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SALES PERFORMANCE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INSIGHTS FROM AMY FRANKO
Video: Pursue Sales Strategy with Focus
A common challenge in designing sales strategy is focus. No shortage of activities exists—solution sets, pursued industries, customer types. Elite organizations use focus as a filter, selecting only activities aiding success in the next one or two years. Anything else is set aside. What remains is a refined, concise sales strategy, allowing focus on vetted activities. With such clarity, sharing with sales teams becomes easy, facilitating swift implementation. This approach not only accelerates short and long-term revenue and profit growth but also instills confidence in pursuing the right clients and customers. In conclusion, prioritizing focus in sales strategy not only streamlines operations but also ensures targeted growth and client satisfaction. Optimize Sales Growth with a More Focused Sales Sales Strategy There’s no better time than now to focus on enhancing your sales strategies. I can help...
Video: 3 Strategic Plans You Need for Long-term Sales Growth
As it relates to long term successful sales growth, elite organizations, need three strategic plans in their organization. They have a visionary plan. They have a sales strategy. And they have a marketing strategy. That visionary plan is that big picture horizon. What does the organization look like? Who do we want to be in three years or five years or ten years? Most organizations that do strategic planning, they have a visionary plan, but they stop short once they get that visionary plan put in place. They're often lacking a specific sales strategy and a marketing strategy. Your sales strategy is the specific path that is going to help you optimize your sales growth. It is covers everything from your go to market to the solutions and products that you're selling to the people that you need in your organization, the technology, and the other structures that will support you. The very specific...
Mastering Sales Growth During Mergers & Acquisitions
If your company is growing through a merger, acquisition, or investment event, you’re not alone. I’m observing it across several clients in diverse industries, and according to market and consumer data research firm Statista, nearly 50,000 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals were completed worldwide in 2022. In any of these scenarios, there are new stakeholders in the mix. As a CEO or sales leader, how do you determine where to focus time, energy, and finances related to sales results? By referring to sales metrics. In this edition of Professional Performance Magazine, Amy Franko offers three sales growth metrics to consider with M&A or investment events. Read the issue. And to learn more about Professional Performance Magazine and subscribe, go here. Build a Winning Sales Strategy Don’t let your competition get an advantage. We can help develop a successful sales strategy. Contact us to...
You’re Moving Too Fast. It’s Hurting Your Sales Growth.
In sales, sometimes you need to slow down to speed up. This article emphasizes the importance of intentional friction in sales, urging CEOs, sales leaders, and sales professionals to slow down in five key sales planning areas: hiring, territory planning, compensation planning, major sales strategy changes, and pursuing major opportunities. As a result, you'll improve sales results. ******** Intentional Friction in Sales These sales tips applies to CEOs, sales leaders, and sales professionals. You’re moving way too fast on the important things and not fast enough on things of little material consequence to the organization. Maybe most importantly, your teams and customers are watching this and operating within it. How you (and your customers) operate becomes your sales culture. Your sales culture is what creates your short and long-term results. A new Wall Street Journal article shares that the best...
Pillar Award for Community Service: Nonprofit Board Executive of the Year
One of the core values that guided me throughout my journey, both professionally and as an entrepreneur, is the importance of giving back and community service. So it's incredibly meaningful to me that I was recognized as the Nonprofit Board Executive of the Year at the 2024 Medical Mutual Pillar Awards for Community Service. The Pillar Awards celebrate leaders who bridge the gap between the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, creating a positive impact in our community. I am incredibly grateful to have received this recognition for my contributions as the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland (GSOH). The most memorable achievement during my tenure was leading governance efforts surrounding the Dream Big Transformational Initiative. Dream Big is a monumental $16...
Accelerating Angels: Fueling Female Founders
Did you know that female founders historically produce 35% higher returns to investors than male founders? Accelerating Angels is a female-founded investment startup that is working to close the funding gap for early-stage technology companies. As one of the firm's first investors, I share insights in this new article from Columbus CEO Magazine. Angel investing has a ripple effect. I'm so proud to help fuel female founders and advise them on sales strategy through Accelerating Angels. Read more about the firm and my role here. Amy Franko is an ideal board director candidate for growth-oriented mid-market technology, manufacturing, and professional services firms. Please download her board resume for additional information.
Are Your Sales Processes Preventing Sales
Unveiling the silent threat to sales growth: Sales Prevention. CEOs and sales leaders, take note. Are Your Sales Processes Preventing Sales? This article exposes common barriers hindering sales growth and urges proactive measures for an improved client experience. ***** Every client I work with has a goal to improve sales growth. There might be several paths to get there: Designing a sales strategy, improving sales processes, coaching sales leaders, or helping companies hire the right team. No CEO, sales leader, or professional seller I work with has a goal to stall, prevent, or decrease sales. But it can happen regularly, and they likely don’t even know it. In the last few months, I’ve observed buying experiences that have either created a strong barrier to a sale or outright prevented a sale. I’m betting you’ve experienced a variation of these yourself: “We aren’t taking any phone calls right now....
Want Better Sales Results? Offer Your Clients Fewer Choices.
Less is often more. Learn how to improve B2B sales results by drawing insights from retail and supply chain challenges. Offering fewer choices enhances trust, empowers clients, and drives informed decision-making for lasting sales success. ***** While I work primarily with B2B sales teams, there is much to be learned from our peers in the B2C selling marketplace. One of those takeaways comes from retail. The pandemic and ensuing supply chain problems forced retailers into significantly downsizing or eliminating the number of options provided to consumers. But even when supply chains started to get back on track, that choice didn’t automatically return. In many ways, it has been better for retailers and consumers alike. What can B2B sales teams take from this lesson? Offering more choice to your clients isn’t the answer; in fact, it’s creating confusion and hurting your sales growth. There’s a tipping...
Sales in Manufacturing Podcast: The Modern Seller’s Landscape
Navigating modern selling challenges in manufacturing requires strategic acumen, as it involves intricate processes, complex products, and the imperative to build lasting relationships. In this episode of A Broadcast for Manufacturers, Amy Franko joined the hosts to delve into topics shaping the manufacturing sales landscape. As the leader in modern sales strategy, she shared insights on navigating intricate sales processes and discussed the distinct challenges and opportunities for women in manufacturing sales. Listen for a deep dive into pivotal discussions in the manufacturing sales space! Some highlights: Amy's experience in manufacturing and tech sales: Amy shares her background, starting in manufacturing and tech sales, working for IBM and Lenovo. Emphasizes the importance of sales structures, processes, CRM, and skills data for understanding team strengths and opportunities. (4:47 - 6:25)...
A Surprising Truth About Positive Mindset and How Elite Sellers Use It
Modern sellers, take note. Novak Djokovic's mindset revelations for elite athleticism are also applicable for sales professionals and sales leaders. Embrace the reality that constant positivity is impossible, view mental strength as a skill, and conquer the fear of success. ****** Novak Djokovic is one of the winningest tennis players in the history of the game. He has earned 24 Grand Slam singles titles in men’s tennis, including seven at Wimbledon. He got his start in tennis around the age of 5, on a tiny tennis court where his first coach invited him to play when she saw him looking through the fence. The court was next to a pizzeria that his parents ran on the property of a very modest ski resort. His coming of age in tennis and in life was surrounded by civil war during the 1990s as Yugoslavia disintegrated, and he lived in what is today Serbia. His time on the court and in school was interrupted by...
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