The 2020 Top Sales Articles & Posts

Below you will find the posts that were selected each month as our top post. These have now gone into the 2020 Top Sales Awards contest. We will commence in January selecting new posts each week.

January

3 Strategies For Building A Winning Sales Culture

Organizations with great sales cultures have a way of attracting and keeping great salespeople — not just because salespeople can be financially successful in these cultures, but also because they’re more supported and confident in their ability to achieve their goals, more fulfilled in what they do, and more … by Mike Esterday

February

How to Harness Cognitive Bias to Win More Sales

“Everything you had to say makes sense to me, and it seems to fit our situation best, but I see a lot of people getting amazing results with your competitor, so we’re going to go that route instead.”..We’ve all heard statements like these from buyers, and we all groan because we know they’re not logical. Well, at least … by George Brontén

March

Mastering the One Skill You Need for Business Growth

More than 2,000 years ago Aristotle outlined a formula on how to master the art of rhetoric — the first known “crash course” on storytelling as persuasion. Storytelling, of course, has always been a part of human nature — but unlike in Aristotle’s day, today’s version has to come in bite-sized pieces and in a way that … by Tiffani Bova

April

The business baseline of COVID-19

In early March, COVID-19 set a series of shocks into motion: The stock market crashed. Borders closed. The economy plunged. Communities descended into quarantine...One month later, a new business baseline has emerged. Across the country and around the world, total business activity is sitting at ground level, waiting to rise up... by Joe Galvin

May

10 Critical Best Practices for Your Sales Force in This Crisis

We are in week 6 of lockdown, week 8 of voluntary work-from-home, while adapting, guiding and directing companies who still need to sell their products and services to generate revenue. At this point sales is about so much more than generating revenue for profit or to keep employees working. For most companies, sales is now … by Dave Kurlan

June

Sales Enablement Talent: What You Need As A Sales Enablement Leader

Sales enablement talent is not discussed very often. Usually, the discussions are about the sales talent that’s required in the digital age of the customer. But there is almost no discussion about the necessary talent, sales enablement leaders need to have to be successful...Only about one-quarter to one-third of sales enablement … by Tamara Schenk

July

How To Lose A Year’s Worth Of Business (And Why You Should Try It)

Just as many around the world were feeling the impacts of impending shutdowns, my business was rocked with a major shift. Within the first weeks of the pandemic, a year’s worth of live keynote speeches and seminars were suddenly canceled. Like an earthquake, the reality of a rapidly changing market had shaken the business I’d nurtured for … by Shari Levitin

August

Now Is The Time to Step Up Customer Retention

Customer retention is the most effective way to grow your company...Companies aligned for growth get laser focused on understanding customer turnover – not just because it’s expensive, but because it’s preventable...Customers churn for one of three reasons ...If your product or service doesn’t deliver what you ... by Ali Cudby

September

10 Questions that Build Trust and Make People Coachable, Accountable and Engaged

Ever wonder why people are resistant to coaching? Do you feel like people are telling you what they think you want to hear? The fact is, your people are scared of you; and coaching. If you want a team of coachable sales champions, here are ten critical questions every manager needs to ask to ensure people ... by Keith Rosen

October

How Much Does It Cost to Give Great Customer Service?

One of my Forbes readers, Daniel Rodriguez, sent in an interesting comment. He said, “What’s interesting is that better service is correlated to a higher willingness for the customer to pay, but that doesn’t mean that a business has to spend more on CS to get these results.”.. This reminds me of something my good friend, Kim ... by Shep Hyken

November

A History of Sales Enablement — and Predictions for Its Future

Aiello and Larsen pioneered a method to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of salespeople that was catered toward the changing buyer. They preached new selling strategies and consistent selling strategies. The pair spoke to learning customer pains and committing to relevant conversations full of value. They ... by Jay Mitchell

December

Break Your Pitching Habit and Create this Habit Instead

I was recently working with clients to hone their skills around planning and leading effective sales conversations in virtual environments. Something happened very consistently: most professionals talked about their product or service way too early in a conversation with a potential (or sometimes current) client...This blog post digs into ... by Amy Franko