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SALES PERFORMANCE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INSIGHTS FROM AMY FRANKO
Sales Gravy Podcast: Modern Sellers Leverage These 5 Skills
Amy Franko on the Sales Gravy Podcast In this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Amy Franko joined host Jeb Blount to discuss 5 critical skillsets of The Modern Seller. Topics included the importance of Modern Sellers having strong business acumen and an ownership mindset. They emphasize the value of being able to provide insight to executives based on knowledge of their organization, rather than regurgitating information that can be found online. They also discuss the importance of discipline and habits in maintaining success as a salesperson, especially when working from home. Finally, they touch on the rebirth of field sales and the importance of building strong relationships with leadership. Some highlights from the episode include: Instead of simply regurgitating information that can be found online, sellers must have a deep knowledge of their clients’ organizations in order to provide business...
Sales Prospecting: 5 Reasons Why Your Prospect Goes Dark
Boost Sales Prospecting: Actionable Techniques for Tough Times Sales prospecting is hard work: 40 percent of salespeople agreed that prospecting is the most challenging part of the sales process, according to Hubspot. And it's getting harder. Sales Insights Lab recently reported that more than half of salespeople believe it’s more difficult to get in front of prospects than it was five years ago. That makes it all the more frustrating when you think everything is in place to land a big deal. Then… poof. You begin to get the cold shoulder. Maybe someone you viewed as your advocate in winning an account at a prospective client undergoes an unexpected, 180-degree behavior change. That “glad to hear from you” in their voice is gone. They become vague with information. Or you get the sense you’ve become an unwelcome interruption. They might even go dark. Even the best sellers face this challenge from time to...
Beware the Bright Shiny Sales Strategy
A $1 billion sales lesson for leaders when designing and implementing sales strategy or sellers pursuing that bright shiny deal that will put the organization “on the map.” *** A recent Wall Street Journal piece chronicled Spotify’s path to becoming the largest global player in the podcasting universe. They’ve invested more than $1 billion in creating a global podcasting brand, primarily by striking deals with big name celebrities. Spotify began in 2006 as a music streaming service and added podcasting to their product mix beginning in 2018. They have 220 million paid subscribers, and about 13% of its revenues come from advertising. They have yet to turn a profit. On $1 billion investment. There are some significant lessons in this story for organizational leaders designing selling strategy, for sales professionals considering territory strategy and opportunities, and for investors anticipating a...
Barbie, Beyoncé, and Taylor: A Sales Strategy To Create a Sales Halo”
Click, skim, or scroll anywhere, and chances are good you’ve read about one of these powerful women. Alone, they each have created billions in economic impact. Together they represent the force of the female buying demographic that is shaping local and global economies like never before. As of this writing, Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is likely to gross over $1 billion over 100 shows. Barbie has grossed $1.28 billion globally at the box office. And Beyoncé's Renaissance tour may gross between $275 million and $2.4 billion. There’s a sales lesson in all of this, and the WSJ calls it the Women’s Multiplier Effect. Barbie, Beyoncé, Taylor and the Women's Multiplier Effect on Sales Strategy Think of the Multiplier Effect as amplification. For every dollar spent on one product or service, other products, services, and industries are pulled into the halo of sales growth because they support the initial sale. Read...
Be a Better Board Director: My Lessons from the Board Chair Seat
In this article, Amy Franko shares important lessons for board directors and board development. Recent research shows that strategy and talent development are areas where board directors wish to focus more time. Amy specializes in these areas; as an entrepreneur and growth expert she is ideal for growth-oriented companies in technology, manufacturing, and professional services. View Amy's resume. The Girl Scouts had me at their mission: “We build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.” In 2014, I had been searching for an opportunity to be more engaged and involved in my Columbus, Ohio community. As the oldest of five daughters, this mission spoke volumes. Nine years later, I’m still inspired by our very youngest Girl Scout Daisies through our high school-aged Ambassadors. No matter their age, they make a tangible difference and build lifelong leadership attributes....
Sales Podcast: The Power of Mindset in Sales
Amy Franko on the Making Sales Social Podcast In this episode of the Making Sales Social podcast, Amy Franko joined host Brynne Tillman to discus power of mindset in sales. Topics included the role of personal branding, strategic thinking, and relationship building in modern sales. As sales professionals, we need to focus on meaningful interactions and a curated approach to prospecting for more impactful results. Some highlights from the episode include: Value Equation and Personal Branding (00:03 - 04:47): Amy emphasizes that in sales, the value of a product, service, or solution is tied to the value of the salesperson. A strong personal brand contributes to one's business acumen and knowledge, ensuring that the value provided to clients is inseparable from what's being sold. Elevating Sales Strategy (02:46 - 03:22): Amy points out that a shift in perspective or thinking can often lead to significant...
Too Much Flexibility? Selling Strategy to Navigate Workday Dead Zones
Too much flexibility is hurting your sales growth. Optimizing your selling strategy to navigate workday dead zones can help. A recent Wall Street Journal article outlines a phenomenon called “workday dead zones,” where pockets of a traditional workday don’t exist like they used to in the past. Those pockets of time then shift to other segments of the day and ultimately lengthen the workday. WSJ cites a common dead zone right now as the 4-6pm timeframe, that has now shifted to an evening timeframe for many workers. There’s a formula of flexibility that began with the introduction of more sophisticated remote technologies around 15 years ago. That flexibility accelerated overnight nearly overnight 3 ½ years ago with COVID and has proved challenging for organizations to normalize post-pandemic. I’m aware of at least one organization that just very recently lifted pandemic-era travel restrictions for sellers....
How to Achieve Sales Growth with Industry-specific Skills Assessments
Guest Article in TD Magazine An organization is only as strong as its growth engine, and the sales function is the fuel for that growth. Organizations continue to be challenged with hiring, onboarding, promoting, and developing sales teams for long-term success. One solution is a sales-specific approach to data strategy and application. Read more how to achieve sales growth with industry-specific skills assessments in my new article for TD magazine Read it here.
11 Sales Development Metrics That Drive Sales Growth
When I’m working with clients, there are varying degrees of maturity when it comes to the sales development metrics they track. I’ve found that by putting specific focus on 11 key sales development metrics, your sales professionals, and sales results will benefit in a few specific ways: Improved business acumen that comes with looking at the bigger sales picture, promoting an understanding of how high quality selling truly impacts the business Improvements in leading indicators like sales activities, pipeline quality, and territory planning Improvements in lagging indicators, such as average order growth and sales quota attainment Three Sales Enablement Strategies You Can’t Ignore For Sales Growth First and foremost, invest in a quality CRM and make sure sales managers and sales professionals are using it as the “central sales truth” for the organization. This will make your sales leadership job...
Win More Deals with Qualifying Opportunity Questions and Categories
You can’t win deals without ruthlessly qualifying opportunities. As I'm working with my clients in sales training classes, lead qualification tends to pop up as a frequent area for improvement. They may have opportunities in the pipeline, even late-stage deals, that they expect to close. However, many of those opportunities seem to get stuck. More often than not, the sales opportunities that languish weren’t well qualified in the first place, but were mistakenly identified as viable. They aren't alone. According to SPOTIO, 22% of sales people in a 2023 report say qualifying is the most challenging part of the sales process. In this article, I’ll share strategies for qualifying opportunities and increasing your sales success. Sales Process and Methodology: Foundation for Qualifying Opportunities First, let’s start by defining sales process and sales methodology. These two elements combine with your CRM to...
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