December 2004

A time for reflection, assessment and forecasting.

In the spirit of the season, I’m sharing what I believe are the top 5 sales issues for 2005. I hope you’ll reply in kind. Send me the most important lessons you, and your company, learned in 2004. I’ll compile the answers I receive and share them with SGS readers in the January issue (let me know if you’d like me to protect your anonymity). So, be willing to give a little in exchange for learning from others’ mistakes and successes.

Top 5 2005 Sales Issues

1. Selling to Women

Vive la difference! Scientists tell us that women process information differently, so it follows that they are likely to approach decision making differently. Whether you agree, consider management guru Tom Peters’ take on this subject in his book Re-Imagine. He devotes more than one chapter to women and their growing role as decision makers in the business world. He asserts that companies without women in their board rooms and/or in their executive ranks will be left in the dust. To successfully target women, you must have women on your team who can help lead the charge. And you must be able to communicate with women in a way that they will be most receptive to.
 

2. Frustration of Commoditization

Global competition is making it more critical than ever before to have a clear understanding of the value differentiators provided by products and services and how to impart company and product value to target markets.

3. Recruiting Effective Salespeople

This issue continues to have a devastating effect on achieving growth objectives. Too many companies emphasize technical knowledge instead of assessing a candidate salesperson’s belief system. Worse yet, an engaging personality takes a front seat.
 

4. Shortening the Sales Cycle

Less is definitely more when it comes to the sales cycle. Closing the gap between marketing and sales is a starting point for providing salespeople effective support materials and lead-generation activities. Monitoring the sales process is essential to keeping the ball moving and to know when to toss it out of the game.

5. Accountability

Last, but here to stay, this one is tough because the problem usually lies at the top—with executives who set the organization’s culture. If the organization accepts excuses for non-performance, it will perpetuate the blame-game and stagnate.
 

If you would like someone in your organization added to, or you would like to be removed from this e-zine, send a reply to danita@salesgrowthspecialists.com