MILLER HEIMAN BEST PRACTICES EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES - Miller Heiman, annually conducts the most exhaustive study of best practices in sales. The study includes thousands of respondents in virtually all industries and is worldwide.
2006 Best Practices Study
2007 Best Practices Study
2008 Best Practices Study
2009 Best Practices Study
ARTICLES
Bob Miller's article "Selling in a Down Economy"
The conventional wisdom, "The sales force needs to hunker down when the economy slows". The reality, "A slow market is the time to consider doubling down on sales resources." Read more...
Equal Pain or Equal Gain?
If there's one thing everybody knows about sales, it's that serious negotiation starts when you and your customer sit down together to close the deal. Right? WRONG!
Think again. In any successful
negotiation, the real work begins long before either party comes to the table. Read more...
It's OK to Lose Fast!
Everyone likes to find quick opportunities to close business and make their quotas. The deal that lands in your lap and nearly closes itself. But with sales cycles lengthening due to an increasing “no decision” rate, and more decision makers getting involved in every sale to scrutinize ROI, those wins are few and far between. All too often, salespeople are finding themselves mired down with opportunities that initially sound promising, but never seem to close. Read more...
How to Leave Effective Voicemails
“Please leave a message…”
As sales and business development professionals, we leave a lot of voicemails in our pursuit to drive revenue and build client relationships. When leaving voicemails for prospects or clients, you can dramatically increase your call back rate by adjusting your message to your client’s perspective instead of your own. Read more..
Consider the role talent plays within a sales force: the hard-wired skills, the soft-wired skills. How do you know if you have the right people in your sales force? How do you know they’re doing the right things? How do you leverage the performance and the potential of your top performers? Read more...
PRESS RELEASES
The Need to Align Sales and Marketing in Technology Companies
Miller Heiman recently released research findings to help technology sales organizations benefit from the strengths and opportunities identified in a study of their peers. Opportunities to achieve revenue growth in the technology industry, derived from the 2008 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study, compiles the results of survey responses from sales professionals in the technology industry and includes the insights from numerous industry experts. Read more...