Your day as an Account Executive is a constant balancing act. You’re prospecting, managing your pipeline, following up, closing deals, and trying to stay calm under pressure. It’s easy to feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. But success in this role isn’t about working harder. It’s about working smarter. By focusing on what matters most and cutting out what doesn’t, you can save time, reduce stress, and win more deals.

For many small business owners, the word “sales” can make you cringe. If that’s you, it’s time for a mindset shift. Too many business owners, especially women, view selling as something pushy, awkward, and even sleazy. But the truth is that sales is the lifeblood of your business. Without sales there is no revenue, and without revenue there is no business. Millionaire entrepreneurs embrace sales.

Your sales are down. You need an influx of new customers. Often the first step is segmenting your prospects into groups, whether by industry, product type, service type, or some other categorization. Then the marketing blitz begins. Maybe you create a special offer on a product. Or a discount for new customers. Or just put up some billboards to build general brand awareness. But the needle doesn’t move that significantly.

Sales and Customer Success (CS) teams are the dual engines of revenue growth, yet too often they operate in silos, each with separate goals. Daisy Chung, Head of Revenue Strategy at Orum, underscores that revenue growth comes from a synchronized approach between these two departments. While specialization in roles, such as Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) and Account Executives (AEs), can boost efficiency, it often creates gaps and communication breakdowns between departments.

Customer success is essential for any startup, at every stage. It’s what ensures customers are engaged, adopting, and gaining value from your product. But many startups get customer success wrong. This is partially due to a lack of understanding about how to design customer success, but also due to a lack of understanding of the goals of your customers. I once asked a startup CEO, What do customers get out of your product?

More than a dozen years ago, when I was coaching Little League, I had two boys on my 9-year-old team that never made contact with the ball. It didn’t take much time with them to realize they were both swinging with their eyes closed. I thought that if I could get them to swing with their eyes at least partially open, they might get their hands and bat close enough to the ball so that there was a chance the ball could hit their bats.

Top salespeople are successful because they sweat the details. They probe for pain, help their prospects, and run effective sales calls. They listen closely to what their prospects say, effectively determine the right solution, and ask for help when they need it. Top reps are articulate, assertive, and direct. And most importantly, they don’t use “weasel words” — words or phrases that subliminally undermine their credibility.

I have spent the past two decades on stages around the world as an auctioneer at the world’s top fundraisers and galas. I spend most nights negotiating with audience members to buy things at a higher price than they expect to pay when they walk in the room—it’s how I raise record funds for charities across the globe.

It's probably the most famous challenge in sales, to say nothing of an increasingly dreaded interview question: "Sell me this pen." Even if people didn't know it before, the 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street made it famous. And the images of would-be salespeople foundering, trying to describe the positive attributes of a pen without any real sales strategy, are hard to forget once you've seen them.

One of the most important skills I learned growing up came from martial arts -- stay liquid and fill the gaps. Being flexible will give you an edge in winning any match, whether you're fighting an opponent or brokering a deal. When I was a kid, I learned this the hard way. I was tiny and looked wimpy. I got picked on, beaten up, and mugged. So Ma enrolled me in martial arts at the community center. We went there almost every night to take classes and use the showers.

Selling often means speaking to people who've never heard of you. You might think of them as "cold leads," which is a bit impersonal. After all, they might very well become your best customers — in time. The problem is credibility. Without it, customers won't be receptive to your sales pitch.

Understanding the differences between leads, prospects, and sales opportunities is crucial for businesses looking to optimize their sales processes and boost revenue. By effectively managing these distinct stages of the sales funnel, organizations can allocate resources efficiently, prioritize high-potential opportunities, and ultimately increase their chances of closing deals. The sales team plays a pivotal role in building business relationships with leads, prospects, and sales opportunities

There aren't enough hours in the day. No one is answering the phone. The dog ate my homework. Excuses abound when deadlines are tight. Life happens, and things come up. But in order to meet targets and goals, businesses have to find a way to persevere especially when it comes to sales. Luckily, there are strategies that sales teams can follow to avoid common problems and eliminate excuses altogether. Three seasoned sales experts share their tried-and-true tactics.

In this fast-paced, on-demand world we live in, the ability to communicate well with one’s clients has become a critical skill that cannot be overlooked. The world as we know it has become significantly different than in days gone by. Clients want to know that they are receiving the best from everyone they are dealing with, and they do not want to be surprised.

Selling often means speaking to people who've never heard of you. You might think of them as "cold leads," which is a bit impersonal. After all, they might very well become your best customers — in time. The problem is credibility. Without it, customers won't be receptive to your sales pitch. You can't blame their cynicism, either — the perils of overpromising in sales are well-known, even among the public.

Negotiation skills play a crucial role in professional sales. Expertise in negotiation is a skilled practice. While some individuals are naturally strong negotiators, the best ones learn and work hard to strengthen their knowledge and learn new techniques– and they continually practice perfecting their approach.

You walk into your general practitioner's office. You have some pain in your knee from an old sports injury and it's starting to cause concern. When the doctor comes in, she doesn't start by asking questions about your condition. Instead, she hands you a short survey with some broad questions -- including things like, "When it comes to selecting a heart medicine, what do you look for?

I first learned about the importance of this from the father of a woman I was dating. This woman was special, and I knew I wanted to marry her. First, I had to make it through the difficult conversation with her father. Fortunately, he gave his permission, along with some advice. He told me, "You need to learn to read her mind." When I replied I wasn't a mind reader, he repeated his advice but didn't elaborate.

You would be amazed at how many people go into a negotiation without any pre-planning regarding their strategy. These folks go in hoping they'll land the maximum price, and they'll jump in, and use their gut and intuition to reach their goal. I'm sure some people have had success approaching negotiations this way. Typically, the better-prepared party wins in a negotiation.

What is at the heart of being a successful salesperson? The answer is simple: meeting the needs and wants of the other person at their level. The "how" is the important part. In many cases, salespeople get a bad rap. And the number one reason most people state for not liking salespeople is that they push their agenda without listening to, acknowledging or meeting the needs and wants of the consumer.