Wed.Jan 19, 2022

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Don’t Waste Your Time: Five Red Flags to Watch for with Unsolicited RFPs

Holden Advisors

In the world of sales, it’s easy to get caught up in the possibilities of an unsolicited RFP. But , if you find yourself dealing with procurement, you might want to save your energy. Some years ago, out of the blue, I was invited to participate in an RFP for a $13 billion apparel company. If you're unfamiliar, an RFP is a Request for Proposal by a company looking to hire someone to complete an important task for them.

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5 Retail Tech Ideas That Should Thrive In 2022, And 2 On Hold

Customer Think

Being out-of-touch is totally in, QR codes are quickly finding a new home and robots are strolling the line between novelty and value. This is what retail innovation will look like in 2022. Funding for retail technology reached a record $29 billion in the first quarter of 2021, as retailers and tech companies sought to […].

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Minimizing Internal Roadblocks – Let Your Sellers Sell!

The Center for Sales Strategy

Have you ever heard a seller complain that there just isn’t enough paperwork to be completed? How about that they wish your CRM was more complex? Or that there aren’t enough departments involved in their sales? As a manager, it's likely that you have heard the exact opposite from most of your salespeople. Hunters like to hunt, but many don’t really like to cook or clean up after their kill.

CRM 116
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4 Predictions for Global Customer Service in 2022

Customer Think

Last year, I made a few predictions about what to expect in the future of customer service. Although I may have had a rosier outlook about the “end” of the COVID-19 pandemic, we did see massive strides in the advancement and adoption of AI as well as the continued digital transformation of businesses across industries […].

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2024, The Year of the Customer

2023's struggles fueled a shift: companies are ditching wasteful strategies in favor of data and AI-powered growth. Enter 2024, the year GTC takes center stage. Discover 5 ways a customer-centric approach unlocks new revenue and delivers lasting success.

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Sellers: Use This Problem-Solving System to Lead Strong Discussions with Buyers

RAIN Group

When it comes to solving what may appear to be an intractable problem, sellers and sales managers are often at a loss for how, exactly, to lead the problem-solving process.

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Building Bridges — Best Practices For BI Teams Working With Data Teams

Customer Think

A recent BARC study says that data visualization has become a trend in developing Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards. Developing BI dashboards is essential for businesses for many reasons. Flawless data visualization helps business managers to make the right decisions in crucial junctures. As a result, the business starts flourishing economically.

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The Far-Reaching Impact of Broken Brand Promises

Customer Think

Let’s pretend for a minute that there is no pandemic (feels nice, doesn’t it?). Even before all of this started, keeping promises and staying committed to customer needs were probably the biggest drivers of brand loyalty. Fast-forward to now, when the pandemic has added significant stress and uncertainty to many customers’ lives, and the stakes […].

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Directive and Supportive Leadership: Which One to Use and When

CMOE

There are many types of leadership styles out there. Which one is right for you? Here, we’ll discuss two specific styles: directive and supportive leadership. One is not objectively better than the other—it all depends on your work culture, the people you manage, and the situations you encounter. Let’s take a moment to discuss what directive and supportive leadership are and the specific circumstances that merit each style.

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5 Things to Consider Before Your Launch Your Email Newsletter

Customer Think

Source: Canva New and established companies are getting on board with email marketing. It makes sense that you want to reach your customers where they spend a lot of time: the inbox. But what kind of information can you share with your readers? Anything they’d find useful or can promote your brand. There’s really no […].

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Customer Meetings from A to Z: Things to Do Before, During and After

SuperOffice

You’ve done it. An MQL ( marketing qualified lead ) has become an SQL (sales qualified lead). The lead is ready to talk. What can go wrong now? Well … in fact, a lot. 65% of sales specialists claim their close rate doesn’t exceed 21%. Most often, 79% of SQLs are lost. It means that there’s a great chance you won’t close your next lead.

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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

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Two Voids Buyer Personas Can Fill To Achieve Growth Strategies

Customer Think

Lack of buyer insights and brand vision can doom growth strategies. On the minds of many CEOs entering 2022 is how to make business growth a top priority. Especially after two years of an enduring COVID-19 pandemic. While some indust.

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11 must-listen podcasts for anyone who works in sales

Crank Wheel

Look no further for the best sales-focused podcasts.

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Do You Confirm? How Uncertainty Costs You Money

Customer Think

There are 2 kinds of people. One never asks for directions One always asks for directions (or at least is not hesitant to ask) In a past Tips on Thursday newsletter, I wrote about taking the initiative, finding your own course of action, and making a decision based on experience, availability, practicality, etc. This mindset […]. The post Do You Confirm?

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Here’s why you should be investing more in customer service

Zendesk

In a perfect world, every customer would be 100% happy with every purchase. Shipments would arrive ahead of schedule, products or services would exceed expectations, and we could forever banish the terms “return” or “refund” from our daily lexicon. While there’s no magic formula to guarantee customer happiness, new research shows how important of a role support agents play.

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1st, 2nd, and 3rd Party Intent Data: Which Is Right for You?

How do 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party intent data compare? 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party data each have specific advantages and disadvantages. It comes down to four factors: accuracy, cost, control and quantity. This infographic explains the pros and cons of each and helps you understand which one is best for meeting your business objectives. Intent data can be a great way to fill your pipeline and close more deals.

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Fixing Our Win Rates! Improving Performance!

Customer Think

I wrote, Win/Loss Analysis–Are You Learning As Much As You Should? As I mentioned in that article, I continue to be amazed by how casually we treat win rates and how little we understand what causes us to win and lose. There is too much of a tendency to accept what they are [.]. The post Fixing Our Win Rates! Improving Performance! first appeared on Partners in EXCELLENCE Blog -- Making A Difference.

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Benefits of Organization-Wide Sales Training and Coaching

Brooks Group

According to CSO Insights, 94% of businesses have increased their targets but only 44% believe their sales strategy is able to help them hit those goals. The goal of any organization is to generate revenue. Everything you do is ultimately in pursuit of that goal. Because making sales is the way that revenue is generated, many companies make the mistake of focusing all their efforts on the sales team, frequently ignoring other departments.

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Top 5 Tips to Make Successful Healthcare-Related Videos

Customer Think

Healthcare-related topics can be challenging to communicate given their sensitive and complex nature, and that’s a challenge that institutions and marketers operating in the niche have to struggle with constantly. Luckily, if the era of content marketing has taught us anything, it is that video content can be used to convey all kinds of information […].

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How to 'Lift' Your Audience & Improve Your Communication Skills w/Richard Newman, CEO Ep#144

Strategic Planning and Management Insights

SME Strategy is a strategy consulting company that specializes in aligning teams around their vision, mission, values, goals and action plans. Learn more about how we can help align your team with our strategic planning and implementation services.

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ABM Evolution: How Top Marketers Are Using Account-Based Strategies

In times of economic uncertainty, account-based strategies are essential. According to several business analysts and practitioners, ABM is a necessity for creating more predictable revenue. Research shows that nearly three-quarters of marketers (74%) already have the resources needed to build successful ABM programs.

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ClearSale Acquires Software Development Organization Beta Learning

Customer Think

Fraud protection company’s first M&A will expand development resources by 30%.

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What You Need to Know About ‘Internet of Behaviors’ in 2022!

SmartKarrot

A lot has been written on the Internet of Things (IoT) and how it has made our lives more comfortable and convenient. . IoT can be found everywhere, from Google Home to smart home devices like smart security solutions. The information accumulated by the IoT devices provides information about users’ interests, behavior, and preferences. This has led to the evolution of a new concept termed the internet of behaviors.

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How CRM Improve Business Performance

Apptivo

Business can be of any type, but one prime factor that all businesses focus on while boosting the business performance metrics is customer relationship management. Customer Relationship Management is the backbone for efficient business performance management. When your employees develop successful and exemplary relationships with your customers, then it is comfortable to improve the retention rate.

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How to Build a High-Performance Customer Experience Team?

SmartKarrot

Building a high-performance CX team is all about maximizing each team member’s efforts and assigning the right people in the right roles. But the question is, who can be deemed as the right person? The answer is that it depends on the organization, where exactly the team sits in the organizational structure, and the scope of functionalities and responsibilities of the CX team.

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How to Leverage Intent Data for Better Outcomes

Speaker: Susan Spencer, Principal of Spencer Communications

Intent signal data can go a long way toward shortening sales cycles and closing more deals. The challenge is deciding which is the best type of intent data to help your company meet its sales and marketing goals. In this webinar, Susan Spencer, fractional CMO and principal of Spencer Communications, will unpack the differences between contact-level and company-level intent signals.

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CRM integration: What it is, why is it essential, and 4 key integrations

Insightly

How to empower your teams with CRM integration and APIs. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) integration is essential to unlocking the true power of a CRM. Integrations add functionality to CRMs and build a reliable source of truth you can count on to make decisions across your entire organization by connecting every single application you use to run your business.

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Sales win rate: How to calculate and improve it

Zendesk

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are critical measures of performance for sales teams. They can evaluate the efficiency of a sales funnel, assess the effectiveness of outreach methods, and even identify the number of emails reps send out in a given week. But no KPI receives more attention than the sales win rate. Win rates reveal important details, including which sales tactics work best, which areas need improvement, and which products or services generate the most sales.

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Jan 19 – Customer Success Jobs

SmartKarrot

Role: Director of Customer Success Location: Nashville Metropolitan Area, US (Hybrid) Organization: LNCsearch As a Director of Customer Success, you will manage the workflow of the call center and ensure compliance with established benchmarks and standards. Implement call center and interdepartmental initiatives to enhance operational efficiency and delivery of quality call center performance.

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What is a knowledge base? The essential tool you’re missing

Zendesk

Customers want answers, and they want them fast. About 60 percent of consumers say quick problem-solving is a mark of great customer service. But how do you deliver speedy service without sacrificing quality? By creating a knowledge base. Knowledge bases provide on-demand support by answering common questions and explaining how to use products or services successfully.

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ABM Success Recipe: Mastering the Crawl, Walk, Run Approach

Shifting to an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy can be both exciting and challenging. Well-implemented ABM motions build engagement with high-value accounts and drive impactful campaigns that resonate with your audience. But where do you begin, and how do you progress from crawling to running? Watch now as Demand Gen experts delve into the essentials of each stage of the ABM process.