CSO Insights - Got Effective Sales? Blog

15 Minutes Could Save You $1500

Teresa Acosta — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:49:04 -0700

This isn't a car insurance ad but an invitation to take CSO Insights Sales Compensation & Performance Management survey. The survey is now in its 3rd year and takes less than 15 minutes to complete. The report on aggregated responses will be released mid-September. Those completing the survey receive the report for free as soon as it's available...

Lead Generation Optimization Is "OUT"--Web Conversion Measures are IN

Teresa Acosta — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:04:11 -0700

This week we released our annual LGO report. More than 600 companies responded to this year's survey. For the first time in the seven years of this report, a slim majority (51%) of firms responding now track the ROI of their marketing campaigns.

Is There Really Lead Gen Optimization?

Teresa Acosta — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 09:10:04 -0700

You may recall that in 2009 two-thirds (67%) of respondents reported their marketing budget would be the same or less than the prior year. This was happening while 85% of companies were increasing their revenue targets for the year ahead.

She Works Hard for the Money*

Teresa Acosta — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:54:07 -0700

And so do you. How hard and how much? Good questions and you, or the appropriate person in your company, have a chance to answer them right now. Take CSO Insights' 2010 Sales Compensation & Performance Management, which we just opened this week (official launch will be next week). This is our 3rd annual comp survey and promises to be our biggest yet--we had over 1,000 firms respond to last year's survey.

Heard a Good One Lately? - 3 Steps to Improved Retention/Results

Teresa Acosta — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 06:49:13 -0700

Ever been to a comedy club and laughed yourself sick for two hours and the next day not been able to repeat a single joke? ... You're not alone. And in an email thread last week, Dave Stein of ES Research (ESR) suggested something that's even less a laughing matter:

Telemarketing/Inside Sales Thoughts & Observations

Teresa Acosta — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:03:14 -0700

This week we are releasing our 2010 Telemarketing/Inside Sales Optimization report and I want to share a brief sneak preview plus 3 steps.

Sales Management 2.0

Teresa Acosta — Wed, 26 May 2010 08:34:04 -0700

A lot more has been said and written about sales than about sales management, even though there is huge leverage in developing competent sales managers. What kind of leverage? Glad you asked; last week we released our first-ever Sales Management Optimization study based on responses from 630 companies. The study looks across 75 metrics and identifies the top 10 Key Trends.

Lead Generation: What Telemarketing/Inside Sales is Doing

Laura Andrus — Mon, 17 May 2010 05:54:49 -0700

The top objectives of CSOs for 2010 are Increase Revenues and Capture New Accounts. How will these objectives be achieved? Top sales initiatives for 2010 are Revising/Enhancing Lead Generation Programs and more closely Aligning Sales & Marketing. Sounds like a plan but how to make this happen?

Hand Raisers Not Finger Pointers

Laura Andrus — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:03:31 -0700

This week I attended Selling Power's Sales Leadership Conference in Las Vegas and had a chance to meet a lot of CSOs in person and hear some terrific presentations. Gerhard Gschwandtner (who may already have become one of those people known only by his first name) started his presentation with an exercise.

On Vacation--Off the Grid

Laura Andrus — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:46:00 -0700

There are still places in California where--despite Verizon's claim--you cannot get a cell signal. Death Valley is one of these locales. And despite its name, you can survive here quite nicely, thank you.

Last Chance for Inside/Telesales Survey

Laura Andrus — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 07:59:14 -0700

In February we released our 2010 Sales Performance Optimization (SPO) report and it has already been widely distributed and read. As a part of that survey, we also looked at Inside/Telesales and are continuing to gather data in this area for another couple weeks (Take the Inside/Telesales Survey Now!).

Sales Relationship Process Matrix - Part II

Laura Andrus — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:43:27 -0700

Last week's blog introduced the SRP Matrix and defined its two axes: levels of sales process implementation and levels of relationship. With this foundation in place, this week we look at the relative performance of various matrix tiers.

Sales Relationship Process Matrix - Part I

Laura Andrus — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 07:27:19 -0700

My previous blog talked about Metrics that Matter and the good that derives from sales organizations with access to timely/accurate metrics. However, I ended with the observation that these metrics must be based upon an adopted (i.e., agreed upon and implemented) sales process.

Metrics That Matter

Laura Andrus — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:00:20 -0700

I recently participated in a webinar addressing the question: Does Access to Timely/Accurate Metrics Make a Difference in Performance? The short answer: you betcha!

Start-Ups and Other Adventures

Laura Andrus — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:14:32 -0800

Last week I had the good pleasure to co-present to a group of start-up CSOs, CMOs and CEOs. I presented data from our 2010 Sales Performance Optimization study comparing Start-Ups metrics with companies identified as Dominant players in their markets. What was surprising were the many metrics where there were not significant distinctions between Start-Ups and Dominants

First Decade Gone -- And Not a Moment Too Soon

Laura Andrus — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:49:50 -0800

We are starting the second decade of the 21st Century and the first seems to have gone by in a flash. Good thing. We started with the Y2K scare, which didn't happen, and ended with The Great Recession of 2009, which did happen.

Hey Batter, Batter, Batter!

Laura Andrus — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:36:49 -0800

I played a lot of baseball (Midget League through high school Varsity) and fielders chanting "Hey Batter, SWING Batter!" was part of the game. For those not familiar with the sport, it's called "chatter." And it's intended to distract the opposing player at bat.

Back to Basics

Laura Andrus — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:12:35 -0800

I recently co-presented with Dale Carnegie Training at seminars in New York and Boston. I talked about levels of relationship, sales process and how these combine in CSO Insights' Sales Relationship Process Matrix. The Dale Carnegie Training presenter covered specific sales tactics such as dealing with price objections or buyers stalling for more time. And I do mean specifically addressing these issues with examples and precise wording.

Are Your Friends Making You Unsuccessful?

Laura Andrus — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:02:50 -0700

Can social contagion impact your sales effectiveness? Before you scoff at this idea consider one other finding from their study and another from our Sales Performance Optimization (SPO) study.

Just in Case You Had Any Doubt

Laura Andrus — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:29 -0700

... it has been a challenging time. This week we released our most recent publication for CSOs: Sales Compensation & Performance Management 2009 Survey Results and Analysis. More than a thousand companies responded to this year's compensation survey and the results are eye-opening.

Earn $4500 an Hour

Laura Andrus — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:59:25 -0700

If you could do this full-time your income would be $900,000/year. Yeah, Baby, that's what I'm talkin' about! How to do it.

Sales 2.0: Science or Art?

Laura Andrus — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:32:55 -0700

I don't believe there is yet a single agreed-upon definition of Sales 2.0 any more than there is of CRM. But the general notion is a next generation of sales that is, as Gerhard Gswandtner describes it, 'co-created' by both the buyer and the seller. This co-creation process is enabled by technology, principally though by no means exclusively the Internet, and attempts to leverage new phenomena such as social networking, all available channels and huge data gathering and analytic capabilities to more accurately identify prospects and predict outcomes.

What We Have Here Is a Failure...or Do We?

Laura Andrus — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:06:14 -0700

Our data demonstrate each year how much room there is to improve in sales. Percentage of reps meeting/exceeding quota has risen above 60% once in the past 6 years (61% in 2008). How does this level of performance persist and is there anything to be done to improve the situation? Or, is it a situation that needs improving?

Should You Talk About Your Competition?

Laura Andrus — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:41:09 -0700

What are some thoughts about targeting a competitor by name in your sales strategies?

The Best 5 Minutes You Can Spend

Laura Andrus — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:38:38 -0700

CSO Insights was pleased to work with Microsoft and Harvard Business Review to create an on-line sales assessment. You can now take this survey and see in a flash how you stack up against our 2009 survey population (more than 2000 companies).

Funnelology Part 2

Laura Andrus — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:50:39 -0700

Last week we addressed standard Sales Funnels, plus variations such as "The Whistle" is so selective that few prospects get in, but most come out and "The Trade Show" which brings lots of junk in and closes a miniscule percentage of the prospects brought in. Not selective enough. This week we'll look at a couple more Funnel types.

Funnelology: The Study of Sales Funnels

Laura Andrus — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:41:36 -0700

There are several noted funnelologists sharing their wisdom with us. Ron Hubsher talks about inverting the funnel in his sales negotiations book, Closing Time", and Mark Sellers has written an entire book about it in "The Funnel Principle". In fact, a Google search of "sales funnel concept" comes up with over 500 results covering everything from forecasting, to territory management, to sales & marketing alignment.

"Show me the money!"

Laura Andrus — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:20:14 -0700

We have been busy this month. Last week we released our 2009 Lead Generation Optimization Survey & Analysis Report. We also launched our 2009 Sales Compensation & Performance Management Survey. The timing of this survey is deliberate. We are collecting data through Labor Day and the report will be released October 1st, when many firms will be developing their plans for 2010 while still making every effort to close our Q4 '09 successfully.

"Where Are The Leads?

Laura Andrus — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:57:24 -0700

Increasing revenues was--for the fourth year in a row--the numero uno sales objective reported by 62% of respondents to our 2009 SPO survey. And exactly one-half this number (31%) listed optimizing lead generation among their top three objectives for this year. So what is to be done is clear. Is how to do it equally clear? Short answer: no.

Are You Kidding Me?

Laura Andrus — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:09:53 -0700

The first half of this year is already gone? Well, as they say: Time Flies When You're...Having Fun??...Behind Plan

Entering the 21st Century

Zack Geiser — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:43:08 -0700

We are now almost a full decade into the twenty-first century and the idea of openly sharing content is gaining real traction. This initial blog is one of the ways CSO Insights is inviting you to comment, to share, and co-create with us.

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