Communication is a critically important part of doing business, but not everyone comes equipped with flawless communication skills. In fact, many professionals struggle when it comes to effectively interacting with business leaders, other employees and prospective customers. Unfortunately, the cost of bad communication habits could be the loss of career opportunities, potential clients or business deals.

In today’s incredibly digital world, there’s still no substitute for the personal touch that great customer service can offer — whether in person or online. However, companies and brands need to bring their A-game these days.

The average human lifespan is absurdly, terrifyingly finite. If you’re lucky and you live to 80, you will have lived about four thousand weeks. This truth, which most of us ignore most of the time, is something to wrestle with if we want to spend our limited time on this earth well.

We live in a world buzzing and flashing with distractions: Slack messages sidle onto screens, phones vibrate with breaking news and chats from the group chat, and worries about COVID and other threats break our concentration. No wonder staying focused can be a challenge.

Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) have been a mainstay for key account management for some time. But just a few years ago they—and for that matter, the whole customer success function—were the new kid on the block. And they were difficult to pull off. It was hard to get the right data, hard to build a case for value, hard to predict success and alter implementations.

Sales leaders today agree that there’s an increasing gap between buyers and sellers. In our annual sales performance studies, sales leaders tell us that organizations struggle with advanced engagement capabilities and they’re challenged to strengthen sales relationships.

B2B selling involves a myriad of choices about how to engage with customers. Sales organizations and salespeople spend an enormous amount of time planning which customers and prospects to spend time with and what messages to focus on. Typically, a high-level annual plan anchors more detailed quarterly plans which get broken down into even more granular periods.

An effective sales team has proven to be a leading factor in companies’ performance and growth throughout the pandemic. For those of you responsible for enabling a sales force, this is great news. Your work and contributions are likely noticed and applauded company-wide.

Determined, intelligent and unafraid of knockbacks – all traits of great sellers.

Salespeople are also having to adapt to new technology, buyer behavior and other factors outside their control, while still striving to hit targets.

Investing in sales training to improve selling skills is one of the wisest decisions any sales manager can make. But what’s the best way to find a sales training company that will get you great results? Here are seven key areas to consider as you evaluate different options.

Yesterday I watched a toad walk across the outdoor side of our kitchen window. Picture it! I wish I had video but it ran so counter to what I have observed toads doing over the past 65 years that I froze. I performed a google search and found exactly one image of a toad on a window. Please understand that the dirty window and sill are not mine - I found the image via a Google search.

Dale Dupree is the founder and CEO of the Sales Rebellion. He draws on his many years of sales experience to coach sales professionals in developing innovative and creative approaches to their craft. Dale is also one of the hosts of the popular Selling Local podcast. He joined Predictable Revenue to discuss how to create experiences that cause familiarity, fuel relevance, drive curiosity and give your prospect a reason to meet.

The ability to strategically negotiate with others drastically impacts the success of your training organization and business at large, both in closing individual deals and sustaining long-term business relationships. One of the most fundamental elements of a successful negotiation is understanding the client’s needs. Often, the easiest tactics are overlooked while negotiating. This includes relating to the other party, gauging emotions and/or choosing the right time and place to talk business.

There’s always some level of uncertainty in the world of sales but external changes can make it challenging to know where to focus, what to do and what not to do. Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling, consultant, academic and founder of Huthwaite International, discusses the three big mistakes that salespeople make when times are hard and how to avoid them.

Jay Mount is the CEO of basix.ai, an industry-leading company that increases its clients’ conversion rates by boiling sales down to its simplest components. He joined Predictable Revenue to discuss how increasing pressure to meet growing revenue targets without scaling processes can reduce the productivity and morale of a team. He also provided five key pieces of advice to help team leaders increase their sales productivity.

Business customers increasingly control how they buy. They expect to engage with the companies they buy from through a coordinated blend of human and digital experiences and sales channels. It’s challenging for companies to create a fully-integrated experience. Especially when dealing with many prospects and customers (e.g., small and medium-sized businesses), it’s difficult for sellers to tailor solutions sufficiently to match each customer’s situation. And sellers often struggle to make the most of their sales engagements without access to marketing intelligence from digital interactions.

What do you believe you are capable of when you feel confident? If you’re like most people, your world of possibilities is greatly expanded when you feel sure of yourself.

You’ve decided to take the plunge and change careers. You are ready for a brand new start, excited to take on a new challenge. One major mental obstacle stands between you and your new start; the uncomfortable, but obligatory, interview process, which comes equipped with the dreaded “why did you leave your last job” question.

Strengthening customer relationships is a key way for sales organizations to improve sales performance and win more deals.

Nic spent most of her childhood avoiding people. She was raised by a volatile father and a mother who transferred much of the trauma she’d experienced onto her daughter. The combination left Nic fearful and isolated. “My primitive brain was programmed to be afraid of everybody, because everybody’s evil and they’re gonna hurt you,” she told me. (Nic asked to be referred to by only her first name to protect her privacy.)