When a company is looking towards growth and profit, it often means you need an increase in sales to reach those targets. There is no single way to approach a sales strategy but there are plenty of articles, podcasts and books out there to help you organise your tactics.
We asked Corporate Traveller’s Head of Sales, Miling Harpur to share her top 10 resources to help SMEs stay up to date with latest sales strategies. Use these recommendations to think about your own sales setup and how you could make improvements and adjustments for future plans.
1. Salesforce - Resource Centre
Lots of great articles, webinars, white papers and videos on best practice sales - regularly updated and a great monthly newsletter. As a customer of Salesforce they are also very open and forthcoming with sharing how they do things, so I am constantly reaching out to them to hear their tips and tricks.
2. Harvard Business Review
If I am ever looking for the most reputable source of best practice in an area, this is where I find it.
3. Tony Hughes (RSVP Selling)
Tony is an absolute sales guru and most of our sales training and processes have been built on his methodology.
4. McKinsey
A weekly email from the consulting firm with excellent, topical content - good mix of local and global articles and a great way to understand business trends. Our sales approach during the COVID-19 pandemic was modelled on some of McKinsey's work regarding businesses who thrive after crisis.
5. Newspapers
I religiously read the business section in these newspapers cover to cover every weekend as I find it's a great way to stay on top of what's happening in the market, and is also a great source of leads and intel.
- Australian Financial Review
- The Age/Sydney Morning Herald
- The Australian
6. Radio
I listen to ABC (local radio and Radio National) every morning as they discuss news and current affairs; I find this gives me some great talking points with my customers during the day and helps me understand impacts of local affairs on their industry.
7. My sales mentor
Every salesperson needs at least one great sales mentor, mine in Brian Keller, an incredibly experienced sales guru in the US. Brian has over 30 years’ experience in sales and sales leadership, training and consulting and is currently responsible for over 1,000 salespeople.
8. Books
I'm not a great reader of books, but I like to read a few good ones each year and generally go with a recommendation from a mentor or colleague. My top reads for salespeople would include:
- Combo Prospecting by Tony Hughes
- The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane
- Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
- How to Be a Productivity Ninja by Graham Allcott
- Putting Stories to Work by Shawn Callahan
9. My Network
Whether it's my team, my alumni from university or my wider network developed more recently, if I need a question answered or need some advice, this is generally where I turn. Either they know the answer or they can arrange an introduction to an expert who knows exactly how to solve my problem!
10. LinkedIn
I love this platform as it shows great content, webinars and articles. I scroll through a few times per week and end up in a rabbit warren of whatever clickbait I find interesting whether it’s about sales, business or leadership!
Find Your Path to Growth
Whether you prefer to listen, watch, read or network; there are many useful and varying resources out there that can inspire and assist your sales strategy. Take some time to soak up their knowledge and carve your path to more sales.