James Meincke2018 has been an amazing year for all of us at CloserIQ, and we can’t believe we’re just a few days away from welcoming another one. One of our goals this year was to create and curate the best sales content out there for advancing your career and building top sales teams.
Every week we compiled our favorite posts on everything from sales strategies to hiring plans.
Here are 20+ of our favorite sales blogs from 2018.
1) Navigating a Career in Sales
By Tara Fung I Source: Women In Sales
We love to hear stories of how people got what they wanted through unconventional methods. Advancing your career can be the same if you are able to identify the opportunity and know when and how to seize it.
Tara Fung of Commonbond shares tips to advance in your sales career, regardless of your experience.
2) Video in Sales Emails Increases Reply Rate 26%
By Roi Ceren I Source: SalesLoft
Emails can seem boring and predictable. And receiving an email that is noticeably system-generated already lowers the chance of a response.
Roi Ceren of SalesLoft shares how to utilize video to help skyrocket your open rates.
3) Common Sales Hire Traits That Are Overvalued
By Alex Adamson I Source: Bowery Capital
Many hiring managers end up over-valuing qualities that aren’t actually as important to the role. In fact, many of the skills early stage companies look for in their first sales hires are actually traits that can hurt the company in the long run.
Alex Adamson of Bowery Capital reviews some of these common traits and explains why you might not want to rely on them for hiring decisions.
4) How To Own It, Crush It, And Stay Motivated In Sales [9 Tips For AEs]
By Nima Mogharei I Source: SalesHacker
Working in sales can be demotivating as you inevitably face difficult situations throughout this career. But successful reps are able to view complicated circumstances as challenges you can learn from.
Nima Mogharei of DocuSign shares 9 tips to help you stay motivated and crush your goals.
5) The Sales Manager Job Description Template That Will Help You Find The Perfect Candidate
By Aja Frost I Source: Hubspot
Sales managers are a crucial member of your sales team, and hiring the right one can make or break your team. Choosing the right one starts with writing a good job description that clearly conveys what you’re looking for.
Aja Frost of Hubspot shares best practices for writing a sales manager job description to help you attract the right talent.
6) 11 Simple Questions To Assess The Maturity Of Your Sales Team
By Anna Talerico I Source: OpenView Venture Partners
Reflecting on your sales team’s successes and failures is an important and productive step to end the year and prepare for what’s coming next.
Anna Talerico of OpenView encourages each sales organization to ponder and actively reply to a few key questions to have a better understanding of the company’s maturity as time passes by. Just one rule: Be honest with your answers.
7) 4 Ways To Use Sales Gamification In Your Sales Process
By Bethany Fagan I Source: PandaDoc
In an industry full of numbers and data, a healthy competition can be the key to get your sales team performing. Sales contests aren’t just helpful for recognizing top performers, but they also provide motivation for employers who aren’t quite at quota.
Bethany Fagan of PandaDoc shares 4 ways you can use healthy competition to motivate your sales team.
8) 7 Skills You’ll Need To Become A Sales Manager
By Steli Efti I Source: Close
The Sales Manager job is a very important role in a sales organization, and it’s often the first step for you to take as you move into management. It’s a big responsibility yet a fulfilling one.
Steli Efti gives pointers to those who are considering a career in management. It may not be easy but taking this path may be the best decision you can make on the advancement of your career in 2019.
9) Sales Compensation Plans: How Much Do Salespeople Make at Top Tech Companies?
By Niel Malhotra I Source: Troops.ai
“A common decision for salespeople who are looking for a job in tech is whether to join a smaller, fast-growing company, or a larger, more established company.”
Niel Malhotra of Troops shares the pros and cons of entering each type of company, as well as the compensation you can expect. If you’re considering switching jobs this year, this article is a must read.
10) The Top 3 Criteria for Hiring Your First Head Of Sales
By Jason Lemkin I Source: SaaStr
Hiring your first Head of Sales is a crucial hire for startup founders. This hire can jump start your revenue generating organization. But it’s also a huge risk that if done wrong, can cost you.
Jason Lemkin of SaaStr explains why you need a high standard in choosing the right person. He shares a helpful tips for evaluating your company’s needs and the timeline for adding this person to your team.
11) Creating a Sales Rep Dashboard
By Mike Lawson I Source: Rekener
Sales managers need to keep track of a lot of metrics, and if you don’t have a good system for reviewing the data, you’ll waste a lot of time.
Mike Lawson shares pointers on how to set up the ideal Sales Rep Dashboard. This framework will help you assess your team’s activities by looking at only the most important sales metrics.
12) The State of the Sales Development Talent Market
By Jordan Wan I Source: CloserIQ
The roots of Sales Development trace back to the 1980s, but in the past decade we’ve an increased focus on the role and the value that SDRs bring to a sales team
Jordan Wan discusses the major US tech markets for Sales Development talent, changes we’re seeing, and some indications on where the sales talent market is headed.
13) Is Your Sales Kickoff Plan Outdated?
By Alex Lamascus I Source: ringDNA
Sales kickoff meetings are an important tool to motivate your team, but as every team and culture are different, high performing teams need to customize their plan to get the most out of it.
Alex Lamascus shares advice for planning and executing your sales kickoff so your team can get the most benefit possible.
14) Sales Meeting Ideas to Keep Your Team Motivated and Focused
By Sujan Patel I Source: Mailshake
Meetings across your sales organization are necessary, and when done well they can have a big impact on your team. But unfortunately many of these sales team meetings feel like a huge waste of time.
Sujan Patel of Mailshake shares why you should focus on motivating your team to get the most out of your meetings.
15) Your Sales Year Is Coming To An End. Are You Ready?
By Tom Morrill I Source: InsightSquared
The ending of a year or quarter can be one of the busiest times for salespeople. Everyone is trying to get a few last minute deals through the pipeline as well as prepare for the next quarter.
Tom Morrill of InsightSquared shares a straightforward list of how you can plan ahead and beat the deadlines. Though this year is already over, this advice is helpful for finishing any month or quarter.
16) 7 Data-Backed Sales Best Practices
By Martin Moran I Source: InsideSales
Sales is much more than call scripts and presentations. To keep up with the game, salespeople need to innovate and constantly improve their strategies
Martin Moran combines data with predictive analytics to highlight some best practices that can help you step up your sales game.
17) 14 Rules To Improve Your Sales Email Responses Rates
By Matt Heinz I Source: Heinz Marketing
A lot of your sales process is probably done through email. But with prospects receiving hundreds of emails per day, only the best emails make it through to a prospect and get a response.
Matt Heinz doesn’t beat around the bush in this article. He shares 14 brief tips you should use in your sales emails to increase your results.
18) 4 Ways to Retain Sales Talent in Your Small Business
By Billy Martin I Source: Salesforce
Talented salespeople are in demand, and they usually have a lot of options in front of them. Startups and small businesses face the challenge of trying to keep their top reps from competing offers.
Billy Martin shares 4 concrete things you can do to keep your top performers motivated and happy in their current roles.
19) 3 Lessons for Sales Reps Who Want To Maximize Productivity and Learning
By Derek Kelliher I Source: Drift
The best sales reps are self-learners. They stay up to date on industry trends and are always looking for strategies to become more effective and productive.
Derk Kelliher of Drift shares 3 key tips you can follow to become a better seller and improve in your career.
20) Sales Intelligence is Here to Help, Not Replace, Sales Professionals
By Jaxson Khan I Source: Nudge
Top salespeople know how to use the right tools to stay on top of sites, industry resources, people, and internal data available to them; everything that gives them a more efficient competitive advantage as they navigate deals towards close.
Jaxson Khan of Nudge shares 5 ways a sales professional can use sales intelligence to enhance their roles.
21) How to Sell to Top Executives and Decision-Makers
By Brandon Redlinger I Source: Engagio
Landing a meeting with a top executive or decision-maker doesn’t happen by luck. It’s the result of hard work and finesse. However, once you’ve scheduled the meeting, your battle has only just begun.
In this article, Brandon Redlinger discusses the things you can do before, during and after the meeting to win the deal.
Did we missed any of your favorite sales blogs? Let us know in the comment below!
Hiring vetted sales talent? Connect here.
