It's often been said that people buy with their hearts and justify their purchases with their heads. Now, this might be a cliché, but it is true. People think this is mostly a consumer thing. It isn’t. Business buyers buy on emotion and justify with their heads, too. I know one particular situation where there was a consulting firm, and the consultants spent 5 months selling to a particular client and could not make the sale. No dice. Now the ROI story, it was great. The company could invest $2 million and get $8 million in cost savings at a minimum over the coming years. But the consulting firm still didn’t sell it and they didn’t know why...      

Insight selling is an old concept that has recaptured the fancy of the sales world, and rightly so, because it’s about adding value. Specifically, it’s about the seller adding value over-and-above the product or service. Too many folks, however, think insight selling is about educating buyers through presentations. They’re about half right, but without the other half, they’re missing out on the full impact of insight selling. The missing link is asking questions. Or, as we call it, inquiry. Insight selling in any form hinges on the concept of cognitive reframing. Cognitive reframing refers to creating alternative ways of viewing ideas, events, situations, possibilities for action, or anything. Change a buyer’s perception of what’s true and what’s possible, and you can influence their agenda for action...      

In What Sales Winners Do Differently, we studied over 700 purchases from the perspective of business-to-business buyers to find out what really happened in their buying experiences. In our research, we looked at the factors that most separate sales winners from second-place finishers. These are the essential selling skills you need to find yourself in the winner's circle in the year ahead.   The 10 Essential Selling Skills   1. Educated me with new ideas or perspectives 2. Collaborated with me 3. Persuaded me we would achieve results 4. Listened to me 5. Understood my needs 6. Helped me avoid potential pitfalls 7. Crafted a compelling solution 8. Depicted purchasing process accurately 9. Connected with me personally 10. Overall value from the company is superior to other options In our infographic, we share what you need to do to master each of these essential selling skills and boost your sales success...      

Sales has changed dramatically in the last few years. What should sellers do to prepare for 2014 and how should they react to new trends in the sales industry? RainToday’s Michelle Davidson interviewed our own John Doerr, President of RAIN Group and author of Wall Street Journal bestselling Rainmaking Conversations, to find out. Click through to read a summary of their conversation and listen to the full sales podcast...      

In our What Sales Winners Do Differently research, we found that the number one factor separating sales winners from second-place finishers is this: Sellers educated buyers with new ideas or perspectives. In other words, the seller became known as a source of insight. You can do this, even before you meet people, by sharing content such as: • Research • White papers • Articles • Videos • Webinars The content doesn't necessarily need to be your own, but it must be worthwhile content containing insights that matter...      

Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 Time: 2 p.m. ET Duration: 60 minutes with Q&A Presenter: Mike Schultz, President, RAIN Group & Author, Rainmaking Conversations This live event has passed. Click here to view the recording.   Sales has changed drastically in recent years. Buyers are more educated and resourceful than ever before, causing sellers to search for elusive competitive edges, differentiation, and value add. To find out what separates sales winners from the rest in major sales today, RAIN Group studied over 700 business-to-business purchases representing $3.1 billion. This research revealed that sellers who are perceived by buyers as sources of insight are more likely to win sales—and do so consistently—than those who aren’t. In this webinar, Mike Schultz, President of RAIN Group and author of Wall Street Journal bestseller Rainmaking Conversations, will share the keys to becoming a source of insight. Click here to view the recording.      

OK, I hope I have your attention now. Sales training is a multibillion-dollar business. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated to be more than $5 billion (according to Dave Stein in Sales Training: The 120-Day Curse from ES Research Group). Yet, also according to Stein, between 85% and 90% of sales training has no lasting impact after 120 days. If we do the math, that amounts to somewhere north of $4.25 billion of unproductive training. In speaking to prospects about the sales training they plan to implement, more often than not they ask, "What is the most important thing we have to do to ensure that this investment in training will pay off?" While there are many things that can and should be done (see Why Sales Training Fails), the one I believe is most important is that senior management has to be committed. Training is not something you do to someone and then go on your merry way, waiting for your newly jazzed sales force to bring in wealth, fame, and fortune...      

Top Sales World has announced the finalists for its annual Top Sales & Marketing Awards and we’re pleased to share that RAIN Group has been nominated in three categories. 1. Top Sales Thought Leader: Mike Schultz & John Doerr 2. Top Sales Ebook/White Paper: What Sales Winners Do Differently 3. Top Sales & Marketing Resource Site: RainToday.com According to Top Sales World, "The annual Top Sales & Marketing Awards contest has been created to hail ‘the heroes’ of the sales and marketing space." While we do encourage you to vote, we’d also like to share some of the great work we’ve accomplished this year in each of these categories. Please note: the polls close on Friday and we could use your help to secure a spot on the podium. Vote today!      

According to recent data from the Social Media and Sales Quota report from Social Centered Selling, 78.6% of sellers using social selling outperformed those who didn’t. And social sellers were 23% more successful in terms of meeting and exceeding quota. The question isn’t if social selling works. It’s how. Many so-called "gurus" continue to talk about social selling as if it were limited to asking/answering questions in LinkedIn groups and monitoring customers' Twitter accounts while scanning for buying signals ("our server is down again"). Good luck with that kind of strategy. Social selling isn’t about gimmicks or using the same old tricks to get the meeting. It’s about a quiet revolution that is rapidly widening the gap between those who will succeed in sales tomorrow and those who will get left behind. It’s about leveraging the power of technology so you can focus on what you do best—selling—instead of spending your time chasing after prospects who aren’t worthy of your time and devotion...      

In the Benchmark Report on High Performance in Strategic Account Management, we studied more than 370 companies that engage in formal strategic account management. We looked at what sets High Performers apart from the rest, and what you need to do to become a high-performing organization. Among other areas, we asked about the challenges companies face when it comes to account development. We found that High Performers report fewer challenges and issues in a host of different areas, including: Finding time to focus on strategies and actions to maximize growth at strategic accounts Getting funding or resources needed to maximize growth at strategic accounts Gaining support from company leaders to focus on strategic account management Here’s the hard truth...