Oct 31, 2014 By Ken Thoreson

How to Create an Effective Sales Compensation Plan

When it comes to how businesses pay their salespeople, there's no one-size-fits-all approach. That's especially true for many companies with diverse products and services. Some pay commission based on sales, while others only pay on margin; still others blend both with incentives and... Read More

Sales

Oct 30, 2014 By Ken Thoreson

It's a Scary World Out There — But Don't Let Fear Govern Your Sales Process

While everyone may be thinking of their Halloween costume or what tricks or treats they may provide, as sales leaders we must consider the bigger picture. It is a scary world out there, with plenty of things to fear: the future of the business cycle, new taxes that will hit in 2015, and how your... Read More

Oct 23, 2014 By Ken Thoreson

How Protocols Will Change Sales

I recently read an article about the demise of solution selling. It described how salespeople who are following the traditional methods of selling (seeking out the pain) are losing to the new breed of “sales disruptors." These are salespeople who find solutions to business problems that... Read More

Oct 21, 2014 By Ken Thoreson

Do You Know Your A, B, C's? How to Dramatically Improve Revenue & Profitability

Depending on the client’s situation, one of the top five actions we take is to perform an A, B, C analysis of their customer base. If you are unfamiliar with this concept, essentially the client generates a list of all their customers showing total combined revenues and margin over a recent 3- or... Read More

Oct 20, 2014 By Ken Thoreson

8 Ways Salespeople Can Continue Prospecting

Last week, during a client’s sales meeting, we got into a discussion regarding pipeline values. Needless to say, the number of prospects and dollar values were insufficient to achieve the overall corporate revenue objectives.  Several of the salespeople blamed marketing for not generating... Read More

Leadership, Sales

Oct 03, 2014 By Ken Thoreson

5 Steps to Crushing Your 2015 Sales Quota

The end of the year is rapidly closing in, and while everyone in your organization is focused on achieving their targets, it is a crucial time for sales leaders to start focusing on the new year. At this time of year, I am working with each of my clients to begin to position them for success. I... Read More

Sep 23, 2014 By Ken Thoreson

Sales Leadership: You Are the Practice Squad

Every football team is essentially two teams: the starters and the practice squad (also known as the scout team). The practice squad's job is to represent what the competition's offense or defense game plan or playbook might look like. Each week, the starters practice against these players... Read More

Sales