Embracing Kaizen in the New Year: Continuous Improvement in Sales

kaizen

As we begin a brand-new year, it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on the year that’s passed, reassess our strategies and set ourselves up for even greater success. At Business Development University (BDU), we believe in the power of Kaizen, a Japanese philosophy centered on continuous improvement. By embracing Kaizen and consistently reevaluating what’s working and what isn’t, we can … Read More

Why Sales Training Matters: Boosting Results for Your Team

Sales Training

In today’s business world, effective sales training isn’t just a bonus for your sales team – it’s a must-have. Frequent, high-quality sales training helps your team stay motivated, sharp and ready to tackle every challenge. If you’re a sales leader, can you recall the last time you helped your salespeople “sharpen the saw” and provided growth opportunities for them? If … Read More

Why Every Sales Team Needs a Playbook: Scoring Consistent Touchdowns and Wins

benefits of a sales playbook

In football, every great team has a playbook. It’s a strategic guide that maps out how they’ll score touchdowns and win games. Without it, teams would be lost, running around the field with no clear direction. The same is true in sales. A sales playbook serves as your team’s game plan, ensuring everyone is on the same page, working together … Read More

Sales Team Performance: What Yard Line Are Your Salespeople On?

Sales Team Performance

Sales team performance isn’t always about instant results. Sometimes your salespeople might not seem successful, but they’re closer to a breakthrough than you realize. Think of each team member as a football player on the field, each positioned at different yard lines. Some are stuck in their own zone, struggling to gain momentum, while others are on the 20-yard line, … Read More

Maximizing Sales Management Impact with Five Key Touchpoints

Sales Management Impact

Sales managers have a one-line job description: to help their direct reports be as successful as possible. And sales managers play a pivotal role in that success, shaping the strategies and practices that drive performance. Maximizing sales management impact is crucial to a company’s success, and well-honed sales management techniques can significantly influence not only team performance but overall business … Read More

What is a Sales Kickoff? The Purpose and Power of Kickoff Meetings

What is a Sales Kickoff

Imagine a room filled with enthusiastic sales reps, eager to tackle the upcoming year with fresh strategies and a renewed sense of purpose. Welcome to the sales kickoff meeting! But what exactly is a sales kickoff, and why is it so crucial for sales teams? What Does Kickoff Mean in Business and Sales? In the business world, a kickoff marks … Read More

Sales Leadership Training: Building a Strong Foundation in Sales Management

Sales Leadership Training

In the world of sales, it’s essential to understand the difference between a sales leader and a sales manager. While a sales manager simply handles the operations day to day and ensures the sales strategy is executed effectively, a sales leader goes above and beyond by inspiring and guiding their sales team towards success. Understanding this distinction is the first … Read More

“Squeeze the Lemon” and Be Comprehensive

By now, you probably know all about BDU’s philosophy of “squeezing the lemon” to get the most from everything you do, but are you being comprehensive to make sure you squeeze out every last bit of “juice”? “Squeezing the lemon” is not just about being purposeful; it’s also about being thorough and doing everything you can do to cover all … Read More

Fourth Quarter Incentives – It’s Time to Motivate Your Team

Sales leaders, how are you helping your direct reports hit their fourth quarter – and annual – numbers as we approach the end of the year? It’s time to motivate your team with incentives! It’s Time to Incentivize You already know that it’s better to motivate your direct reports with the carrot instead of the stick, and it is truly … Read More

One-on-One Meetings: To Have or Not to Have

Sales leaders, how often do you schedule one-on-one meetings with each of your direct reports? Are you making it a priority to have individual meetings with each of your salespeople on a regular basis? Lisa recently held a private leadership training for a group of sales managers and was surprised to hear that they don’t regularly meet one on one … Read More

Six Key Metrics for Sales Managers to Monitor

There are six key metrics all sales managers need to monitor for each of their direct reports to determine if they are thriving, where any areas of opportunity might lie and how best to put a plan of action in place to help them not only meet but exceed their goals. If you’re a sales leader, you know that you … Read More

A Lesson in Sales Success from Lisa’s Horoscope

Lisa was recently listening to a morning radio show when she heard the horoscopes for the day. While she is not one to typically listen out for her horoscope, she decided to do so that day. She listened as the show’s host went through the other zodiac signs and when they finally reached Lisa’s, she was thrilled that she had … Read More

Sales Playbook: Your Blueprint for Success

Selling without a sales playbook is akin to building a house without a blueprint. Are you setting your salespeople up for success by giving them the tools and roadmap necessary to get there? Every industry, company and individual has their own way of selling. Even the most well-established organizations will have different managers within who lead their teams in their … Read More

Squeezing the Lemon: The Power of One More

You know about BDU’s philosophy of “squeezing the lemon“, and part of what makes this philosophy so impactful is the power of doing just one more activity, no matter how small, as it can lead to big results. Lisa recently had the pleasure of conducting a training session for one of BDU’s clients on “The Power of One More.” Why … Read More

Ten Tips for Time Management

Time is our most valuable resource so it’s important that we know how to make the most of it. You know about BDU’s philosophy of squeezing the lemon to maximize every opportunity and get the most “juice” out of everything you do, but what else can you do to make sure you’re being productive each and every day? We’ve created … Read More

How Do YOU Avoid or Get Out of a Sales Slump?

Everyone who is in sales has probably experienced the dreaded sales slump. Your numbers are down, you have no great leads in the pipeline, and you feel stagnant with your progress and efforts. What do you do when it hits? How do YOU get yourself out of a sales slump and back on track, and what do you do to … Read More

Sales Leaders, Does Adding Pressure Help Your Underperformers?

It can be challenging to figure out how to best handle a direct report who is just not performing well. Our first inclination as sales leaders may be to put more pressure on the underperformers. While you may have a few salespeople who perform better this way, adding pressure might end up doing more harm than good. Sometimes underperformers have … Read More

Sales Leadership Tip: Setting Key Numbers and Getting Buy In

Want your direct reports to buy in when setting key numbers and quotas for them? It’s all about steering the conversation and allowing them get involved in the process of determining their own goals. By doing so, they’ll ultimately be more willing and committed to achieving them. As sales leaders, we know the importance of having frequent conversations with our … Read More

For 2023 Sales Success, Do You Need to do MORE or do BETTER?

for sales success do more or do better

If your 2022 activities didn’t yield the results you desired, it’s time to determine if you should start doing MORE or if you need to look for ways to do BETTER. It’s the beginning of a new year, and with it comes a fresh start to set yourself up for sales success. If you haven’t already, take some time to … Read More

Year-End Checklist for Sales Leaders

As the year comes to an end, it’s important as sales leaders that we do all we can to fulfill our one-line job description: to help our direct reports be as successful as possible. Here’s a handy year-end checklist you can download and use to help your team finish out the year strong and set yourselves up to hit the … Read More

“Squeezing the Lemon” for Sales Leaders

If you’re a sales leader, it’s important that you know about BDU’s philosophy of “squeezing the lemon” to be productive and get the most from all you do. As sales leaders, we’re so busy juggling so much every day – especially if we carry a bag ourselves – that we need to make sure we’re doing all we can to … Read More

Re-Engage Your Unresponsive Prospects Right Now

Re-Engage Your Unresponsive Prospects

We’ve all been there with an initially warm prospect that’s suddenly gone cold. You’re trying to close the sale and they’re just not moving forward. Maybe they’ve stopped returning your calls or emails, or they’re responding with some strong pushback. When you need to re-engage your unresponsive prospects, there are several things you can do to move things forward. How … Read More

Year-End Sales Success Starts at Halloween

Year-End Sales Success

Being in sales can often feel scary as we put ourselves out there and face rejection, but with these three sales tips you can calm those fears and achieve success. Your year-end sales success starts NOW, around Halloween, but it doesn’t need to be scary. Now that we’re well into the last quarter of the year, it can feel overwhelming … Read More

Networking: BDU’s Five Key Tips for Attracting Influencers

Networking and Attracting Key Influencers

Most sales professionals understand that networking is a key component to business success. Perhaps you’ve attended a handful of networking events but haven’t gotten much out of them. At Business Development University, helping you take things to the next level is what we do…here are some key tips for attracting influencers. Networking is so much more than just showing up … Read More

Going from Good Salesperson to Great Salesperson: Focus on the Gap

good salesperson to great salesperson

How do you go from good salesperson to great salesperson? Whether you’re a salesperson or a sales leader, it’s important to identify triage areas so you can focus on the gap and make the necessary tweaks to boost performance and potential. You’ve likely heard us talk about BDU’s triage philosophy of identifying the top three areas that, if improved upon, … Read More

Five Secrets of Successful Sales Leaders

secrets of successful sales leaders

As a sales manager or leader, you have a one-line job description: to make your sales team as successful as possible. In order to be a great leader, you first need to build trust within your team. Then, you’ll need to figure out what needs to be done to maximize everyone’s performance and potential. From our years of experience working … Read More

Back to In-Person Meetings? Don’t Give Up Your Zoom Meetings Just Yet!

in-person meetings

In 2020, the pandemic brought with it the drastic shift away from in-person meetings and suddenly everyone was on Zoom. This meeting platform that most of us had never used before was becoming our virtual office space. Now, many of us are returning to in-person meetings after two years of virtual chats and “Zoom fatigue.” However, we can’t discount the … Read More

Boost Your Close Ratio: Always Set a Next Appointment

improve your close ratio

Want to improve your close ratio? Always set the next step at the current step when it comes time to go for the close! It’s common during the sales process for a prospect to go dark once they’ve received a quote or proposal from you, and you may find it difficult to reconnect with them once they’ve gotten all the … Read More

Prospecting Tip: Take Note of Note Taking

Prospecting Tip: Take Note of Note Taking

In sales, you know the importance of paying close attention to your clients or prospects. During a meeting, you’re not only listening to what they are saying but also of picking up on their nonverbal cues as well. You’re paying attention to their facial expressions and body language, as well as how they’re listening to what you’re saying and their … Read More

The Top 4 Tips for Overcoming Objections

tips for overcoming objections

It can happen at various points throughout the sales process:  you’ll be presented with some sort of an objection. How do you confidently handle objections and navigate pushback from your prospective clients in order to land the sale or opportunity? We’ve added this post to include a few tips for overcoming objections and putting prospects at ease. This is a … Read More

Thinking in Threes: Listen to Lisa’s Interview on the Top 3 Podcast

Thinking in Threes: Listen to Lisa's Interview on the Top 3 Podcast

Lisa was recently welcomed as a guest on the Top 3 Podcast, hosted by her long-time friend Marcia O’Connor, CEO and Founder of The O’Connor Group. Listen to the episode now to hear their discussion about the importance of being purposeful in all that you do, as well as how to maintain proper relationships. You’ll also learn about BDU’s triage … Read More

”Squeeze the Lemon” in Every Moment, Big or Small

be more productive

By now, you probably have heard all about BDU’s philosophy of “squeezing the lemon” to get the most juice out of everything you do each and every day. To fully “squeeze the lemon” and be more productive, it’s important to also think about what more you could be accomplishing throughout your day. How can you maximize every moment, and especially … Read More

AWE’s September Roundtable: Getting in Front of Decision-Makers

getting in front of decision makers

BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin was honored to facilitate the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs’ September Founder’s Roundtable. Current and prospective AWE founder members joined Lisa for a discussion on the topic, “How to Get in Front of Prospective Clients / Reaching Top Level People.” Getting in front of decision makers can be a challenge, so there are some key things to remember … Read More