionize commerce and industry. First there was the mobile revolution—upcoming mobile technologies were about to significantly impact how we interacted, shopped, and banked. The second was ecommerce, the prediction that brick and mortar enterprises were about to be displaced with "click" and mortars.

5 Changes in B2B Buying Behavior You Need to Know About

Ago Cluytens
June 9, 2015

The world around us is shifting—in virtually every way. Savvy sellers have caught on to the fact that B2B buying behavior is changing as well.

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of B2B Sales Training

Ago Cluytens
January 20, 2015

There's one question I wish I got asked more when working with leaders looking to invest in B2B sales training. That question is, "What will it really take to get the best results?" If you're a seller, you can probably relate to the experience of a well-meaning trainer giving examples from an industry that had nothing to do with yours. Or maybe they didn't have a credible track record to back up their claims. And when the training was over, it was back to business as usual the next morning.

5 Sales Coaching Myths We Can All Safely Ignore

Ago Cluytens
September 17, 2013

Sales coaching—working one-on-one or in small groups with firms and individuals in a highly focused manner to help them increase effectiveness, revenues, and sales—is a large part of what I do on a day-to-day basis. Done right, it’s one of the most powerful, impactful ways to increase revenue and boost individual or group performance.

5 To-Dos When Selling to Senior Executives

Ago Cluytens
April 18, 2013

Want to make more sales? Start by having better conversations. Think about it. You spent months chasing a senior decision maker or prospect, making calls, and sending e-mails, and they finally agreed to sit down with you. You invested significant amounts of time, effort, energy and—sometimes considerable—resources to win them over. And now you find yourself in a room with a senior executive. Now what?

5 Sales Prospecting Techniques You’ve Probably Never Tried (But Should)

Ago Cluytens
April 12, 2013

What is the #1 challenge or issue you face when it comes to growing sales for your business? When I recently reached out to my network and asked that same question, 75% mentioned sales prospecting as their #1 challenge. The problem isn’t that people don’t know what to do; it’s that what they’ve always done no longer works. Want proof? Think about the last time you met an actual decision maker at a networking event, and that conversation led to a sale. How about from a cold call? Trade show? Advertisement? The simple truth is this: if you do what everybody else is doing, you’ll get the same results everybody else is getting.

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