Leslie Ye says, “For a salesperson, persuasion is the ultimate superpower. How often do you get a call from a prospect you’ve never spoken to before who says, “I love your service and it’s the perfect fit for my business. Where do I sign?” Probably not that often. That’s where persuasion comes in. Some deals are easier to close than others, but all sales conversations will involve some degree of persuasion — even if both salesperson and buyer know your offering is the best choice. It’s not easy — if persuasion were simple, far more than one-third of all salespeople... [...]

Aja Frost says, “Some people might still think social selling is a fad, but the numbers don’t lie: Those who incorporate social media into their strategy reach their quota 66% more often than their peers. Plus, companies with social sellers enjoy a 22.2% increase in revenue. Not too shabby. But committing to using social media is easier said than done. Many reps don’t know how to interact with their prospects on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other networks — after all, it’s nothing like messaging your friends or responding to family members. Fortunately, you don’t need to... [...]

Jeff Hoffman says, “Salespeople entice prospects to book meetings with them based on their words, either spoken or written. With this in mind, word choice is incredibly important to be effective in sales. While an emotionally charged phrase might compel a prospect to sign the contract, an off-putting word could kill the opportunity. Get HubSpot’s free CRM here to start sending customized sales emails. If you’re good at selling, you likely spend the bulk of your day talking to prospects and customers. During your next conversation or email exchange, audit your communication for these... [...]

Ellen Bartolino says, “Every brand has a story, but great brands that know how to tell that story well. Whether you’re selling coffee, bookcases, or enterprise software, the reality is that the competition is higher than ever before. Having a compelling brand story is key, but remember: your story is more complicated than just words. Your brand story is communicated through visual identity, tone of voice, PR, and social media channels. Sure is a lot to keep up with, huh? While churning out endless content hoping something hits the mark may feel like the solution, it’s definitely... [...]

Aja Frost says, “Every fall, we gather thousands of marketers and salespeople in Boston for our annual INBOUND event — it’s where the inbound movement gathers to connect, get inspired, and learn. Today, we added our first 100+ breakout speakers to the lineup, which already includes Alec Baldwin, Gary Vaynerchuk, and the creators of Netflix’s “Making a Murderer.” One hundred sessions is a lot to wade through (and it’s not even half of the breakouts for INBOUND this year!), so here are some of our picks for marketers of all stripes. See something that strikes your fancy? Come... [...]

Emma Brudner says, “Salespeople are constantly on the go, whether they’re meeting with clients, flying out to give a presentation, or running to a team training. With this in mind, mobile access to sales systems aren’t just a nice to have — they’re a necessity. But besides company software, salespeople can also download productivity, educational, travel, and other just plain useful apps to optimize their time on the road. Here are 28 of our favorites. 1) Evernote Need to jot notes at a meeting or conference? Evernote has you covered. The mobile app also tags notes... [...]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “The average office worker sends 40 emails per day. That’s 40 opportunities to market yourself and your business in those individual emails you send, every single day. A lot of people treat their email signatures like an afterthought, which makes for a real missed opportunity. Those signatures are a chance for you to make it clear who you are, make it easy for people to reach you, and give people a place to go to find out more — either about you, about your business, or about something you’re working on. So if you’re just putting your name and... [...]

Amber Callan says, “Whether your ads are dominating paid search or need a little boost, ad extensions help in a variety of ways: 1) Better Click-Through-Rates AdWords Extensions provide additional ways for searchers to learn more about your business and to interact with your ad. Searchers can make a phone call or go directly to the service page that they’re looking for from your ad/ 2) Increased Visibility Using Ad Extensions lets your ad take up more PPC real estate, making your ads stand out from the others. Just compare the ads with and without extensions above and you’ll see that... [...]

Emma Brudner says, “In Jill Konrath’s opinion, the salesperson is the primary differentiator in B2B purchases today. As products and services become increasingly commoditized, buyers are aware they can get a similar offering from another company. But what they can’t get from just any vendor is the same sales experience, which is created by the sales rep. This means salespeople have almost complete control of their own destinies. Instead of blaming poor numbers on a crummy product line, a bad month, or less-than-stellar leads, failing reps might consider analyzing their processes... [...]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “SEO can sometimes feel like it stands for “Something Extremely Obscure.” As marketers, we’re responsible for staying on top of what can feel like endless Google algorithm updates. And if we fail to do so, we run the risk of not showing up in search for important target keywords. But keeping pace with all of those changes isn’t easy. Thankfully, when it comes to achieving SEO success on your website, there’s one rule of thumb that remains a tried-and-tested technique: optimizing your website with relevant and targeted keywords. By having... [...]