I've been consulting on sales productivity for 12 years and published my first blog on the subject,
Recent posts by Mark Gibson
7 min read
Reducing Sales Ramp Time to Accelerate Growth Part 2.
Reducing Sales Ramp 2.
Ramping new hires quickly in a SaaS business is key to accelerating business growth.
In part 1 of this post I discussed the high cost of a slow ramp and the causes of the slow sales ramp problem. I shared some ideas on hiring better quality sales talent excerpted from Mark Roberge's new book, The Sales Acceleration Formula and discussed 21st. Century learning concepts.
In this post I will examine specific high value steps to accelerate sales competency, including;
- Understanding how your customers buy.
- Capturing your "Why Change" Story that everyone can tell.
- The Whiteboard Storytelling Secret.
- Making it Stick, Social Learning and Certification.
Topics: sales enablement sales ramp whiteboarding
3 min read
The Challenger Customer - Book Review
Long awaited and an even more useful book for sales enablement and marketing professionals than The Challenger Sale.
“The Challenger Customer, Selling to the hidden influencers who can multiply your results” is a “must-read” for all B2B marketing, sales and sales enablement professionals.
Topics: the challenger sale the challenger customer
4 min read
SPAM Nation - Book Review: The Inside Story of #Cybercrime
Brian Krebs is an investigative journalist and former Washington Post staff reporter, where he covered Internet security, technology policy, cybercrime and privacy issues for the newspaper and website.
His first book SPAM Nation chronicles the activities of two leading Russian figures of the Pharmaceutical SPAM racket, Igor Gusev and Victor Vrublevsky, who leaked detailed information about the other in an effort to destroy the other.
3 min read
Experian - T-Mobile hack #databreach gets personal
I read with great irritation this morning of the Experian T-Mobile hack
I just bought a new iPhone from T-Mobile and as part of the lease process, they ran credit with Experian
Immediate thoughts were of unauthorized credit card transactions, canceled cards. Identity theft. Inconvenience and the sense of violation from a “trusted” 3rd. party, Experian.
Topics: security
3 min read
A Fortunate Life
The following is my Icebreaker talk delivered at my maiden Toastmasters speech in June this year. I will comment on the value for salespeople in completing the 10 projects in Toastmasters "Competent Communicator" manual in another post.
Topics: personal development
4 min read
Moving the Needle and other Sales Enablement Challenges
Recently I met with a top sales enablement professional whom I'll call Bob, to exchange ideas.
During the meeting I was introduced to the concept of the Three Humped Camel. Bob wishes to remain nameless as he started a new job and does not wish the camel phenomena to be tied back his prior employer.
13% of Salespeople produce 87% of Revenue
I raised a question which prompted the discussion after reading Mike Bosworth's recent book, " What Great Salespeople Do". In it, Mike quotes a study of 1100 B2B companies by Greg Alexander of Sales Benchmark Index, which reveals that the old maxim of 20% of salespeople selling 80% of the business is no longer true.According to Sales Benchmark Index, now 13% of salespeople are selling 87% of the business.
When I asked Bob to draw the quota distribution graph for his old firm, he drew something that looked like this.
This is obviously just a quick hand-drawn sketch from memory, but the point Bob was making is that the majority of the sales team were not making their numbers and were dispersed around 40% of quota achievement, with a smaller hump around 100% and another hump at around 150% of quota achievement.
Topics: mike bosworth sales training sales enablement
11 min read
Escape your Wine Comfort Zone - Trader Joe's 30 Wines under $10 Tasting
Trader Joe's Thirty Wines under $10.00 Tasting
Trader Joe's is a privately held supermarket chain with over 450 stores around the USA, in business since 1967.
You need to know that when it comes to wine, TJ's has some of the biggest wholesale clout (and that translates direclty into lower prices) on the planet as they are owned by European mega-supermarket chain Aldi.
Topics: wine
5 min read
The Essence of Listening - and Success in Sales
This article "The Essence of Listening" was written and delivered as a recent Toastmasters speech - Project 2 in the Competent Communicators Handbook. It was a project to organize a speech, with clear transitions, opening, closing, for delivery in 5-7 minutes.
At the bottom of this post is a game to test your linguistic skills in handling sales objections.
Topics: listening skills consultative selling skills
2 min read
It's Sales Kick-off Time - Plan More than a Hangover!
I wrote this article having attended a sales kick-off and sales enablement event for a major technology company.
This event, while similar in many aspects to a traditional kick-off, varied greatly in the take-aways for each individual sales attendee.
