The 2018 midterm elections are around the corner, and campaign news from both sides of the aisle are beginning to flood the media. Watching both parties work to earn voter confidence, manage information and control the issues, it occurred to me that running a political campaign designed to win an election is a lot like running an enterprise sales cycle designed to close a deal.
Continue reading “Want to Close More Deals? Use These Tactics from Winning Political Campaigns”
Enterprise sales are long-term campaigns. They can take 4 to 6 months (or more) to close. That’s a long time for something to go wrong, even if you are prepared. And you must be prepared, because every meeting poses unique and unexpected challenges. At AlphaSense, we have a weekly, “deal workshop” open to anyone in the company to join us for a few hours in a conference room to discuss mid-stage opportunities expected to close this quarter. We bring together account executives, account managers, SDRs, product managers, executive management and others. The owner of the opportunity briefly presents details, and the room asks questions, tests assumptions and offers suggestions on next steps. I typically find the information necessary to move these opportunities into late stage is missing – and its absence is exposed during the workshop. The most critical bits of information have yet to come from the customer – underscoring the need for discovery.
Continue reading “Discovery: The Critical First Step in Enterprise Sales”
When sales professionals choreograph every aspect of their sales process – from initial research and prep to final negotiation and closing – they set the stage for success. Think about the last time you saw a ballet or Broadway show. Every dancer on the stage knew exactly where they needed to be during every moment. Hours and hours of practice went into preparing for that performance, and by the time you were watching from the audience, it looked completely effortless. Likewise, the sales process should be choreographed and made to look completely effortless.
Continue reading “Choreographing Enterprise Sales: What Sales Leaders Can Learn From Hamilton”
By Kiva Kolstein, AlphaSense CRO
Continue reading “Secret Weapons In Building A Winning Enterprise Sales Organization”
In sales, the person with the best process wins. So how do you ensure that all the players on your team are running the right plays to maximize growth?
