Ask 100 sellers at 100 companies why their customers buy from them, and you’re likely to hear 100 answers with the same underlying theme: the value we provide. Sellers describe their value to us in several ways: we get results. Our relationships are very close. They get from us what they’ve always wanted (but never gotten) from other companies. We bring innovative solutions to the table. And so on. Pretty obvious, right? To win sales you must maximize value.

You're Looking for Sales Productivity in the Wrong Place

Jason Murray
March 22, 2023

One of the first things sellers learn is to keep it simple. Yet when it comes to a particularly hot topic in our industry, sales leaders do anything but. Rather than apply the K-I-S-S principle to sales productivity, many leaders instead turn to technology, tracking, and top-down governance.

The Changing B2B Sales Landscape: What Sales Leaders Need to Know and Do

Erica Schultz
March 8, 2023

Sales leaders with a finger on the pulse of B2B sales know that marked change is underway. Some changes have been spurred by the global pandemic, with others hastened by the uncertainty of the economy. For their new report, Future of B2B Sales: The Big Reframe, authors at McKinsey & Company spoke to more than 50 heads of sales across a range of industries and geographies to better understand the shift in the B2B sales environment. They identified 5 key themes:

Business Development Tips for Professional Services

Bob Croston
March 1, 2023

When it comes to business development for professional services, one of the biggest challenges professionals face is finding time to do it all. After all, you don't sell full-time. Your work, whether it's consulting, accounting, IT, financial services, or engineering, is what you do full-time. It can be very difficult to find time to create and develop the relationships necessary to bring in new business.

The 9 Advanced Skills Missing from Your B2B Sales Process

Mary Flaherty
February 22, 2023

The world of B2B selling looks far different than it once did. Top sellers know they must go well beyond discussing features and benefits. They need to be closely tuned in to the buying process for each member of the buying committee while consistently meeting buyers where they are throughout the cycle. That’s a tall ask, as it turns out. According to Gartner, as many as ten decision makers might make up a B2B buying center. Additional data from CMO Council shows that B2B customers actively research and compare solutions, often completing 50% to 90% of the work before contacting a sales rep. Long story short: complexity is a hallmark of B2B sales.

Boost Ramp-Up Speed and Retain Sellers with Effective Onboarding [+Turnover Calculator]

Mike Schultz
February 8, 2023

Given the investment companies make in hiring, training, and managing their sales force to get maximum results, it’s imperative sales and enablement leaders understand how they can make the most of that investment and retain the best sellers once hired. Our Top-Performing Sales Organization research, in which we analyzed data from 472 sellers and executives, revealed that the process for onboarding new sales hires and getting sellers to full productivity is strongly correlated to key measures of a well-functioning sales organization.

How to Win Big Sales Opportunities with Big Plays

Mike Schultz
February 1, 2023

Too many sellers have similar problems: Bloated pipelines filled with dead wood Lack of clarity on what opportunities to focus on No plan to win their biggest, most important opportunities Losing too often to the competition

[Checklist] How to Choose a Sales Training Provider

Erica Schultz
January 25, 2023

When you invest in sales training, you’re committing time and resources with the distinct possibility of failure. From misaligned goals to lackluster adoption, there are many reasons why sales training doesn’t achieve desired results. Proper planning is a must for sales training that works. That means doing your research and finding an effective training provider to partner with and guide you through the process. Fortunately, you can set up your organization for success when it comes to sales training. The 22 green flags in this checklist give you a rubric to analyze potential providers, ask good questions, and form the foundation of your decision making. Download it as a quick reference or refer to our more detailed rationale below.

How to Sell to the C-Suite

Ago Cluytens
January 16, 2023

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 Build Trust with Skeptical Executives

John Doerr
January 16, 2023

Sometimes, talking to the C-suite is easy. Conversation flows. You find common areas personally and professionally. Ideas bounce back and forth. Before you know it, work is underway. But sometimes, it isn’t easy—even if you’ve been following the tips for selling to the C-suite. Maybe the executive is all business, guarded, and hesitant to share. When faced with a skeptical executive, you might be tempted to give up and invest your time and effort elsewhere. In some cases, moving on may be the right answer. But often, building a close, trusting relationship with a skeptical executive can be a catalyst to your success.

How to Host Sales Kickoffs That Engage and Energize Sales Reps

Andy Springer
January 11, 2023

Remember back in pre-pandemic days when sales teams conducted lavish SKOs in person, perhaps with an option to dial in? Things are a bit different today. Some organizations are returning to in-person sales kickoffs, some are holding exclusively virtual events, and others turning to some form of hybrid event. Either way, the same challenge remains: How can you deliver an engaging SKO that spurs reps on into the new fiscal year?

Selling on Social Media: Tips and Strategies for Success

Mike Schultz
January 3, 2023

Once upon a time, there was a notion that social media was unnecessary for selling; it was a novelty and not a staple. At the time, some believed that enterprise-level decision makers couldn’t be reached on social platforms. Now, social media is a necessity to establish credibility with potential buyers.

Top 10 Sales Resources of 2022

Erica Schultz
December 19, 2022

It seems like the world of sales is moving at a breakneck pace. Between new digital tools, hybridized sales teams, and economic shifts, it can feel overwhelming to keep up with everything. And it can be tempting to try to be everywhere and do everything at once just to stay competitive.

Happy Holidays from RAIN Group!

Erica Schultz
December 18, 2022

As we enter the holiday season with the New Year right around the corner, it’s easy to think about next year and beyond—to a future lead by our children. And though they’re resilient, no one has felt the effects of the last few years more than our world’s kids. Limited, reduced, and eliminated resources means many are without the tools and support they need to thrive and grow into happy and healthy teens and adults.

6 Ways to Build Client Loyalty in Sales

Mike Schultz
December 2, 2022

Client loyalty can make or break a company. Loyalty is tied to buyer satisfaction and their experience buying from you—but it’s tough to earn. Fred Reichheld, author of The Loyalty Effect and creator of the Net Promoter System, found that most corporations lose 50% of their customers every 5 years, 50% of employees in 4 years, and 50% of investors in less than one year.

Infographic: 8 Ways to Maximize Sales in 2023

Erica Schultz
November 30, 2022

2023 is shaping up to be a challenging year for sellers. With economic uncertainty and organizations everywhere tightening their belts, sellers are hard-pressed to stay efficient and keep revenue flowing. So how can you and your sellers stay on track and cross the finish line strong? There are plenty of ways to get the most out of the team you already have. In this infographic, you'll find 8 areas of focus for 2023, each a category where Top-Performing Sellers excel compared to The Rest. Only 18.7% of sellers qualify as Top Performers, so there's always room for improvement!

How to Make Hybrid Sales Training Work

Erica Schultz
November 21, 2022

Want to take this article with you or share with a colleague? Download the PDF. With the rise of virtual training, hybrid workforces, and self-directed learning, what is the role of in-person training? Is in-person sales training dead? Yes and no. It’s true the global pandemic radically changed how sales organizations think about live events, including salesforce onboarding, education, and SKOs that were once the norm. The pandemic challenged sales teams to try new and creative solutions for training, most of them digital-first.

The 6 Essential B2B Sales Funnel Stages

Mike Schultz
November 9, 2022

Interesting tidbit: the concept of a sales funnel dates back to Chicago meatpackers in the late nineteenth century. Even then, the Armours, Swifts, and Morrises of the world were tinkering with the best strategies for selling their products to other businesses. In many ways, the fundamental challenges of selling remain the same for the modern B2B sales funnel. That is, how to strike a chord with potential buyers—how to find alignment, create value, and deliver—instead of putting them through the same generic steps.

3 Best Cold Calling Scripts and Tips

Erica Schultz
October 28, 2022

Many people want to believe that cold calling doesn't work because they don't want to have to get on the phone. Indeed, there are many ways to do it wrong and fail. Many cold callers use deceptive tactics to get through and leave a bad taste in buyers' mouths.

What Is Sales Training?

Mike Schultz
October 26, 2022

Sales Training Defined  Sales training is the process of improving seller skills, knowledge, and attributes to drive seller behavioral change and maximize sales success. To be most effective, sales training should be viewed, designed, and executed as a change management initiative.

14 Sales Training Techniques for Building Elite Sales Teams

Mary Flaherty
October 12, 2022

During a now-famous interview on the Pierre Berton Show in 1971, Bruce Lee shared a simple philosophy: “be like water.” As fitting as Lee’s advice is for sellers, “be like a sponge” works just as well. To stay ahead, sales teams must continuously absorb new information and develop skills. Ongoing training and coaching and sustained effort over time is crucial. Otherwise, sellers (and their managers) risk not reaching their potential. Fortunately, there are sales training techniques that even the most experienced teams will soak up.

30 Sales Training Ideas for Top-Performing Teams

Mary Flaherty
September 28, 2022

For sellers, routine can be a blessing and a curse. It’s true that doing the same things day in and day out provides structure. It requires discipline, too. But it can also turn into a comfort zone in which many sellers stagnate. This is what makes recurring sales training programs so valuable. Yet even after the most engaging, resonant sales training programs, sellers tend to revert back to what they’re accustomed to doing. Which puts a heavy onus on sales managers.

Infographic: 10 Key Roles of the Best Sales Managers

Erica Schultz
August 31, 2022

How much control do sales managers have over the performance of their teams? More than you might think. A RAIN Group Center for Sales Research study found that Elite and Top-Performing Sales Organizations prioritize sales coaching significantly more than other organizations, and they have more skilled and motivating sales managers.

Sales Training Topics to Drive Results

Mary Flaherty
August 17, 2022

TL;DR? Download the PDF and save it for later. If you’re responsible for designing or implementing sales training for your organization, you know the effectiveness of training varies greatly. It might not be implemented properly, land well with participants, be relevant to sellers’ daily work, or it might be forgotten completely in the days and weeks following the training. Sales training fails more often than it succeeds. But, for those who get it right, the payoffs are substantial.

7 Tips for Differentiating in the Selling Process

Mike Schultz
August 2, 2022

Differentiation often starts with marketing, but it truly comes alive in the selling process. Even if your company’s products and services are superior to all others, this means nothing if you can’t convey that to your buyers. Differentiating in sales is more than a good pitch—you need to differentiate in the right areas, adapt to your buyer’s needs, and build value.

10 Tips for Valuable Sales Coaching

Andy Springer
July 20, 2022

Sales managers tend to believe they do a good job helping sellers solve problems and coaching them to build their capabilities. However, only 32% of sales managers are effective in getting maximum performance from sellers.

Building Your Sales Coaching Plan + Checklist

Andy Springer
June 22, 2022

It’s always important to remember: if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. If you want your sellers to perform at the peak of their potential, it’s essential to know the specific objectives you need to help your team achieve, and to map out the road that will help them achieve those objectives.

[Infographic] 10 Ways to Achieve Your Top Sales Priorities

Erica Schultz
June 20, 2022

In a RAIN Group Center for Sales Research survey, we asked 423 sales and enablement leaders what their top priorities were for the year ahead. Their responses offer insight into the areas sales teams are actively trying to improve.

Why Sales Coaching Matters

Andy Springer
June 8, 2022

Think for a minute about your sales team. Is everyone doing everything they possibly can right now to succeed at their maximum potential? Is everyone on the team completely dialed in, doing everything they should and nothing they shouldn’t? Do they have all the right skills across the sales cycle? Have they completely taken the lead on their own development? Are they motivated and productive?

37 Free Sales Tools to Make Selling Simple

Erica Schultz
May 25, 2022

Sales tools can help you standardize processes, improve your skillset, and make the best use of your time. We’ve compiled all our free tools to help you succeed—browse below for resources covering every topic of sales.

21 Data-Backed Sales Skills Every Top Performer Needs

Erica Schultz
May 11, 2022

There’s simply not enough time in the day to focus on every essential skill needed to succeed in sales. While sales teams must prioritize skills development, it’s important to identify which skills could have the biggest impact on your sales results.

How to Use Pipeline Metrics to Meet Your Sales Prospecting Goals

Erica Schultz
April 27, 2022

Do you know what it’s going to take to reach your sales target? It’s not enough to have a quota or even set goals for yourself—you need to know exactly what to do daily to accomplish your goals.

6 Elements of a Sales Opportunity Plan

Mike Schultz
April 22, 2022

Sellers who win consistently plan to win from the start. They're methodical in their approach to opportunities. They carefully map their sales process to the buyer's, set goals for every meeting, and do an exceptional job of communicating value.

Infographic: 11 Sales Skills to Help You Cross the Finish Line

Erica Schultz
April 17, 2022

Whether you're trying to get better at running or improve your sales skills, you need to choose what to focus on to get the best results. We can't give you the skills to run a marathon, but we can share the 11 skills that represent the largest skill gaps between Top Performers and The Rest to help you improve your sales efforts. We uncovered these skills and behaviors in a recent global study of 1,004 sellers and sales managers.

Sales Prospecting: Tips, Techniques, and Strategies

John Doerr
March 29, 2022

The practice of sales prospecting is surrounded by confusion and misconceptions. Prospecting may sound simple enough, but ask a group of sales professionals about the best prospecting approaches and you’re bound to get several conflicting answers.

Sales Psychology: 3 Questions to Change How Buyers Think

Erica Schultz
March 16, 2022

The best sellers do more than just close sales. They reshape buyer thinking and drive change through the value they provide. We call this insight selling, and it hinges on the concept of cognitive reframing.

13 Tips to Master Your Next Proposal Presentation

Erica Schultz
March 2, 2022

As one of the final steps to close a sale, the proposal presentation is essential to answering lingering questions, demonstrating impact, and connecting with decision makers. While there are several things to keep in mind for the presentation itself, just as important is the preparation you do before the meeting. Asking key questions of your buyer and working with your internal team will give you the edge you need to outshine your competition.

Understanding and Building Sales Impact Models

Erica Schultz
February 16, 2022

You can be spot-on building rapport with your buyers and uncovering their needs, but without communicating the impact of what you’re selling, you—and your initiative—won’t be a priority. When you’re able to understand and articulate the impact of your solutions, you can help buyers start thinking differently.

[Checklist] Tips to Build Value in Sales Negotiations

Erica Schultz
February 11, 2022

In our sales negotiation research, we studied the factors separating the best negotiators from the rest. According to buyers, six out of 10 sellers cave on price at some point in negotiations. While it may be tempting to concede on price to secure a sale, a single concession can make a buyer expect more later on. Lowering the price also says a lot about the value you place on your offerings. If you don't value it, why should your buyer? Additionally, 62% of buyers agree they have the flexibility to pay more for a solution if the seller demonstrates it's worth it. There's money on the table and it's up to sellers to claim it.

17 Tips to Take Your Prospecting Skills to the Next Level

Erica Schultz
January 26, 2022

66% of respondents agree that people in their organization don’t dedicate enough time or energy to prospecting, according to our Top Performance in Sales Prospecting research. Beyond that:

Sellers: Use This Problem-Solving System to Lead Strong Discussions with Buyers

Mike Schultz
January 19, 2022

When it comes to solving what may appear to be an intractable problem, sellers and sales managers are often at a loss for how, exactly, to lead the problem-solving process.

How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline

Mike Schultz
January 11, 2022

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: “Put me in front of ten buyers and I'll close seven of them. All I need is more meetings.” I hear this from sellers all the time. They're convinced they'll get the hits if they just get more at-bats. But where are those at-bats going to come from? No salesperson ever hit home runs by sitting back and waiting for the phone to ring or their email to ding. To succeed in sales, you need to proactively generate a consistent stream of new leads to fill the front end of the pipeline.

[SlideShare] 22 Sales Tips for Hybrid Selling

Erica Schultz
January 11, 2022

In a hybrid sales environment, you need to be able to meet and engage buyers wherever they are. If you want to generate the best opportunities and set yourself up for success, you need to prepare. And there’s no better way to prepare than by using data-backed findings on what’s working (or not!) for the most successful sellers.

Season's Greetings for 2021

Erica Schultz
December 13, 2021

In the spirit of the holiday season, we’re pleased to share three organizations that have touched our hearts this year:

Infographic: 10 Essential Selling Skills

Erica Schultz
December 3, 2021

In What Sales Winners Do Differently, we studied over 700 purchases from the perspective of business-to-business buyers to find out what really happened in their buying experiences.

66 Sales Tips to Stay Competitive

Erica Schultz
November 17, 2021

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a silver bullet that would make you more successful in your sales efforts? Or if there was one thing you could do to really boost your sales results? Here’s the bad news: there’s no silver bullet. Sales success takes hard work and commitment, along with skill and savvy. There’s no shortcut to success.

Infographic: 6 Essential Rules of Sales Negotiation

Erica Schultz
November 11, 2021

Negotiations may be more competitive than ever, but the best negotiators are still confident, able to achieve target pricing, and more satisfied with the results of negotiations. But where do these negotiators excel?

6 Strategies Buyers Use to Negotiate Price

Mike Schultz
November 8, 2021

Some buyers are conditioned to try certain tactics to lower your price. Maybe they've read about negotiation in books or were trained to use pressuring strategies.

Key Influences on Sales Motivation

Mike Schultz
October 6, 2021

For the best sales results, you need to have a highly motivated team bringing their A-game, day in and day out. Often, it's up to sales managers to make sure their team maintains this positive and results-driven attitude. But it’s not always easy.

33 Tips to Look Professional in Your Virtual Meetings

Mike Schultz
September 24, 2021

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to selling virtually. Projecting a professional image in your virtual meetings is an important (and often overlooked) factor to consider. With a little forethought and preparation, you can make a great first impression with your buyers. Read on for guidelines and tips specifically focused on projecting a professional image in your virtual sales.

How to Manage a Sales Negotiation to Your BATNA

Mike Schultz
September 22, 2021

The #1 essential rule of sales negotiation is Always Be Willing to Walk Away. You know when you should walk when you know your BATNA, or best alternative to a negotiated agreement. When you’re feeling calm, clear-headed, and confident, you’re more likely to be a successful sales negotiator. Yet, anxiety is the most common emotion associated with negotiations, and anxious negotiators don’t perform well.

Strategies and Tactics for Sales Negotiation

Mike Schultz
September 13, 2021

Whether you work on a sale for 9 hours, 9 weeks, or 9 months, when you get to the negotiation phase of the selling process, you can lose the sale in an instant. And even for those sellers who win the sale, the negotiated outcome may not be the best.

15 Ways to Get Referrals

Mary Flaherty
September 9, 2021

Wouldn’t it be great if every single new prospect trusted you and your organization? Referrals are among the top ways sellers get leads and new business, but many struggle with generating them consistently. Often, this is because they haven’t thought about why buyers should refer them. They don’t have a system in place for generating referrals. If you’re providing a quality experience for your buyers, you’re already halfway there. Word of mouth is bound to generate new business, but a deliberate referral marketing plan will drastically improve the frequency and quality of the referrals you receive.

What Is Insight-Based Selling?

Mike Schultz
September 1, 2021

Insight selling is the process of creating and winning sales opportunities and driving change with ideas that matter. There are two applications of insight selling: interaction insight and opportunity insight.

How Sellers Can Disrupt and Reframe Buyer Thinking [+Toolkit]

Erica Schultz
August 26, 2021

The following is an excerpt from our new toolkit for sellers, How to Change the Buyer Conversation with Insight. Click here to access it. >> Think about buyers you've worked with who were trying to move an initiative or agenda forward. You probably heard something like: "We only need support in these areas from you." "The team has decided to engage an outside provider to deliver on X." "We're open to ideas about Y, but don't want to talk about Z." These buyers are in their comfort zone: either comfortable with what they're trying to accomplish or how they're trying to accomplish it. In some cases, there may be a good reason for it. It's possible they've already invested a great deal of time and resources into what they believe the solution should be. But many buyers are headed down paths that won’t serve them well. This is because they don’t know what you know or that something better might be possible. Your job is to help buyers make the best decisions, which often means making different decisions.

Q&A on Sales Management with Harvard Business School's Frank Cespedes

Frank Cespedes
August 13, 2021

Frank Cespedes, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, discusses his latest book, Sales Management That Works: How to Sell in a World that Never Stops Changing (Harvard Business Press, 2021) in this Q&A with RAIN Group.

How to Build Rapport in Sales and Connect with People

Mike Schultz
August 4, 2021

If you want to be a successful salesperson, you need to get comfortable with skepticism. Why? Because people have doubts about one another. In its Trust and Distrust in America report, Pew Research Center found that 71% of Americans think interpersonal confidence has worsened in the past two decades. Nearly half of Americans think the reason is unreliability. For salespeople, it’s safe to assume that a certain level of skepticism is the norm.

27 Productivity Tips that Will Change the Way You Live, Work, and Feel

Erica Schultz
July 21, 2021

Take a moment to think about a time when you had a period of deep focus in which your work performance and productivity were at a high. Everything clicked. You nailed the deadline. Made the leap. Produced 10X. Everything came into focus. Wouldn’t it be great if you could have that level of focus and achieve that extreme productivity all the time—or even most of the time?

Sales Call Planning Guide

Mike Schultz
July 7, 2021

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.  - Benjamin Franklin We acknowledge that sometimes you can't prepare for a sales call or—hallelujah—a buyer calls you out of the blue. It's reasonable to suggest that, on occasion, sales calls are appropriately deemed 'exploratory discussions'; the kind of discussion in which we just talk and 'see where it goes.'

7 Ways to Get Motivated and Crush Your Sales Goals Post-Pandemic

Erica Schultz
June 23, 2021

The best sellers understand how important it is to develop the ability to adapt. But how do you continue to adapt and stay motivated over the long haul?

Introducing a New Book from the Leaders of RAIN Group

Erica and Mike Schultz
June 16, 2021

Not Today is unlike the other books we’ve written and talked about in this space. While it’s certainly applicable to sales and selling—our clients have been benefitting from The Productivity Code and related content for years—it’s not your typical business or self-help book.

Not Today Book Excerpt

Erica Schultz
June 10, 2021

Nobody wants to be unproductive. Nobody wants to procrastinate. Nobody wants to fall short of their goals and see their dreams fade away. Yet, when many people ask themselves, “Am I ready to stop putting off my future, make a plan, and change?” they all too commonly, deep within their psyches, answer, “Not today.” Why?

4 Steps to Overcoming Sales Objections

Mike Schultz
June 2, 2021

The word "no" can be a tough pill to swallow. In selling, when you're trying to meet a quota, squeeze in an extra deal before the end of the quarter, or get your bonus, the word "no" is too often interpreted as a sign to run for the hills. Worse, some salespeople see most objections as a call to battle. With this attitude, it’s no wonder they handle sales objections poorly. However, when we break it down, you can see that objections can actually be a good thing.

7 Time Management Tips to Boost Your Productivity (and Happiness!)

Mike Schultz
May 26, 2021

Almost all sellers at some point in their career will consider adopting a time management system to improve their productivity. Few stick with it. The challenge is that many time management systems focus too deeply on the activity level—what to do first, what to do next, what the priority order is—without paying enough attention to the bigger picture. We studied the habits of extremely productive people—we call them The XP—in a global productivity research study with more than 5,000 participants to date. Not only did we learn their habits, we found that the most productive people are also more satisfied with their jobs, more likely to be top performers, and are happier.

50 Powerful Sales Questions

Mike Schultz
May 19, 2021

Great sales questions help you find out what’s going on in your buyer’s world. They help you connect with buyers, understand their needs, understand what’s important to them, and help them create better futures for themselves. They help you disrupt buyer thinking and change buyers’ perception of what’s true and what’s possible. They help you drive the sale forward and avoid pitfalls that can derail the sale along the way. Great sales questions help you win sales.

Virtual Selling Q&A: 11 Answers to Your Questions

Erica Schultz
May 12, 2021

Becoming a top seller has always been part art and part science. The following are among the hallmarks of successful sales professionals: Deep expertise in your company’s offerings and industry The skills to determine customer needs and proactively drive opportunity The ability to help buyers to shift and set new priorities and attack challenges with better approaches However, being successful in sales also requires the ability to connect, engage, collaborate, and influence buyers remotely.

How to Sell through LinkedIn

Mike Schultz
May 5, 2021

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know social media, especially LinkedIn, plays an important role in sales. But you may be surprised by just how big that role is. According to LinkedIn research, 89% of top sales professionals find social networking platforms such as LinkedIn important to closing deals. Indeed, our own research reveals the majority of buyers—82%—will review your LinkedIn profile, and, yes, judge you, before accepting a meeting or otherwise connecting with you.

Do You Need to Negotiate Differently with Procurement?

Dave Shaby
April 28, 2021

If you’re like most sellers, you find yourself negotiating deals with a buyer’s procurement team at least some of the time. Certainly, the frequency with which you’re dealing with procurement and purchasing professionals will vary based on industry and product category, but being skilled working with procurement is often the key to moving your deal across the finish line in a timely way. You might wonder whether there’s any need to negotiate differently when purchasing plays a role. The answer is yes—and no.

Key Account Planning Checklist

Erica Schultz
April 14, 2021

According to our research of sales, enablement, and company leaders: 64% prioritize increasing business with existing accounts 62% prioritize improving customer retention, repeat business, and renewals Despite this, only 8% of executives rate their account planning process as very effective.

13 Tips for Crafting the Best Prospecting Emails [Examples]

Mike Schultz
April 7, 2021

TL;DR? Download the PDF and save it for later. Many sellers assume buyers don't want or need to talk to them early in the buying process. This simply isn't the case. In fact, our prospecting research reveals buyers want to hear from sellers early. When Do Buyers Want to Hear from Sellers in the Buying Process?

The Virtual Selling Skills You Need [Research + Tools]

Mike Schultz
March 31, 2021

Note: You can download this article as a PDF to save it for later! Developing relationships, collaborating online, leading virtual sales conversations, gaining and keeping attention, leveraging technology, making the ROI case, delivering value—these are hard to do regardless of the sales and economic environment. But, do these become more difficult when selling virtually versus face-to-face? Are some areas more difficult for sellers than others? What influences buyers’ purchase decisions when buying virtually?

What is Key Account Management? [+ Checklist]

Mike Schultz
March 24, 2021

Your team just won a new logo! Congratulations! This one has buzz. It’s modest to start, but there’s potential to sell into multiple buying centers, across geographies, and the new product your company is launching will help the customer simplify their processes, increase efficiencies, and reduce strain on their supply chain. But that’s all in the hands of the key account team now. The good news is that new business from key accounts is 60% to 70% more likely to close compared to the 5% to 20% likelihood of closing a deal with a new client.

How to Influence People in Sales

Mike Schultz
March 17, 2021

Sales is about change. It’s about getting people to go from where they are—their current state—to a new and better place—their future state—or what we call the New Reality. In our decades of work with clients globally and our proprietary research, we’ve identified 11 ways sellers can influence buyers throughout the sales process to guide them to their New Reality.

6 Data-Backed Ways to Crush Your Sales Goals

Erica Schultz
March 3, 2021

In the past several years, so much has changed in the world of sales. Where should you begin? What’s going to make the biggest difference? What are others doing that's working today? To answer these questions, we looked across our sales research studies and pulled out 6 key ways Top Performers stand out compared to The Rest.

Buyers Sound Off: 9 Ways to Influence Their Purchase Decisions

Erica Schultz
February 24, 2021

How do buyers make purchase decisions? Why do they choose one provider over another? Are there things you, as a seller, can do to influence their decisions? As the world transitioned to virtual selling in 2020, we wanted to know how this was impacting buyers and sellers alike. We surveyed 528 buyers and sellers across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. We asked buyers what influences their decisions the most when buying virtually. Their responses provide some interesting insights as to how buyers make decisions. Below, we’ve compiled the top 9 factors that influence buyers’ decisions and share how you can be more influential in your selling efforts.

4 Strategies to Increase Sales Productivity

Dustin Deno
February 10, 2021

A productive sales team is a successful sales team. Companies all over the world are struggling with sales productivity and the added pressure to hit their annual goals only exacerbates the problem. If your sales team isn’t continually assessing their strengths and weaknesses as strategies shift, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. Your sales team should always be in a state of growth—keeping existing skills sharp, developing new selling tactics, and maintaining strong bonds with your customers.

20 Virtual Sales Relationship-Building Tips

Andy Springer
February 3, 2021

Virtual meetings are now part of our everyday reality. Even in situations where you’re able to meet with some folks in person, you’re still likely to face a high number of virtual meetings on your calendar. This isn’t going to change any time soon. The way the world does business has shifted drastically in light of the pandemic. Even when it’s safe to do so, we’re likely to see many people continuing to work remotely because technology and processes have been put in place to make it a viable long-term option.

[New White Paper] The 11 Principles of Influence in Sales

Erica Schultz
January 28, 2021

A seller’s job is to drive change. The best sellers lead sales conversations down the right path by asking strong questions, setting the agenda, sharing ideas, summarizing and communicating the impact of taking action, involving the buyer in creating a solution, and inspiring action.

Virtual Sellers: Here’s How to Connect with Buyers and Build Strong Relationships

Dave Shaby
January 20, 2021

As a classic advertising slogan once reminded customers, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s true now more than ever. When we could interact face-to-face at events or in meetings, it was easier to attract the attention of a potential buyer and begin making connections naturally. But as a virtual seller, you don’t have the luxury of allowing relationships to unfold organically.

How to Break Through the Noise and Create New Conversations with Prospects

Bob Croston
January 13, 2021

As a seller, you’re trying to build relationships with potential buyers. People buy from people they know, like, and trust. The more you get to know your buyers, and let them get to know you, the easier it is to sell to them. But first, you have to break through the noise, capture their attention, and create conversations with them. This is easier said than done. To do this, you need to engage in what we call an Attraction Campaign. An Attraction Campaign is a coordinated series of messages with strong value-based offers deployed across multiple channels that'll get you on your buyer’s radar and make that buyer more likely to want to start a conversation.

Our Top 10 Virtual Selling Resources

Erica Schultz
December 29, 2020

Recent years have been marked by a lot of changes, distractions, and new challenges. If it were up to us, we’d title them, “The Years Sellers Plugged In.” Not only literally, with the wholesale shift from live to virtual selling, but also figuratively in the sense sellers had to become even more keenly aware of buyer wants and needs to be successful in a virtual environment. This list of resources reflects sellers’ hunger for knowledge and skill development in all areas of virtual selling, from leading effective virtual meetings and asking strong questions to tackling challenges and developing strong virtual relationships. We hope you'll find this list to be a valuable resource as you prepare for your own virtual outreach.

Join Us in the Gift of Giving this Holiday Season

Erica Schultz
December 15, 2020

3 Ways to Enable Collaboration—Even in a Virtual Meeting

Mike Schultz
December 9, 2020

Stop. Collaborate. Listen. Sellers of a certain age know that rapper Vanilla Ice was actually onto something when he uttered those words at the start of his song, "Ice Ice Baby." Years later, the concept of collaboration and a seller's ability to work with buyers, instead of speaking at or simply selling to them, to close a deal has become more important than ever.

New Infographic: 4 Ways to Take the Lead in Virtual Selling

Erica Schultz
December 1, 2020

As we near the end of the year, we’re left wondering what the world will look like in the next stages of pandemic recovery. One thing that’s for certain? Virtual selling is here to stay. In fact, 89% of B2B decision makers say they’re likely to sustain the new sales model beyond the next year, according to McKinsey & Company. If you want to succeed in 2021, you must master this new medium of sales. But virtual selling isn't just selling via phone. Seventy-seven percent of decision makers prefer to use video over phone when meeting with sellers. In this infographic, we share the 4 Virtual Selling ImperativesSM—the critical areas where sellers must Take the Lead if they want to develop stronger relationships, create comprehensive solutions, increase buyer satisfaction, and secure more business virtually.

Unlocking Sales Training: Four Keys to Driving Behavioral Change

Haley Katsman
November 18, 2020

Most people who enter the discipline of sales training and enablement have an intrinsic motivator to help people. They are teachers, inspirers, coaches, and cheerleaders. But sometimes, even the most skilled trainers are faced with obstacles that are difficult to overcome. Training is inherently challenging. Research on The Forgetting Curve shows that within one week, people will have forgotten an average of 90% of the information presented. What's more, training is difficult to facilitate, reinforce, and measure. This reality contributes to more than 25% of salespeople reporting that their training has little or no effect.

[Free Download] The Ultimate Virtual Selling Toolkit

Erica Schultz
November 12, 2020

Experts—including us!—keep touting the need to transition to virtual selling. But virtual selling isn’t a switch you flip on and off, nor is it your in-person sales process delivered via Zoom. It’s an integrated approach to meeting buyers where they are and when they are in world that looks vastly different than it did just a year ago.

4 Misconceptions of Making a Strong ROI Case

Dave Shaby
November 4, 2020

Emotions are powerful motivators of buying. Consider that, in 2019, total U.S. spending in the weight loss category was $72.7 billion according to marketresearch.com. That's a lot of money spent on products and services that help people eat well and exercise more.

The 5 Cases Salespeople Must Make to Drive Change and Win Sales

Mike Schultz
October 28, 2020

At their core, top-performing salespeople are change agents. They recommend, advise, and assist buyers (what is typically known as consultative selling), and they aren't afraid to push when it's in the best interest of their buyers. Indeed, top sellers are Insight Sellers. These people make five cases to ensure the value proposition for each buyer is as strong as it can be. They inspire buyers with new ideas and perspectives, and influence how buyers tackle their priority initiatives. They question the status quo and don't let buyers accept it, thus redefining reality.

Fill Your Pipeline in 4 Easy Steps

Jason Murray
October 21, 2020

To succeed in sales, you need a steady stream of new opportunities entering the pipeline, whether it's with new clients or existing accounts. That's not as easy as it used to be, given that people are now working, buying, and selling virtually, and many organic opportunities to create sales opportunities have disappeared.

4 Virtual Selling Imperatives: Take the Lead for Success in the New Normal

Dave Shaby
October 14, 2020

How sales happen has changed significantly in just the last several months, and these changes are here to stay. Selling virtually has proven to be a challenge for even the most seasoned sellers. It requires sellers to be more strategic, more deliberate, and more proactive than ever before. It requires a refocused approach because the rules have changed. Our client work around the world, and our research in the area of virtual selling, has revealed a set of four keys that are most critical for virtual sales success:

10 Ways to Keep Buyers Engaged During Virtual Sales Meetings

Dave Shaby
October 7, 2020

Imagine this: You're in a live sales meeting in a conference room with three decision-makers, and one of them, while you're talking, pulls out their phone and starts responding to text and email messages. They continue to check the news and start fiddling on social media. You even hear a light snicker.

[Complimentary Guide] 4 Steps to Fill Your Pipeline with Quality Opportunities

Erica Schultz
October 1, 2020

Prospecting is a challenge for even the most experienced sellers, and with the shift to working, buying, and selling virtually, organic opportunities to make new connections and create conversations have disappeared. There aren't any in-person networking events, tradeshows, travel, or opportunities to grab dinner, a cup of coffee, or attend a sporting event together.

2 Questions Top Prospectors Ask (and You Should Too)

John Doerr
September 23, 2020

How many times have you received a prospecting email or phone call and said, "Sure, let's meet right away?" If you're like most of us, it probably doesn't happen very often. If you're on the other side and the one sending emails or making calls, what's your success rate? Probably pretty dismal. Congratulations! You're like most of the people we surveyed.

5 Sales Skills You Need to Master

Mike Schultz
September 16, 2020

To succeed in sales, you need to have the right skills. You have to be able to lead masterful sales conversations, manage opportunities, uncover needs, negotiate the best deals, fill the pipeline, develop relationships, and manage sellers. And today, you need to be successful in doing all of this with no face-to-face interaction. That's a lot to have to master. With the laundry list of sales skills needed, which are most important?

[Partner Webinar] Shape Your Sales Approach for the New Normal

Erica Schultz
September 9, 2020

Salespeople everywhere are struggling as they navigate changed budgets, new targets, and selling virtually. Some are even trying to force their in-person processes to work in a virtual world (spoiler: they don't).

What the Best Sales Negotiators Do Differently

Mike Schultz
September 2, 2020

Sales negotiation is a critical part of the sales process. It moves the deal to a close, and it's where both parties come to agree on the terms of the initiative, including the price. However, many sellers and organizations struggle with negotiating successfully. Seventy-seven percent of sellers report that negotiating with buyers virtually is challenging, and only 27% of buyers say that sellers are very effective at negotiating with them (from our Virtual Selling Skills & Challenges report). That means that less than one in three sellers does well in their virtual negotiations.

[Infographic] Climb Your Way to Virtual Selling Success

Erica Schultz
August 26, 2020

When the team at the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research surveyed 528 sellers and buyers on their virtual buying and selling experiences earlier this year, we uncovered significant gaps between what influences buyer purchase decisions and seller effectiveness. The sad truth? Only two or three in 10 sellers do well in the four areas that most influence purchase decisions.

How to Tackle the Top 8 Virtual Selling Challenges [SlideShare]

Erica Schultz
August 19, 2020

The RAIN Group Center for Sales Research has kept its finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the world of sales as we transition to virtual selling. Since beginning our research in Q2 2020, we’ve surveyed 528 sellers and buyers on their virtual buying and selling experiences. Our analysis has uncovered the top challenges of virtual selling, many of which buyers themselves have said are a deciding factor for purchase decisions. In the presentation below, we share the top challenges sellers face as they transition to virtual selling and how to tackle them.

One Thing Top Sales People Get Right (and How to Stop Talking So Much)

John Doerr
August 12, 2020

"Willy: I don't know why—I can't stop myself— I talk too much. A man oughta come in with a few words. Charlie's a man of few words, and they respect him. Linda: You don't talk too much, you're just lively." Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller We all have sympathy for poor Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. He knew he talked too much, but he couldn't figure out why. And he couldn't stop talking too much even though he wanted to be like Charlie, a man of few words who was respected by all. Let's face it: salespeople talk too much.

Virtual Selling: Your Guide to Standing Out in a Digital World

Erica Schultz
July 29, 2020

2020 has flipped sales on its head and driven unprecedented levels of virtual interaction. Sellers are faced with more challenges than ever. You can’t sell the same way you did before. You need to adapt, pivot, and change almost everything you did previously. If you want to thrive in sales today, it'll require you to transition to the new world of selling virtually, and take the "new norm" by storm. Whether you’ve been in sales for years or you’re just starting out, learning how to sell remotely can feel intimidating.

Virtual Sales Skills & Challenges: 18 Need-to-Know Stats

Mike Schultz
July 15, 2020

Developing relationships, collaborating online, leading virtual sales conversations, gaining and keeping attention, leveraging technology, making the ROI case, delivering value—these are challenging regardless of the selling and economic environment. But are they more difficult in a down economy while many sellers are transitioning to virtual sales? Are some sales skills more difficult to apply than others in a virtual environment? Where are sellers succeeding and failing according to buyers today?

Want to Build Greater Rapport Virtually? Do This One Thing

Erica Schultz
July 7, 2020

88% of sellers find developing relationships virtually challenging. It’s one of the biggest challenges sellers face today. Many sellers lament that it’s just not the same as meeting someone face-to-face. They struggle to connect and build trust. Fortunately, it’s possible to develop strong relationships even when you can't connect with buyers in person. One of the easiest ways?

Virtual Training Best Practices: How to Get and Keep Attention and Engagement

Andy Springer
July 1, 2020

Engagement Threshold (noun): The point at which attention is captured and maintained, and below which is lost. We teach the concept of the engagement threshold to sellers that need to hold buyers’ attention in virtual sales meetings. When we teach it to sellers, we need to gain and keep their attention. It’s never been easy, but in a virtual environment, it’s significantly more difficult.

Complimentary Report: Virtual Selling Skills & Challenges

Erica Schultz
June 24, 2020

What are the top challenges sellers face as they transition to virtual selling? How effective are sellers in the virtual space? What factors have the greatest influence on buyers' purchase decisions when buying virtually?

Make the Transition to Virtual Training: 3 Keys to Success

Erica Schultz
June 17, 2020

Since the global pandemic of 2020 began, virtual training has become imperative. But designing and delivering effective virtual training is the exception more than the norm.

How to Choose the Right VILT Platform

Andy Springer
June 10, 2020

We’re asked all the time about which platform for use for virtual instructor-led training (VILT). With all of the choices out there—Zoom, Adobe Connect, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, GoToWebinar, On24, etc.—which one is best? Like any good consultant, my answer to this question is, “It depends.” There isn't a straightforward answer because different platforms excel at different things. At RAIN Group, we’re platform agnostic and don't promote one platform over another. We partner with our clients to determine which platform is right for them and what they're looking to do. There are, however, three key considerations for platform selection.

10 Research-Backed Ways to Improve Sales Success

Mike Schultz
June 3, 2020

This article originally appeared in Entrepreneur and has been updated given the current sales environment. The first half of 2020 proved to significantly alter the way every single industry operates. Businesses have been forced to become more nimble and sellers have had to learn to sell virtually and remain productive while working from home. While this new environment has presented new challenges, many companies and individuals are adapting and succeeding even in tough times.

17 Common Virtual Selling Mistakes to Avoid

Dave Shaby
May 27, 2020

There are many mistakes to avoid when it comes to virtual selling. Although we all make—and learn from—our mistakes, they're often magnified in a virtual environment, which makes awareness and preparation paramount to success. Avoid these 17 common mistakes to impress your buyers and stand out from the competition:

Virtual and In-Person Training Are Different in These 6 Ways

Andy Springer
May 13, 2020

Ask the question, “What needs to happen at your company for successful virtual training now that sellers are working remote?” and you’re likely to get answers like this: Facilitators need to engage participants Content needs to be relevant to the buyers and scenarios sellers face Sellers need to practice the new skills Training needs to be dynamic and interactive It's a nice list, but not unique to virtual instructor-led training (vILT).

Your Virtual Selling Checklist: Take the Lead in Virtual Selling

Erica Schultz
May 6, 2020

Selling virtually is a challenge for even the best sellers. The Virtual Selling Checklist below will help you make the transition to virtual selling as you wrap your head around three key components to success: Selling: While many of the principles remain the same (i.e., building rapport, uncovering needs, inspiring with new ideas, building an impact case, etc.), how you go about doing these in a virtual environment is drastically different. Meeting technology and experience: From audio and video to lighting and background, you need to manage the experience to make it as seamless and pain-free as possible for your customers. Productivity: Working from home opens the door to distractions and disruptions, so it's important to proactively manage your time, environment, and goals.

Complimentary Guide: 9 Principles of Virtual Learning Success

Erica Schultz
April 29, 2020

Since the Coronavirus pandemic began, virtual training has become an imperative. But designing and delivering effective virtual training is more the exception than the norm. Virtual training failure is all too common. That’s because virtual training that works is still in its infancy, and most organizations struggle to convert what works for in-person training to a virtual environment.

5 Key Takeaways from Our Top-Performing Sales Organization Research

Mike Schultz
April 8, 2020

It’s never been more important for your sales organization to be firing on all thrusters. As buyers are tightening their purse strings and uncertainty in both health and economic spheres are plaguing companies, you need an optimized sales organization. In our Top-Performing Sales Organization research, we studied what the organizations with the highest win rates, revenue growth, and sales goal achievement do differently that allow them to achieve these results.

The #1 Tactic Buyers Use in Sales Negotiations

Mike Schultz
April 1, 2020

As the global economy teeters on the edge of uncertainty, companies are already canceling engagements, dropping vendors, and tightening their purse strings. They’re looking for any way to make their dollar stretch, and there’s no better time to do that than in contract negotiations. For industries still in buying mode, negotiations pose a unique opportunity to take advantage of desperate sellers struggling to meet their numbers.

The Massive Difference of Being a Top Performing Sales Negotiator

Mike Schultz
March 25, 2020

As businesses shut down and stock markets plummet during this global crisis, buyers are more money conscious than ever. In most industries, sales are stalling. Buyers are cutting spend and pushing vendors for deep discounts. This is an unprecedented time. It's essential that sellers are the best they can be, and that includes in sales negotiation. In fact, every dollar preserved in a negotiation goes straight to your bottom line. How much of a difference can it make?

On-Demand Webinar: 9 Key Principles of Virtual Learning Success

Erica Schultz
March 18, 2020

COVID-19 has rapidly accelerated changes in how business is done around the world. With employees working from home, travel bans, and new developments daily, virtual training has become an imperative. But many organizations have never done virtual training, and many L&D and sales enablement professionals are looking for new ideas and approaches. It’s easy for virtual training to fail, so how do you make it truly successful with so much riding on it?

Sales Training Reinforcement: How to Get it Right

Mike Schultz
March 11, 2020

Reinforcement has been a trend in the world of sales training for a while now. All the research data in sales training—and learning and development in general—supports the need for robust reinforcement. But it’s still not happening often enough. According to Aberdeen, fewer than half (44%) of companies formally follow-up initial sales training with reinforcement. At the same time, the companies that do reinforce training see 20% more sellers achieve sales quotas.

3-Step Framework for Leading Effective Sales Coaching Conversations

Mike Schultz
March 4, 2020

Many sales managers and coaches are never taught how to lead effective sales coaching conversations. So they start with, “What’s up?” Then they listen to sellers for an hour with a bit of back and forth about this opportunity or that one. They may talk about the need to fill the pipeline or come up with an idea to move one of the opportunities forward. And then the hour is up.

How to Write a Proposal

John Doerr
February 26, 2020

"Can you send me a proposal?" Sellers love to hear these six words from buyers. Once you submit a proposal, you can move forward to the win. While a good proposal summarizes what you've already discussed and agreed to, a proposal is, at its core, a persuasive document that communicates to buyers why they should buy, and why they should buy from you.

How Often Do Sellers Cave on Price?

Mike Schultz
February 19, 2020

Seller: “Based on your requirements X, Y, and Z, with setup and 90 days of consultation time, the price for the project will be $475,000.” Buyer: “Is this the best you can do? It’s more than I was expecting. While I’d prefer to go with you, [competitor] said they can do it for less.” Seller: “We are pretty confident in our pricing, but let me see what I can do and get back to you.” This is oversimplified, but it’s an all too common scenario in B2B selling. When you’re buying something big, you likely ask for discounts. If you do, it makes sense that others do, too. If you don’t ask for discounts, guess what? You’re in the minority.

[New Research] Top Performance in Sales Negotiation

Erica Schultz
February 12, 2020

What are the best strategies for success in sales negotiations? What do buyers really want? Which tactics work best for buyers? For sellers? How is negotiating with procurement different? The RAIN Group Center for Sales Research recently studied 713 buyers and sellers in a major global study to answer these questions and more. We analyzed data from 449 buyers representing $2.59 billion in annual purchases and 264 sellers in over 26 industries across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.

[On-Demand Webinar] The State of Sales Negotiation

Erica Schultz
February 5, 2020

Whether you work on a sale for 9 days, 9 weeks, or 9 months, you can lose it in an instant during the negotiation. Even if you win, you may watch your margin slip away, the buyer piecemeal the product or solution set, or find yourself fighting against any number of hardball tactics. Plus, many sellers make serious negotiation mistakes that drive down profits and damage customer relationships.

5 Ways Buyers Ask For—and Get—Lower Prices

Mike Schultz
January 29, 2020

Win-win negotiation is the way to go…except in one situation: when the buyer has their hand in your pocket. Whether they're doing it intentionally or just out of habit, sometimes buyers try to push down seller prices just to see if they can. When they do, you should counter with value, but you also have to signal as you respond, "That won't work. I know what I'm doing." (Without, by the way, saying it like that.) You need to respond in a way that gets this message across and gets the discussion back on track.

The Massive Returns of a Value-Based Sales Approach

Mike Schultz
January 22, 2020

Everyone says, "Sell value, drive value, make sure buyers both perceive and receive exceptional value from you, and your sales teams will be more successful."

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.

Happy Holidays from RAIN Group

Erica Schultz
December 23, 2019

Wishing our clients, friends, readers, and followers a very happy holiday season and joyful New Year. It’s truly an honor to be a part of your journey as you and your team unleash your sales potential and achieve your goals. Your success is our success, and we look forward to working together in 2020 and beyond. From all of us at RAIN Group: Happy Holidays!

On-Demand Webinar: 20 Sales Tips in 20 Minutes for 2020

Erica Schultz
December 11, 2019

With 2020 less than a month away, it’s time to think about what sales success looks like for you in the new decade. Are changes in buyer behavior affecting your sales success? Are your accounts buying as much or as often as they could be? Are you losing big in negotiations?

[New White Paper] The 5 Most Effective Negotiation Tactics Buyers Use on Sellers

Erica Schultz
December 4, 2019

Picture this: You're meeting with your prospect after months of discussions. You have a great relationship. You did facilitated sessions, interviews, and organized a global team for the roll out. If you win, this will be your biggest close of the quarter. All signs look a-go, but you still have one remaining meeting to work out, according to your prospect, "the key terms and conditions." You walk into the room and hear… "I've brought along my colleague, Darth CFO…" "I can get that signed today if you give us this one last thing…"

Planning to Win: Your Sales Negotiation Checklist

Mike Schultz
November 27, 2019

Preparation is often the greatest determinant of negotiation success. Across negotiation studies and surveys, sellers who get the best outcomes: Know what they sell Research buyer wants and needs through sources other than the buyer Have a keen understanding of the buyer’s day-to-day life and concerns Prepare for each negotiation with trades, counteroffers, and knowledge of their walk-away points

Who Should Make the First Offer in a Negotiation?

Mike Schultz
November 20, 2019

Who should go first in a negotiation when it comes to offering a price, solution, and agreement to key terms? Do you ask for a budget and then craft what you do from there? Or do you, once you know what the needs and major parameters might be, suggest a solution and a price before talking about budget? It’s a common question, one that continues to baffle many sellers. They fear that if they go first, they will leave money on the table, or risk going too high and having the buyer say, “That’s nowhere near what we were thinking,” or anything in between.

4 Essential Elements of a Winning Prospecting Strategy

Mike Schultz
November 6, 2019

There are few areas of selling filled with more uncertainty, challenges, and conflicting advice than prospecting. Success in sales prospecting requires breaking through the noise to capture buyers' attention and influence them to meet with you. Which begs a few questions: What does capture buyers’ attention? Do buyers want to hear from sellers, and if so, when? How should sellers reach out and connect with buyers?

Sales Rep Onboarding: How Long Does It Really Take?

Mike Schultz
October 30, 2019

Finding and hiring new sales talent is a long and expensive process. Once the new rep is hired, it takes time to onboard them. Especially challenging during the ramp-up period is building their knowledge in: Your customers' businesses—their markets, industries, customers, regulations, etc. The needs you solve and how to identify those needs

Sales Training Best Practices: What World-Class Organizations Do

Dave Shaby
October 23, 2019

In most organizations, it’s easy to make the case that millions, hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars in financial gain can be had through sales improvement. You can affect growth. You can affect competitiveness. You can affect stock price. These are common items on leadership top priority lists.

On-Demand Webinar: How to Inspire Buyers with Ideas, Differentiate, and Win Sales

Erica Schultz
October 16, 2019

Sellers who win more often bring new ideas and perspectives to their buyers. In fact, 71% of buyers report that they want to talk to sellers early in the sales process when they are looking for new ideas. But what ideas inspire buyers? How can you shape buyer agendas for action? How can you differentiate in sales?

6 Common LinkedIn Selling Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Mike Schultz
October 9, 2019

LinkedIn is a powerful prospecting and sales tool. It’s a great way to connect with new buyers, stay top of mind, and engage with your network. The vast majority of buyers, especially company execs, engage with sellers on LinkedIn before making a purchase decision. In fact, we were shocked to discover that C-level executives consult LinkedIn more often than any other demographic.

The Sales Training and Enablement Revolution

Mike Schultz
September 25, 2019

The cliché of clichés to open an article like this is to say change is afoot. So I won't open with "change is afoot." In the world of sales training and enablement, change is explosive. There's a revolution going on in training and sales enablement that organizations can no longer ignore.

How Do You Build Rapport with Customers?

Mike Schultz
September 18, 2019

Everybody's brain has two different processing centers: emotional and rational. The emotional brain is old. It developed millions of years ago, first with raw instincts—like fight or flight—that all animals have, and then into more complex emotions for us humans like anger, aggression, desire, fear, hatred, passion, love, disgust, sympathy, and so on. Then there's the rational side, which developed more like tens of thousands of years ago. This part of the brain is more deliberate, analyzing and studying, and thinking about the future consequences of various possible actions.

[New Guide] The Complete Guide to Sales Training Success

Erica Schultz
September 11, 2019

Sales training is often approached with a car wash mentality: You're in, you're out, and you're ready to sell. But this isn't how real learning happens. This isn't how you help sellers raise the bar and change how they sell. It's time for an entirely new approach to sales education; an approach that overhauls the way sales training is conceived, designed, and executed over the long-term. An approach that drives real behavior change and results.

7 Questions to Uncover Impact and ROI

Mike Schultz
August 28, 2019

Show them the impact. Make a strong ROI case. Sell the value. Sales pros tout the benefits of making a strong ROI (return on investment) case all the time. Yet we see sellers time and again who don't know how to calculate and communicate the impact of their solutions. They focus on features in their conversations and highlight the benefits, but don't convey what it means for each individual buyer and the difference it can make for them—financially, personally, and emotionally.

How to Use Social Media for Sales Research

Mike Schultz
July 24, 2019

This RAIN Group article originally appeared on MarketingProfs. Sellers have a huge opportunity to take advantage of the vast amounts of information about their buyers that's available on social media. And yet, they don't. Whether you're researching new prospective buyers before reaching out, a buyer before a sales conversation, or a target industry, social media should be one of the first places you look. Here are a few ways you can use major social media sites for sales research.

Top Sales Challenges and Priorities for Sales Enablement and Leaders

Mike Schultz
June 26, 2019

What challenges do sales enablement and sales leaders encounter most often? Which ones are most difficult to tackle? What are the top sales priorities for the next 12 months? How should they be addressed to ensure they're achieved? To find out the answers to these questions, we surveyed 423 sales, enablement, and company leaders. The results are fascinating. As sales researchers and analysts, it helps us to see not only what's changed, but also what's changing right now and where the industry is going.

[On-Demand Webinar] 3 Strategies to Overcome Sales Leadership Challenges and Achieve Priorities

Erica Schultz
June 19, 2019

Delivering value, making the ROI case, retaining customers, growing accounts, recruiting top talent, forecasting, implementing a sales process, utilizing sales technologies, winning against the competition, developing sales managers, coaching sales teams, generating leads, onboarding, productivity, compensation... There's no shortage of challenges sales leaders face. Recently, we surveyed 423 sales, enablement, and company leaders to uncover their top challenges and priorities, and how they approach them.

Top Sales Leadership Challenges and Priorities [New Complimentary Report]

Erica Schultz
June 12, 2019

What are the top challenges sales enablement and sales leaders face today? What are their top priorities? Which are most difficult to tackle? How should they be tackled? To find out, we asked 423 sales, enablement, and company leaders these questions. This report contains our findings, including 3 initiatives that will help sales and enablement leaders address their challenges and achieve their priorities.

54 Sales Quotes to Motivate and Inspire [SlideShare]

Erica Schultz
May 29, 2019

Want to succeed in sales? Need a little extra motivation? Looking for inspiration and best practices? You're in luck. We've compiled 54 of our favorite sales quotes from RAIN Group's best-selling books, research reports, white papers, and award-winning blog that will inspire you and your sales team to reach top performance.

3 Ways to Spark Motivation and Increase Your Drive

Mike Schultz
May 22, 2019

Fitness centers are packed in January—everyone's motivated to lose those holiday pounds. Then, a month later, the place clears out. What happened? Where did everyone go? I can tell you: their motivation crashed and burned. There one month, gone the next. Is it gone forever? Thankfully, no. What happens, though, is that most people wait for motivation. They don't do what they can do, at any time, to bring it forth. They don't do what they can do to manufacture their own motivation.

Defend Yourself Against Productivity Dragons [Infographic]

Erica Schultz
April 18, 2019

Something new vies for your attention every few minutes: emails, text messages, collaboration tools, phone calls, co-workers, meetings, customers, and the list goes on. The result? Productivity suffers. But with discipline and preparation, you can defeat these productivity dragons. We know it's possible because we recently surveyed 2,377 professionals to find out which habits and hacks, when applied in different combinations, drive not only productivity, but also top performance versus peers, job satisfaction, and happiness. With only 14% of people rating themselves Extremely Productive (The XP), there's a huge opportunity for 86% of people to take control of their time, achieve top performance, and slay their productivity-killing dragons. This infographic teaches you how to take advantage of that opportunity.

16 Negotiation Tactics Buyers Use (and How to Respond)

Mike Schultz
April 10, 2019

Buyer and seller negotiations are a fun dance. While these negotiations are usually partner-focused (win-win), buyers often use standoffish tactics to gain an advantage in the negotiation at the seller's expense. Even if you—as the seller—have a win-win mindset and approach, you need to know how to maneuver the situation when buyers throw you curveballs. You need the right negotiation skills to bolster your success.

Maximizing Sales Motivation: 3 Habits and 9 Hacks to Get More Motivated [On-Demand Webinar]

Erica Schultz
March 20, 2019

There's no denying that having a highly motivated sales team ready to give their full energy and effort day in and day out has a huge impact on your organization's success. But how exactly can you increase your motivation and that of your team? In this on-demand webinar, RAIN Group President John Doerr will share 3 Habits and 9 hacks proven to boost sales motivation.

How to Start Your Morning Right: 5 Steps to a More Productive Day

Mike Schultz
February 27, 2019

This RAIN Group article was originally published on the Heinz Marketing Blog. Isn't it amazing how some days just start off better than others? You wake up feeling refreshed, the kids practically get themselves ready, and when you show up at work, you accomplish a lot within the first hour. It feels like everything is going your way. Then there are days when it's a struggle to get out of bed and get to work. Even your computer fights you by turning on slowly or running virus scans. When the day starts, nothing goes your way. Then it gets worse. Wouldn't it be nice to have more of the former and less of the latter? How much more productive would you be? This can be your reality. You can control how the day starts.

11 Ways You Can Influence Buyers to Connect With You

Mike Schultz
February 13, 2019

This article was originally published on the Sales Enablement Society. Sellers often complain that it's impossible to get through to buyers. Gatekeepers are tough. Buyers are busy. Calls go to voicemail. Email goes to junk. The list goes on. While getting through certainly isn't easy, sellers who work at it do get through. In fact, 82% of buyers say they accept meetings at least sometimes with sellers who reach out to them.

What Makes for Successful Sales Coaching

Mike Schultz
February 6, 2019

"Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime." This is a popular axiom in the coaching world. You'll find it everywhere. Here it is in a CBS News story: "Myth 8: Professional coaches tell their clients what to do and give them advice. Fact: Bad or inexperienced coaches tell their clients what to do and are constantly giving advice. Good coaches do not…Instead, coaches help their clients explore and come up with the best choices for them based on where they are and the client's vision for their future. Coaches are experts at the process of changing behavior, which is much more valuable than giving instructions."

Core Competencies of Successful Sellers

Mike Schultz
January 24, 2019

There are common competencies every organization needs to build a truly successful sales organization. At RAIN Group, we organize these competencies around the Sales Competency WheelSM.

3 Ways to Make Your Sales Training System More Effective

Mike Schultz
January 16, 2019

The most popular and effective diets and workout routines—ones that lead to the most dramatic changes—have specific guidelines and rules for how to follow the system. No such system existed for sales—until now. And, it works.

The New Revolution in Sales Coaching

Mike Schultz
January 3, 2019

Most leaders agree the opportunity to improve sales performance through coaching is tremendous, including: Maximizing sales wins for their most important opportunities Filling the pipeline with new, qualified opportunities Maximizing sales to key accounts Focusing sellers’ time on the most important activities Developing skills, knowledge, and attributes to get to the next level of performance Keeping sales activities and motivation at the highest sustainable level These leaders are turning to coaching because coaching is an increasingly popular—and increasingly proven—method of improving performance.

The Top 5 Opportunities for Sales Growth in 2019 [On-Demand Webinar]

Erica Schultz
December 5, 2018

The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different. -Peter Drucker With the New Year less than a month away, it's time to think about what will be different in the year ahead. Where will you direct your focus to reach your goals and grow your sales? What are the opportunities for your organization? What do you need to do to seize them? In this webinar, RAIN Group President Mike Schultz shares data from the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research on sellers, sales leaders, and buyers, uncovering the biggest opportunities for sales growth in the year ahead.

Goal Setting Worksheet: A Powerful Tool for Setting and Reaching Goals

Mike Schultz
November 14, 2018

In our Goal Setting Worksheet, we outline a 5-step process that not only helps you set goals, but also gives you the best chance to reach them. Here we provide some goal setting examples, accompanied by visuals from the worksheet, to give you a sense of how to set goals and put actions in place to achieve them.

5 Ways to Grow Pipelines and Secure Meetings

Mike Schultz
October 17, 2018

This piece originally appeared in the August 2018 edition of Independent Agent magazine and is reprinted here with permission. Word of mouth, repeat business and referrals used to be enough to maintain a thriving sales organization. But today, buyers have more options than ever before, they're more educated, and the phone doesn't ring like it used to. That means sellers need to be proactive in growing their pipelines and securing meetings with buyers. Here are five ways to get started:

3 Key Considerations for More Accurate Sales Reports

Molly Clarke, Senior Marketing Manager, ZoomInfo
October 10, 2018

If you've worked in sales for any length of time, you've likely heard the phrase, "Sales is a numbers game." It's true. A profitable sales organization relies on the careful analysis of success metrics, performance data, and sales reports. If your sales reports are incomplete, inaccurate, or just plain wrong, the outcome is simple: misguided and ineffective selling. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent reporting mistakes before they impact your sales team. Following are 3 factors to consider that will help you generate more accurate sales reports and execute a more profitable sales strategy.

The Top Sales Skills of The Best Sellers

Mike Schultz
September 19, 2018

To find and win business consistently, your sellers need to have the right mix of sales skills across the sales process, from filling the front-end of the pipeline to growing accounts. Too many sales teams have significant skill deficits preventing them from turning their potential for sales growth into reality. In The Top-Performing Sales Organization research initiative, we looked at the differences between Top Performers and The Rest across sales skills and knowledge needed to drive sales performance. The gaps in skills are eye-opening.

9 Tips for Success in Financial Services Sales

Mike Schultz
September 5, 2018

Written by: Mike Schultz and Gord Smith When it comes to selling financial services, professionals are usually faced with three common challenges: Creating new conversations with potential clients Leading conversations and winning business against stiff competition Maximizing business with current clients The good news is that you can overcome these hurdles. There are specific things you can do in each of these areas to be more successful.

6 Ways to Boost Sales in Your Organization

Mike Schultz
June 6, 2018

There is no magic way to achieve sales success. However, there is one significant concept that helps the companies and sellers who embrace it—those who make it part of the fabric of who they are and who their sales organization is—experience wildly successful sales results. If you want to boost sales and join their ranks, you must become a Value-Driving Sales Organization. Value-Driving Sales Organizations have significantly higher win rates and revenue growth, and lower undesired turnover. They not only win more at higher margins, but also retain top sales talent.

[Infographic] Fact vs. Fiction: The Sales Prospecting Edition

Erica Schultz
May 30, 2018

Sales prospecting has changed more than any other facet of sales in the last 10 years. There are a lot of clickbait articles with radical advice popping up and leading sellers astray. In our new benchmark report, Top Performance in Sales Prospecting, we undertook a study of 488 B2B buyers and 489 sellers to find out what's working and what's not in sales prospecting. In this infographic, we contrast 5 popular assumptions about prospecting with facts from the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research.

9 Keys to B2B Sales Success

Mike Schultz
May 2, 2018

There are a lot of opinions on what to do to drive sales success. I Googled the topic and found over 60 distinct pieces of advice for what to do and not to do, but most of the advice was, indeed, just opinions. Any references to research or proven success was tangential at best. You deserve better! Based on our work with B2B sales teams around the globe, as well as data from the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research, where we relentlessly study what the top sellers do and what buyers are looking for, we have gleaned 9 keys to achieving success in today's B2B sales environment.

Infographic: 30 Must-Know Sales Prospecting Stats and What They Mean for Sellers

Erica Schultz
April 24, 2018

How many attempts does it take to break through to busy buyers? What offers are most accepted? Do cold meetings convert to new business? In our new benchmark report, Top Performance in Sales Prospecting, the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research uncovered the answers to these critical prospecting questions. With data from 488 B2B buyers and 489 sellers, we've cracked the code on what works in prospecting today. This infographic highlights 30 must-know stats from our research and analysis and what they mean for sellers in today's world.

How to Fill Your Pipeline with Qualified Leads

Mike Schultz
April 4, 2018

Put me in front of 10 buyers and I'll close 7 of them. All I need is more meetings. I hear this from sellers all the time. Get me more "at bats" and I'll get the hits. To succeed in sales, you need a consistent stream of new leads to fill the front end of the pipeline. You can't, however, just sit back and wait for the phone to ring or email to ding. You need to be proactive in filling your own pipeline if you're going to succeed with prospecting.

How Many Touches Does It Take to Make a Sale?

Mike Schultz
March 28, 2018

How many touches does it take to make a sale? The simple answer is: more than most people think! According to our Top Performance in Sales Prospecting research, it takes an average of 8 touches to get an initial meeting (or other conversion) with a new prospect. But the initial meeting is just the beginning. It takes a lot more to make the sale.

When Do Buyers Want to Talk to Sellers? The Time Is Now

Mike Schultz
March 21, 2018

There are 2 stats that are cited in sales articles all the time: 57% of the purchase decision is made before a customer calls a supplier 67% of the buying journey is now done digitally The question, however, is so what? Sellers and sales leaders often interpret this to mean that buyers don't want to hear from sellers. This is far from the truth.

On-Demand Webinar: How to Break Through and Secure Meetings with Busy Buyers

Erica Schultz
March 14, 2018

Buyers are awash with information, bombarded with sales and marketing messages, crazy busy, and tasked to do more with less. Yet they still want to hear from sellers and they still accept meetings with sellers who reach out to them proactively. 82% of buyers will accept meetings with sellers who reach out. The sellers who secure these meetings achieve significantly greater success with a much different approach.

Want the Best Sales Training? Focus on These 9 Outcomes

John Doerr
March 7, 2018

When you're considering sales training, it's important to know what results you want to drive. Before any initiative, you need to answer one simple question: What do we want to achieve? There are many possible targeted outcomes of sales training from growing revenue and improving margins to increasing the average size of sale and growing accounts. Make sure whatever sales training initiatives you choose match up with your desired outcomes. As you think about your own sales training efforts, consider these possible results and how to achieve them.

Sales Negotiation Strategies for Dealing with Reverse Auctions

Mike Schultz
February 28, 2018

Reverse auctions (also called e-auctions) are a common negotiation technique used more and more frequently by large organizations. For the most part, sellers don't dislike reverse auctions—they loathe them. The point of a reverse auction is to drive down supplier prices to their absolute lowest while driving expectations of suppliers to their highest. As the process (typically) removes human interaction from the equation, sellers often feel at a complete loss to do anything but participate in the auction or walk away. There's a lot more to it. Below you'll find negotiation strategies you can use before and during the reverse auction process to get the best results for you and your buyer.

How to Lead the 4 Stages of Sales Negotiation

Mike Schultz
February 22, 2018

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." Warren Bennis, Author, On Becoming a Leader When it comes to sales negotiations, all too often sellers: Don't plan for successful negotiated outcomes Let the buyer define the negotiation process and venue Allow the buyer to set the agenda for negotiation-focused meetings

5 Tips for Developing Your Sales and Marketing Strategy

Lee Frederiksen
February 21, 2018

A proper sales and marketing strategy involves more than just running some ads and cold-calling a list of prospects. Developing the right strategy is a process that requires research to discover who your prime sales prospects are, what motivates their purchasing, and how your firm fits in the marketplace. The data your research provides is what will drive your sales and marketing strategy. With the right plan, growth and profitability are predictable and controllable. Effective sales and marketing requires talent, expertise, effort, and consistency. If that doesn't exist inside your organization, then it's important that you find an outside resource that can help you develop and implement your strategy.

The Definition of Sales Management - What's Missing

Mike Schultz
February 14, 2018

The state of sales management in many companies is disturbing. Consider these stats from our Top-Performing Sales Organization study: 66% of companies do not believe their sales managers have the skills needed to manage and coach sellers. Elite performers are 2.4x more likely to agree that sales managers and leaders are effective at maximizing selling energy. 71% of companies do not believe people in selling roles manage their time and day effectively. Almost 7 out of every 10 sales managers do not have the skills they need to do their jobs effectively! Astounding. It's certainly understandable, though. Sales managers are directed, by the very definition of sales management, down the wrong path.

4 Skills Your Technical Sales Experts Need to Have

Mike Schultz
February 7, 2018

Solution engineers, technical consultants, solutions consultants—whatever you choose to call the technical expert on your sales team—they play a significant role in the sales and account-development process. In our research, Top Performance in Strategic Account Management, we analyzed data from 397 executives, strategic account managers, and sales professionals to learn what sets the companies that are best at growing their strategic accounts—Top Performers—apart from The Rest. Overall, we assessed 32 skills comprising six roles strategic account managers play: Results Driver, Project Manager, Technical Expert, Innovator, Collaborator, and Relationship Lead.

RAIN Group's Best of 2017

Erica Schultz
January 3, 2018

Each year, our goal for the RAIN Group Sales Blog is to provide you with research, ideas, and insight to help you unleash your sales potential. From regular blog posts to new white papers, ebooks, webinars, and research, we have, and will continue to release valuable insight on what you as a seller can do to set yourself apart from the rest. In case you missed some of our new sales content this year, we've compiled a list of our top 10 most popular content pieces from 2017 that will guide you on your path towards sales success.

5 Steps of Rapid Preparation for Negotiation Success

Mike Schultz
December 13, 2017

"Unfortunately, there seems to be far more opportunity out there than ability... We should remember that good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation." Thomas A. Edison Preparation is often the greatest determinant of negotiation success. Across negotiation studies and surveys, we see sellers who get the best outcomes: know what they sell, research buyer wants and needs through sources other than the buyer, have a keen understanding of the buyer's day-to-day life and concerns, and prepare for each negotiation with trades, counteroffers, and knowledge of their walk-away points.

5 Key Influences on Sales Motivation

Mike Schultz
November 21, 2017

To optimize your sales force, you need to have a highly-motivated team bringing their "A game" day in and day out. Often times, it's up to the sales managers to make sure their team maintains this positive and results-driven attitude on a daily basis. According to our Top-Performing Sales Organization research, 55% of Top Performers agree that managers are effective at creating and sustaining maximum selling energy, compared to only 32% of The Rest. But management is not the only key influence on sales motivation.

Infographic: 9 Ways to Crush Your Sales Goals

Erica Schultz
November 14, 2017

Most sales are won and lost based on one key factor: You. You hold the keys to your sales success. Competitors don’t win because their offerings are more impressive. They win because they deliver a superior sales experience. You can too.

4 Tips to Avoid Caving in Sales Negotiations

Mike Schultz
November 8, 2017

My grandfather Sidney was raised during the great depression. Often hungry growing up, he learned the value of a dollar the hard way. It stuck with him the rest of his life. When I was in college, he never let me call him because he would say it was long-distance. I told him that the distance was long, but the call didn't cost anything. Still, he could barely stay on the phone for 5 minutes. I could visualize the nickels clinking in his mind, making him uncomfortable with the cost of the call.

Emotion is Not the Enemy: 7 Ways to Use Emotion to Your Advantage in Sales Negotiations

Mike Schultz
October 25, 2017

It's common advice to minimize emotions in a negotiation. For example, the reading line of the article "Emotion: The 'Enemy' of Negotiation" is "To succeed in negotiation, says one Wharton expert, one must take emotion out of the equation." We disagree. Emotions are primary drivers of decision making in buying, and primary drivers in negotiation outcomes. Emotions shouldn't be minimized. Instead, they should be guided and managed for both buyer and seller so that the best outcome can be achieved by all.

How to Build Value in Sales Negotiations

Mike Schultz
September 27, 2017

In our research report, The Value Driving Difference, we studied almost 500 organizations' practices regarding how focused they are on driving value for buyers. Companies that rose to the top as Value-Driving Sales Organizations had higher sales win rates, were more likely to grow revenue, had lower undesired sales staff turnover, and much more highly motivated sellers. They were also two times more likely to agree that they capture maximum prices in line with their value. There's no question: If you want to succeed in sales, you should focus on driving value.

The #1 Way to Decrease Anxiety and Gain Leverage in Sales Negotiations

Mike Schultz
August 9, 2017

Alison Brooks and Maurice Schweitzer, two researchers at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted an experiment to induce varying levels of anxiety among negotiators. One group was subjected to the not-so-melodious screeching strings from Psycho. The other group was treated to calming Water Music by Handel. After listening for a while, the groups were sent off to conduct simulated negotiations.

How to Clear Your Pipeline of Dead Wood

Mike Schultz
July 12, 2017

It's an all too familiar story. A seller's pipeline looks full! Bursting. Exciting. It stays like that for 2 months, 5 months, 10 months… more keeps going in. Nothing comes out. It looked great, but it wasn't great. Not even good. Too many sellers have lots of opportunities in their pipelines that shouldn't be there. Neither managers nor sellers want mirage pipelines with visions of promised lands that simply aren't there.

5 Sales Strategies for When Buyers Go Cold

Mike Schultz
June 7, 2017

By: Mike Schultz and Jason Murray After three months of talking and promises of moving forward, your fully qualified, enthusiastic champion is ready to pull the trigger. You send them a proposal and…silence. It's frustrating when buyers go cold. Whether late in the process or after one good meeting, most sellers at least want to hear, "No," or, "Here's what happened," or, "I'm still interested, but something happened…" Unfortunately, sellers often don't get the high sign from buyers, just the cold shoulder. Before we cover tactics you can use to resurrect opportunities with buyers who go cold, it helps to understand why buyers go cold.

Making the Business Case for Sales Training: New Research on Supporting Top Performance

Mike Schultz
May 24, 2017

Executives are always on a mission to prove Kirkpatrick Level 4 measurement of training: Results. Specifically, they want to know to what degree targeted outcomes occur as a result of the training event and subsequent reinforcement. There is relatively little data on how sales training correlates to business performance and results. That is, until now.

[On-Demand Webinar] Win Labs: A Comprehensive, Repeatable Process for Winning More Sales

Erica Schultz
May 10, 2017

When you look at your pipeline, do you see opportunities that just won't move? Do days, weeks, and even months go by with the same opportunities staring back at you? Worse yet, are you losing more of your opportunities than you'd like? No doubt, these are the same opportunities that would make the biggest difference to your quarterly results if only you could crack the code.

Infographic: 5 Sales Skills to Differentiate Your Team

Erica Schultz
April 25, 2017

In our recent Top-Performing Sales Organization study, we were particularly interested in the sales skills that stood out when sellers not only met their goals, but also believed their goals were challenging.

5 Sales Training Ideas to Improve Results (and Sustain Them)

Mike Schultz
April 19, 2017

By now you know that teaching people how to sell and become Top Performers takes more than a one- or two-day event. It takes ongoing reinforcement. Sales training is a change initiative. Going through a single class in two days does not change the way sellers sell. Change happens over time, once sellers get back to work and start implementing newly learned skills.

What Makes for Successful Strategic Account Management?

Mike Schultz
February 8, 2017

Why are some companies able to consistently grow their strategic accounts and maximize value while others struggle? This is a question that confounds many a sales leader. Some think it is largely related to the strength of product and service offerings. The companies that grow their accounts the most must have superior offerings that keep customers coming back for more, right?

6 Strategic Account Management Roles Every Company Needs to Know About

Mike Schultz
January 18, 2017

Ask leaders at companies how much more they believe they could be selling to their strategic accounts and you don't hear 5%, 10%, or 20%. It's usually more like, "We should be selling 2 times…3 times…even more." Ask what's in their way and you'll often get this answer, "Our strategic account managers just aren't doing what they need to do to penetrate the account, cross-sell, and keep the competition out so we can truly grow our accounts to their potential."

4 Key Components of Sales Enablement

Mike Schultz
October 19, 2016

Sales enablement is one of the eight categories of the Sales Performance WheelSM that we study when analyzing what drives sales performance. This category focuses on the different ways in which supporting sellers to be most effective allows them to reach their full potential, thus improving the organization's sales performance.

[New White Paper] Competencies of Strategic Account Managers

Erica Schultz
October 12, 2016

As part of our research this year, we have learned: The number one priority of sales leaders for the upcoming year is to increase business with existing accounts. Since 2012, there has been a marked increase in growth potential within existing accounts.

6 Ways Selling is Changing

Mike Schultz
August 24, 2016

Selling like it's 1987 (or even 2007) doesn't work like it used to. The way buyers and sellers interact—and will interact—is changing significantly.

6 Key Areas to Optimize Sales Operations

Mike Schultz
July 27, 2016

It may not be considered the most glamorous aspect of sales management, but as business and technology have evolved, it’s widely acknowledged that getting sales operations right is imperative for a smoothly run, effective sales organization. On his blog, Matt Heinz of Heinz Marketing even hails it as “THE most important and unsung hero for sales teams.”

4 Keys to Improving Sales Performance

Mike Schultz
July 13, 2016

While quite a bit of research has been published on what sellers need to do to achieve top sales performance, there’s relatively little on what separates top-performing sales organizations from the rest. To find out, the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research gathered data from 472 respondents representing companies with sales forces ranging in size from 10 sellers to 5,000 plus and published the results in the Top-Performing Sales Organization Benchmark Report.

Top 12 Differences Between the Best Sales Organizations and The Rest

Mike Schultz
June 29, 2016

In our Top-Performing Sales Organization research, our goal was to assess what the Top Performers do differently than The Rest to achieve the best results. Top Performers have higher win rates, meet their annual sales goals, are more likely to set challenging sales goals, and are more likely achieve maximum prices in line with the value they provide. We analyzed data from 472 sellers and executives representing companies with sales forces between 10 and 5,000+ sellers. Top Performers represent the top 20% of our database. The Rest—the bottom 80%.

4 Key Components of Your Sales Organization's Structure

Mike Schultz
June 1, 2016

In sales forces of any size, changing the sales organization structure is an uphill battle. Structure relates to the organization of selling at the company, including sales compensation, territory design, account and lead assignments, and more.

What is Consultative Selling?

Mike Schultz
May 10, 2016

For years, traditional consultative selling was the approach many sellers used to successfully compete and consistently win sales. Today, it’s no longer enough.

Analyzing Sales Performance: Components of Strategy

Mike Schultz
May 3, 2016

As they say, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. If you want to drive sales performance at a company, you can focus on all sorts of tactical areas—from people and training to enablement and operations—but none of these address the fundamental questions: Where are we going? What are we doing to achieve our goals? Who will lead us there?

Advanced Consultative Selling: Selling in the Blue Ocean

Mike Schultz
April 26, 2016

For the last 50 or so years, consultative selling has been the go-to approach for most sellers. In traditional consultative selling, the buyer states a need and the seller positions their offerings as solutions to problems. This used to be enough to win the sale. But today’s buyers often perceive sellers and their capabilities to be somewhat interchangeable.1 This leaves sellers stuck in a capabilities battle, fighting price pressure.

[New White Paper] The Future of Consultative Selling

Erica Schultz
April 18, 2016

Since the term was coined in 1970, consultative selling has been the most widely accepted—and pursued—sales approach. For the following forty years, advice for how to sell had mostly been a variation on the consultative selling theme.

What Defines a Top-Performing Sales Organization?

Mike Schultz
April 14, 2016

Two sellers are talking at the end of the day. One turns to the other and asks, “How was your day?” “I had a great day,” the second seller says. “I sent out two proposals this morning, had a great first meeting with a new potential buyer, and finally got a meeting with a decision maker I’ve been trying to reach for a year!” Feeling proud, he asks the first seller, “How was your day?” He answers, “I didn’t sell anything either.” This is one of the challenging-yet-great things about sales. It’s measurable. At some point, you have to bring in the wins or you fail. Which begs the question, “What brings in the wins?” A few years ago we studied this from the buyer perspective and published the results in our book Insight Selling.

The 8 Categories of the Sales Performance Wheel

Mike Schultz
March 15, 2016

People often ask us, “What should we do to drive our sales success?” It’s a complicated question. It’s not easy to decide what to tackle, when to tackle it, what results the organization should be targeting, where you can get the biggest bang for your buck, and what it really takes to get those results without further analysis.

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.

9 Guidelines for Leading a Sales Performance Analysis

Mike Schultz
March 2, 2016

Sales performance analysis is typically quite involved and complex. It’s no easy task to figure out how to improve, change, or build a sales strategy. But for those sales leaders who are taking a longer-term view and looking into sales performance optimization, a performance analysis is a necessary precursor.

Average Sales Win Rates: How Do You Compare?

Mike Schultz
February 16, 2016

Most sellers and sales leaders often ask themselves: "Is my win rate any good?" Win rate is one of the most basic measures of your sales success, so it’s only natural to want to benchmark your performance against the average to see how you stack up.

The ABCs of Selling

Mike Schultz
February 16, 2016

At some point or another, you've probably heard of the ABCs of selling: Always Be Closing. The mantra was popularized by Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross (warning: strong language).

[New White Paper] 8 Drivers of Sales Performance

Erica Schultz
January 25, 2016

In the mid-1990s, a fairly common sales strategy was to give a seller a desk, a phone, a business directory, and say, "Go." Fast forward to today, and selling has become significantly more complex. Companies report ever-increasing challenges regarding product and service commoditization, proliferation of competition, and more informed and sophisticated buyers.

Infographic: 8 Tips for Beating Your Sales Goals

Erica Schultz
December 8, 2015

Even small improvements in win rate can have a huge impact on revenue. Based on findings from The Top-Performing Sales Organization Benchmark Report, the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research has identified 8 key areas that contribute to higher win rates that will help you beat your sales goals and reach Top Performer status this year:

How to Develop and Maintain Strong Client Relationships

Mike Schultz
November 16, 2015

You know you need to differentiate yourself from your competition. And having a strong value proposition can help you do so. But sometimes buyers might consider your services to be the same as those from other providers. What do you do in that situation? It actually comes down to the relationship-whether the buyer likes you-says RAIN Group President Mike Schultz.

The Secret to Selling Professional Services

Mike Schultz
November 11, 2015

Selling. What images come to mind when you see this word? Close your eyes and say the word out loud. How does it make you feel?

'How Much Does it Cost?' What to Say When It's Too Early to Determine

Erica Schultz
November 11, 2015

Here's the situation: it's the first, maybe second, serious conversation with a prospect. You're asking questions, you're building great rapport, you're uncovering a slew of needs, and you're already seeing how you can help this prospect in 10 different ways. The conversation is going great. That is until the prospect says, "Wow, this all sounds good. So, what's something like this going to cost?"

7 Keys to Turning Cold Prospects into New Clients

Bob Croston
November 11, 2015

We all love repeat business, referrals, and inbound warm leads. The problem is you can’t scale warm leads. When these run out, so does your ability to grow your revenue, unless, of course, you prospect and drive new leads in the pipeline yourself.

Do You Make These 3 Proposal Mistakes?

John Doerr
November 11, 2015

I had a conversation recently with a client who was struggling with his sales efforts. The conversation went something like this: Me: How has your selling effort been going? Client: Unbelievable. I sent out four proposals last week and three more this week. Me: That's great. How many new deals have you closed?

Top 10 Lead Generation Challenges

Erica Schultz
November 11, 2015

Challenges abound when it comes to generating leads for professional services firms: selecting the right tactics to generate quality leads, implementing lead generation activities consistently, breaking through the noise and getting the attention of busy decision makers, measuring and tracking what's working for you, and the list goes on.

5 Things You Must Do in Every First Sales Conversation

Erica Schultz
November 11, 2015

The first sales conversation with a new prospect can be tough. After all, prospects tend to distrust sales people, they're guarded with their information, and they're extremely busy. The fact that they agreed to meet with you in the first place is a great sign. But much of your selling success hinges on your ability to lead an effective first conversation and get them to agree to a second conversation with you.

Do You Make These 10 Lead Generation Mistakes?

Erica Schultz
November 11, 2015

Leads, leads, leads. Once the referrals and the circle of family and friends aren't enough to keep your firm growing, it's all about the leads. Yet, when it comes to generating leads, consulting firms get it all wrong in 10 very common ways.

[New White Paper] Increase Win Rates & Beat Your Sales Goals

Erica Schultz
November 10, 2015

Top-Performing companies are winning 62% of their sales opportunities. The Rest? Only 40%. While quite a bit of research has been published on what separates top sellers from the rest, there’s relatively little on what organizations are doing to achieve high win rates.

7 Ways to Deal with Price Objections

Erica Schultz
November 6, 2015

In my Twitter activities I came across an excellent post about price objections on Tom Searcy's Hunting Big Sales blog, Price is No Object. In this post Tom writes, "A lot of the time, however, price is not the only issue and it's merely being used as a smoke screen." I couldn't agree more. Price often is not the heart of the issue but an indicator that something else is going on. Clients will use the price objection because it's a convenient excuse.

10 Ways to Improve Your Networking Skills

Mary Flaherty
November 6, 2015

Much of sales is about making connections.

7 Keys to Leading Highly Effective Sales Conversations

Erica Schultz
November 5, 2015

Most people's sales conversations could be better. Not a little better, significantly better. I see too many sellers fall into the same traps: You talk too much, leaving the buyer with the impression that you don't understand their business, their industry, or their needs. You grill the buyer with questions, making them feel like they are a part of an interrogation. You talk too little, letting the buyer control the conversation.

12 Questions Sales Leaders Must Ask to Improve Sales Opportunity Management

Mike Schultz
November 3, 2015

If you've spent any time in complex sales, you know there's been a significant shift in how you win sales opportunities and grow accounts. In our client work and studies through the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research, we've seen that:

Want to Win Your Next Big Sale? Win Lab It

Mike Schultz
September 22, 2015

When it comes to winning big sales opportunities, sales leaders often share 2 complaints: Sellers aren't proactive. They fail to drive their most important sales opportunities forward with determination and rigor. Even when sellers are proactive, they don't follow a consistent process to put themselves in the best position to win the sale.

Want Loyal Clients? It Starts in the Buying Process

Mike Schultz
July 14, 2015

Client loyalty is tough to earn. Fred Reichheld, author of The Loyalty Effect and creator of the Net Promoter System, found that most corporations lose 50% of their customers every 5 years, 50% of employees in 4 years, and 50% of investors in less than one year.

How to Measure Your Client Relationship Strength

Mike Schultz
June 24, 2015

Ask most people about the strength of their core client relationships and they'll say, "Great. Rock solid." Yet these comments usually refer to how much rapport or trust sellers feel they have with the client. They don't answer the question through the lens of business value the client receives from them.

What Sales Metrics Should You Track? – The Essential List [PDF]

Mike Schultz
June 11, 2015

"What gets measured gets managed." – Peter Drucker Only when you have a good sense of what's going on in your organization can you decide which buttons to push to make the greatest improvements. Even small efforts to track key sales metrics can quickly drive better results.

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.

Bringing Insight to B2B Sales: Sell Like the Winners Do

Mike Schultz
May 26, 2015

We've written a lot about our What Sales Winners Do Differently research, in which we studied more than 700 B2B sales purchases by buyers representing $3.1 billion in annual purchasing power. We've shared with you how sales winners don't only sell differently, they sell radically differently from second-place finishers.

Sales Team Training that Produces Real Results

John Doerr
May 19, 2015

Your sales team isn't hitting quota. You have aggressive growth goals but keep falling short. You want more of your sales team to transition from average to top performers.

8 Sales Email Secrets

Bob Croston
May 12, 2015

Email prospecting is a hot topic these days—and it should be because it works. Or at least, it works when it's done right. In 5 Sales Prospecting Myths Debunked, we found that email is the #1 way buyers prefer to be contacted by sellers.

5 Decision Roles in Every Sale

Mike Schultz
April 8, 2015

"It was like a phantom swooped in in the eleventh hour and killed the sale." We've all been there...You had a series of great meetings. You built rapport and developed a strong, trusted relationship. You uncovered (and got agreement) on the buyer's needs—needs that they didn't even know they had. You spent days working with your delivery team to scope the project and write the proposal. You sent it off to your contact and called him at the time you had scheduled to review it:

Infographic: 10 Steps for Growing Your Key Accounts

Erica Schultz
April 1, 2015

Retaining current customers costs 6-7x less than acquiring news ones,1 and improving customer retention rates by a mere 5% can increase profit per customer by 25%-95%.2 So it makes sense that top companies focus on building relationships, increasing loyalty, and selling more to current customers as a growth strategy.

Top 10 Strategic Account Management Challenges [Research]

Mike Schultz
March 18, 2015

When it comes to growing accounts, challenges abound. In our Benchmark Report on High Performance in Strategic Account Management, we asked: Consider the challenges your company faces in strategic account management. For each factor indicate how challenging it is to your company's SAM efforts.

6 Tips to Sell More to Existing Accounts

Mike Schultz
February 3, 2015

One of the biggest untapped opportunities to increasing sales and profit is growing your existing accounts. Consider: Retaining current customers is 6 to 7 times less costly than acquiring new ones (Source: Bain & Company) Repeat customers, on average, spend 67% more (Source: Bain & Company) 60% of companies believe they should be generating 25% or more revenue from strategic accounts (Source: RAIN Group)

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.

The Power of Trust in Sales

Mike Schultz
December 9, 2014

I received a call the other day from someone selling website tracking software. We already use a marketing automation tool like this. I mentioned it to the seller. He then went on a rant about how he visited our website, recognized the tool we use, and how we weren't doing it right.

19 Insight Selling Mistakes to Avoid

Mike Schultz
November 18, 2014

Like anything, insight selling comes with its own potential pitfalls. To help you avoid them, we have outlined the most common insight selling mistakes. Some points are tactical, and others strategic. Download: Your Guide to Insight Selling Success.

Your Guide to Insight Selling Success

Erica Schultz
November 10, 2014

There's been a bit of a gold rush around the term "insight selling" in the last several years. Research from a variety of sources, including RAIN Group, has confirmed a simple fact: Buyers buy from sellers who are sources of ideas.

7 Qualities of a Great Sales Negotiator

Mike Schultz
November 4, 2014

What makes a great negotiator? Negotiation is a craft that can be learned by just about anyone. There are, however, certain characteristics of great negotiators that are difficult to develop through the even the most rigorous of training initiatives. They are qualities you either have or don't or that develop over years of experience, coaching, training, and self-reflection. If you have them, you're ahead of the game. If you don't, negotiation success may be elusive.

Infographic: 16 Negotiation Tactics Buyers Use in Sales Negotiations

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