Blog Archives - Braveheart Sales Performance

Consultative Sales Need Consultative Management

Consultative selling operates in the client’s best interest

In a world where buyers have more access to information than ever, the only true way to differentiate your organization is to present it differently— to sell consultatively. To sell consultatively, the salesperson must have a deep understanding of the challenges their prospects and clients face and their impact on the organization and them personally. They must also understand how their product or service addresses those challenges.

Consultative selling operates in the client’s best interest like a consultant would. Helping them accomplish their goals while acting as a trusted advisor. Consultative selling allows the […]

Adaptability: Future Proofing Your Sales Team

What does it mean to be adaptable, and how important is it?

The world of sales is changing. It’s no longer enough to have a good product and a solid understanding of the market; today, it’s all about getting your salespeople up-to-date on new technologies, tools, the problems your customers are facing, and how you can solve them. The rise in technology has made selling more complex than ever before, and the ability to adapt has never been more critical.

Technology and automation will continue to play a massive role in the way we work, which could lead to less need for […]

3 Things Elite Consultative Salespeople and Golfers Do

There are over 66 million golfers in the world according to some random source on Google. Only about 2% would be considered elite golfers – those that carry a scratch handicap or better. According to TaskDrive, there are 5.7 million salespeople worldwide. We have access to a database of 2.2 million of them through OMG and consider the top 6% of them elite salespeople.

So, what do these stats have to do with Consultative Sales Training? Well, there are three very specific areas that separate elite golfers from the rest and I believe these same principles can be applied to sales […]

Salespeople Close 172% More Doing This to Sell Value

Here’s a startling fact you may not know: Salespeople who uncover budgets are 172% more likely to close business than those who do not. This stat drives home the point that you must have a sales process that includes money discussions early in the conversation and you must help salespeople sell value by being more comfortable having those conversations.

Perhaps you think that your sales team is already discussing money, budgets, and the ROI with their prospects, but sadly you might be mistaken. We know that 60% of salespeople are uncomfortable discussing money. So, it’s highly likely that some of your […]

Build Money Discussion Confidence for Selling Value

Can salespeople, especially those money-motivated folks who work on commission, be uncomfortable discussing money? Who would think it possible? Well, the truth is that more than a majority of all salespeople, across all types of sales roles and from nearly every part of the globe, are not comfortable discussing money. And roughly the same percentage of the selling population have difficulty selling value.

Hard to believe? The Objective Management Group’s data on about 687,000 salespeople is proof. It shows that 60% are not comfortable discussing money and 60% are not competent selling value. It’s certainly a large percentage of the selling […]

Consultative Selling Requires This Critical Skill

When one loves to explore data and has access to a huge database of salespeople over 685,000 strong, what happens? Well, for me, I can’t help myself. I frequently analyze elements from that database. Recently, I went mining for insights on consultative selling.

I discovered something that somewhat surprised me, but upon reflection makes sense. Two-thirds (or 68% to be exact) of the top 10% of salespeople in this database are proficient at the competency of staying in the moment. And conversely, 64% of all salespeople lack proficiency in this competency which is critical to success in consultative selling.

Here’s why my […]

A CRM Alone Won’t Fix the Problem

Here’s a question I’m often asked by both business owners and sales team leaders. “What’s the best CRM for our situation?” What most of those asking really want is a magic bullet to make their salespeople do the right activities to generate enough business.

I am not a highly technical person so I cannot cover the ins and outs of all the different products on the market. But no matter what the product, the answer really is: There isn’t one. I have yet to actually find a CRM that MAKES a salesperson do what they are supposed to do.

Here’s a better […]

It’s the Kiss of Death in Sales

Tell me, ever hear a salesperson say something like this: “Just had a great meeting. I think there is going to be $100,000 (or $10,000 or $1MM) of business there!”

Yet somehow that great meeting never turns into any business. Well, you are not alone and as a sales leader, I have some ideas to help you help your sales team.

The Cause:

Salespeople are generally optimistic in nature. Which is great, except when it clouds their ability to be objective and emotionally neutral.

Here’s what I mean. About 63% of all salespeople suffer from a lack of emotional discipline. They get excited in a […]

Remember the Journey

I just returned from hiking in Grand Teton National Park. I am not technically a climber and I don’t scale rock walls, however, the hike I took consisted of some decent elevation change.

I didn’t know exactly what was at the end of the trail I had chosen, other than I had been told the farther I went the prettier the views. I hiked past falls then up to a point that looked out over the lake and valley, then onward. I was expecting the trail to come to a specific scenic point. But as I passed other hikers coming back […]

Surprising Sales Stats Regarding Quota Attainment

Salespeople are in it for the money! It’s a common belief and one you may think is true. If so, you might be tempted to construct a compensation plan that heavily favors pay for performance.

Of course, salespeople want to be paid well. Everybody does. And I wholeheartedly support compensating salespeople to reinforce the behaviors you want and need. But performance-based compensation plans may not work the way employers intend.

The Reason Why

Plans rewarding right behaviors with money do not resonate with all salespeople. If these plans did, all salespeople covered by them would perform because they want to earn the extra […]