MarketStar Blog

In order to have a topflight sales organization, you need a strong sales channel. When your sales success depends on distributors and partners, you need an internal channel account manager with the right skills to oversee third-party sales.

If you are used to having a direct sales infrastructure, you may not understand the talents that are required of a successful channel account manager. In addition to understanding sales, you also have to be a sales strategist, trainer, coach, negotiator, diplomat, and referee. When you are managing an internal sales team, the team has a common goal—to drive sales for your business. 

A channel manager’s role is more complex because it requires accommodating the business needs of channel partners as well as the success of the supplier. It’s a balancing act that requires finesse and additional skills.

Today’s business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations are selling to increasingly sophisticated customers who are more informed than ever. The B2B buying journey has changed significantly, but customers still need help making the right buying decisions. That’s why we’re seeing a growing number of businesses incorporate new speciality sales roles to meet the needs of B2B customers at every stage of the sales cycle.

In this blog, we’ll explore how to best build speciality roles in a sales team to help your customers make the right buying decisions, while also supporting customer renewals and upselling customers to increase the value of every engagement.

The role of the high-tech field rep is changing and so is the way they are selling. The old method of overseeing the customer from lead capture to deal close and beyond is gone. High-tech field reps are now key members of a larger sales team, with each member playing a distinct role in the value chain. With the changes in the field rep’s role come new strategies to generate sales.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had an incredible impact on a variety of industries around the globe. There’s no doubt that it’s been a challenging year, and we’re still not out of the woods. 

But that means this summer is a great time to reassess your sales approach, determine what’s working and not working, and consider what your customers need, both now and in the future. 

As the economy regains focus amid and after COVID-19, Customer Success in particular should be part of your plan. Today, we’ll take a closer look at the benefits of a Customer Success team and how to best implement one in your company.

Native cloud software is here to stay, and a surprisingly large number of software as a service (SaaS) offerings are free. Free SaaS applications can be invaluable, especially if you need to solve a problem in a hurry. In fact, many free SaaS applications are outstanding tools to increase productivity, address business challenges, and make it easier to work remotely, which is extremely useful with more employees working from home thanks to the coronavirus.

There are free SaaS solutions for almost every business need. We have collected a few of the most popular SaaS tools with free offers:

Sales as a ServiceⓇ continues to grow in popularity, with more and more companies outsourcing key sales processes to help meet their goals. Still, some sales leaders are hesitant to consider it, especially to support their inside sales needs.

We’ve noticed over the years that there are a few common myths about outsourcing inside sales—objections that many sales leaders seem to share. But we’ve seen for ourselves that these myths aren’t true. And for companies that are already leveraging Sales as a Service, these myths have been debunked in the form of a growing pipeline and increased revenue.

Times of uncertainty present challenges to all of us, but they also present new opportunities. During a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is anxious about their health, their family, their job, their company, and the future. 

No one can predict what’s coming, but you can help secure your company’s future by solidifying your brand reputation. It’s an excellent time to build brand recognition and customer loyalty.

For many sales organizations, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) represent a great untapped market. However, these companies require a thoughtful sales approach that may differ from how you treat your enterprise customers. Customer Success is one area in particular that is essential to your SMB sales plan.

The United States is home to more than 30 million SMBs, which account for 99.9 percent of all U.S. businesses. Small businesses are those that generate less than $50 million in annual revenue, while medium-sized businesses sit between $50 million and $1 billion in annual revenue. These figures may be small compared to those of many enterprises, but they still represent a sizable selling opportunity that should not be ignored.

In times of crisis, you need to plan for the future at the same time you address the challenges of the present. These are certainly interesting times, when the global COVID-19 pandemic has created an economic crisis and turned everyone’s operations upside down. 

For many, work has stopped, resulting in 21.5 million Americans filing for unemployment. Businesses across all sectors have been affected by the pandemic, and sales have stalled waiting for the crisis to abate. Now is the time to revisit your sales programs and lay the foundation for sales during and after a crisis.

Even during a typical summer, staying motivated and focused on work can be challenging. After all, the weather is warm, kids are out of school, and vacations are looming. This year, motivation can be even harder to come by. Because most people are still working from home, activities are still somewhat limited, and we’re all yearning for a change of pace. 

But despite this summer’s unique challenges, it’s still important for your sales team to hit their goals and keep their momentum up. Read on for five ways to motivate your sales team through the dog days of summer: