Resources

What is it?

It is a representation of an organisation’s salespeople and their ideal customers based on the unique profiling tool created by us. It can be enriched by adding other data like demographics, behaviour patterns, motivations, and communication styles. The persona report combined with other insights can be used to understand what an organisation can do to:

1. Enhance the buying experience for customers
2. Improve the selling experience for salespeople

Why we created it

Personas help create a structure to understand buyer and seller behaviours and motivations which enhances the company's insight. Personas help an organisation to determine where to focus their time, guide product development, and allow for alignment across the organisation. This includes understanding and training salespeople and get them to attract, acquire, serve, and retain the most valuable customers.

What is great about it

In a B2B scenario, a salesperson might have to deal with multiple personas. Having the insight would help them to prepare better for each conversation. In the same vein understanding the persona of the seller would help their managers create a team performance training programme.

Imagine having easy access to some of the world’s best advice on B2B selling - information, knowledge, and wisdom!

The B2B Sales Top Tips Guidebook delivers just that. 36 chapters of real guidance, ideas, tactics, and insight specifically for B2B salespeople – all based on a total of over 740 years, (yes that’s 740 years!) of experience in B2B sales.

Jim is a Founding Fellow of the ISP and a member of the ISP’s Parliamentary Advisory Committee.

The book is written – for you – by Jim Irving, AND his friends. This book contains guest chapters from 26 sales coaches, sales thought leaders, procurement specialists, sales authors, business gurus and friends. Each one delivers a single chapter on a powerful topic. Clearly, simply, and effectively creating an incredible resource for you. Every single one based on serious real-life experience. Jim adds another 10 chapters in his own, award-winning, inimitable style.

These guests come from the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada and the USA. Each is very successful in their own right. Together, this unique book delivers big time…

Jim Irving has sold complex, high value solutions and services in over 25 countries. He has managed sales teams of all sizes, and then led small, medium and very large businesses. His career was highly successful, with multiple successful awards and turnrounds. After 30 years in the corporate world, he started his own business, helping start-up and high growth companies to accelerate their growth. He has been doing this for the last 15 years, with great results for his clients.

Among the UK contributors are Alison Edgar MBE, Fred Copestake, Colly Graham, Simon Hares, Andrew Hough (of the ISP), Jeremy Jacobs, Niraj Kapur, Steve Knapp, Jamie Martin and Mark Peacock. All are well known specialists/Speakers/Coaches in the UK

Similarly, the international contributors include Larry Levine, Patrick Tinney, Rick Denley, Vince Menzione, Mark Schenkius, Joe Barhoum and Brittany Baldwin.

A couple of comments –

“My pal Jim Irving has done it again! His first book on B2B Selling won a world-wide award. Hi second, on B2B Leadership gained critical acclaim. His third book is unique. He delivers more great advice on B2B sales. He has then also partnered with 26 others – authors (like me), procurement specialists, cloaches and respected friends who each added a chapter to create something very special. With over 740 years of experience in these pages, The B2B Sales Top Tips Guidebook will deliver wisdom directly to you!”

Alison Edgar, MBE. Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur.

“In today’s hyper-competitive B2B selling environment, it is imperative for salespeople to keep learning, thriving and adapting to the rapid changes around them. This book from Jim and 26 other specialist contributors delivers true value to your sales efforts. Choose a subject and learn from a real domain specialist. A great concept – absolutely thrilled to be involved!

Larry Levine – Author of ‘Selling from the Heart’.

What is it?

It is a measure created using a quick survey covering key elements of the buying cycle to obtain feedback from both customers who were won and lost.

It demonstrates the gap between what the salesperson believe they are doing to how it is perceived by the customers. As a result, sales managers get an unbiased view of what worked, what did not and the level of control that can be exerted on those areas. The report combined with other insights can be used to understand what the organisation can do to:

1. Improve salespersons skills and professionalism
2. Enhance performance by revealing perceived gaps between salesperson and customer

Why we created it

The buying process is getting complex involving multiple stages and people. With minimal differentiation between products or solutions, the salesperson/team's ability to perceive and respond to customer needs and wants differentiates winners to the also rans.

The win-loss approach helps create a structure to understand what a customer perceives as valuable and those that are not in the buying cycle. It compares this against what the salesperson and or the organisation think they are doing revealing obvious gaps.

Sales managers can determine how to bridge the gap to create support systems that work and understand the impact of support provided on performance. Sales leaders can use this to understand and train sales managers and get them to attract, acquire, retain, and grow their sales teams.

What is great about it

Companies can over a period develop blind spots on aspects of the buying/selling cycle and take some of their strengths for granted. Having this insight would help them to prepare better for each conversation. A sales leader on the other hand gets an overview of the organisation and teams' ability to win or lose business. The insight can be used to create team performance training programmes.

What is it?

It is a quick survey completed by customers based on the unique profiling tool created by us. It helps understand the levels of trust, loyalty, commitment the customer has with the salesperson, the organisation, and the product.

It also reveals the levels of care and empathy demonstrated by the salesperson towards them. The customer relationship quality report combined with other insights can be used to understand what the organisation can do to:

1. Improve the buying experience for customers
2. Enhance performance by addressing process and people challenges

Why we do it

The CRQ metric helps create a structure to understand the actions that build trust and demonstrate empathy which in turn identifies the levels of satisfaction, commitment, and loyalty the customers demonstrate.

The CRQ metric will help an organisation to understand what the star salesperson is doing, the processes that work, the impact of support provided etc. Sales managers can determine where to focus their time, guide product development, and allow for alignment across the organisation. This includes understanding and training salespeople and get them to attract, acquire, serve, and retain the most valuable customers.

What is great about it

In a B2B scenario, a salesperson might have to deal with multiple stakeholders. Having the insight would help them to prepare better for each conversation. In the same vein understanding the overall quality of relationships and the resultant customer intent would help their managers create a training programme to help their salespersons perform better.