FIRST-OF-A-KIND BUYER PERSONA RESEARCH
HOW B2B BUYERS SELECT BETWEEN VENDORS AND SALESPEOPLE
NEW RESEARCH REVEALS HOW EVALUATION TEAMS AND DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS MAKE BUYING DECISIONS
Groundbreaking buyer persona research study identifies and quantifiably measures how B2B buyers select vendors. Understand how buyers perceive the sales salespeople they meet with and what selling style they prefer. Explore the circumstances that determine which vendor is selected. Learn how different company departments and vertical industries make buying decisions. Learn More
SALES EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH
THE SALES ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE GAP STUDY:
What Separates High-performing Sales Organizations from Average and Underperforming Sales Organizations?
The answer to this question Steve W. Martin conducted extensive surveys with top-level sales leaders, mid-level sales managers, and salespeople. The resulting research, The Sales Organization Performance Study Report, provides detailed insights on the characteristics of high-performing sales organizations, quota analysis measurements, and key sales performance metrics.
Seven hundred eighty-six sales professionals participated in the study by completing an extensive forty-two-part survey. The survey goal was to gather both qualitative information about the attributes of high-growth sales organizations and the associated quantifiable performance metrics. Participants were asked to share their opinions on their sales organization, their top sales challenges, and personal details about their own quota performance. The study results reveal there are fifteen significant differences between how high-, average-, and underperforming sales organizations perceive themselves, measure performance, staff their organizations, and operate.
Learn More Read the Performance Gap Report
Research on High Performing Sales Teams
The results from this fascinating study quantify what many sales leaders have intuitively known for years. The best sales organizations have strong leaders who exercise control, monitor team performance, and establish internal processes that all team members must abide by. They hire talent of such high quality that it challenges the more tenured sales team members to continually perform at the highest level. Learn More
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TOP SALESPEOPLE
THE PERSONA OF TOP SALESPEOPLE RESEARCH
TAKE THE TEST AND COMPARE YOURSELF TO TOP SALES PROFESSIONALS
Noted sales researcher Steve W. Martin from the University of Southern California Marshall Business School has released the first-of-its-kind sales research on the attributes, attitudes, and actions of top salespeople. Click here to read the first report and take the Sales Persona Test. Learn More
NEW B2B BUYER RESEARCH
WHAT'S WRONG WITH SALESPEOPLE TODAY
NEW RESEARCH REVEALS THE KEY MISTAKES SALESPEOPLE MAKE
Groundbreaking B2B buyer persona research reveals customer perceptions of the salespeople they meet with and provides a detailed analysis of the key mistakes salespeople make from their point of view. Learn More
NEW SALES RESEARCH
HOW LOCATION IMPACTS SALES SUCCESS
Sales leaders who manage nationwide sales organizations know there is a big difference between selling in New York versus North Carolina, and Kansas versus California. In this research report, we examine the impact geographic location has on the personal attributes, attitudes, and actions that influence the productivity of field salespeople. Learn More About the Research
BASED ON 1,000+ INTERVIEWS
HEAVY HITTER I.T. SALES STRATEGY
Heavy Hitter I.T. Sales Strategy is a comprehensive guide for penetrating new accounts, differentiating your solution during the sales cycle, and winning highly competitive accounts. It is based on extensive research and interviews with more than 1,000 key information technology decision makers, top technology salespeople, and vice presidents of sales. The book provides state of the art technology sales strategies and advanced tactics for senior salespeople who want to learn the secrets of top performers.
Technology Sales Organization Strategy: Key Trends and Performance Metrics
Advanced Sales Cycle Strategy: Control the Complex Technology Sale
Sales Call Strategy: Differentiate Yourself in face-to-face customer meetings
New Account Penetration Strategy: Advanced Tactics to Secure Initial Meetings
Personal Communication Strategy: How to Convince Customers to Buy
Readers will find advice on how to win over C-level I.T. executives and senior business leaders across the organization. Determine how to gain strategic account control based upon the people, process, and politics of selling to complex businesses. Learn to conduct persuasive sales calls using sales linguistics, the study of how the customer's mind uses and interprets language. Learn More
Influence the Hidden Organizational Politics that Impact Decision Making
Best Books of the Year For Salespeople
"Heavy Hitter I.T. Sales Strategy is an unrivaled resource for senior salespeople who want to improve their strategy for winning highly competitive accounts. What really sets the book apart is its impeccable research. The findings and recommendations are drawn from detailed interviews with over a thousand of the most successful sales executives and leaders in the world. It's like having access to thousands of the best minds in technology sales at once."
WHAT IS SALES LINGUISTICS?
Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics is the first book that truly explains “sales linguistics,” the revolutionary new field of study about how customers and salespeople use and interpret language during the decision making process.
Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics provides communication strategies that enable salespeople to rise above their competition and impactful psychological suggestions that compel customers' rational intellect and emotional subconscious to buy.
- Language-based strategies and tactics to secure customer meetings
- What to say, do, and present in face-to-face customer meetings and phone calls
- Bonding with customers using sales linguistics, the study of how the customer's mind uses language
- Perfecting your sales intuition so you always say the right words at the right time
- Extensive examples, illustrations, and exercises in an easy-to-read format
Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics takes the concept of becoming a Heavy Hitter (truly great salesperson) to the next level. This book has been written for senior salespeople, those who have been in the field for five, ten, and fifteen years or more. While it will expose the novice salesperson to entirely new aspects of selling, the ultimate goal of Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics is to help experienced salespeople expand their influence within their local office, region, sales organization, and company. Learn More
If you are in sales, you make your living by talking. If you were a pilot, you would attend years of flight training school and many hours of simulator training before you were allowed in the cockpit of a jumbo jet. If you were a lawyer, you would intensely study law for several years and have to pass your state’s bar exam to ensure your proficiency. If you are in sales, you need to study language and perfect your use of words because your most important competitive weapon is your mouth! Learn More
SALES TRENDS AND METRICS
SALES ORGANIZATION RESEARCH: THE TRENDS THAT ARE CHANGING SALES
What is the Truth About the Migration from Field Salespeople to Inside Sales?
What Strategies are Sales Leaders Employing to Overcome their Top Sales Challenges?
How Does Sales Cycle Complexity Impact the Structure of the Sales Organization?
What are the Latest Key Sales Performance Metrics?
The answer to these questions are exactly what Steve W. Martin, a well-known sales author and sales organization researcher set out to find. To do so, Martin conducted in-depth interviews and extensive surveys with over one-hundred top sales leaders at leading high technology companies and business services providers. The resulting research, provides detailed insights about the evolutional nature of sales organizations along with key sales performance metrics by sales category (software, cloud, hardware, telecommunications, etc.).
This landmark study reveals key factors that determine when a sales organization will utilize a field or inside sales model. It provides qualitative information including trends and future predictions along with quantifiable sales organization metrics. Sales leaders share their top sales challenges and future sales strategies to meet the revenue goals. Learn More
Steve W. Martin's Articles
Harvard Business
Review Articles
7 Reasons Salespeople Don't Close the Deal
6 Reasons Salespeople Win or Lose a Sale
Similarities and Differences Between Men and Women in Sales
What Drives Salespeople in Different Regions
Salespeople Work Differently in Different Parts of the U.S
A Portrait of the Overperforming Salesperson
The Seven Attributes of the Most Effective Sales Leaders
Video: What Sets Sales Teams Apart
What Separates the Strongest Salespeople from the Weakest
What Top Sales Teams Have in Common in 5 Charts
Win More Sales with an Indirect Strategy
Why Sales Organizations FAIL
THE 12 SALES METRICS THAT MATTER MOST
The TREND that is Changing Sales
The Seven Types of Sales Managers
Research: How Sensory Information Influences Price Decisions
Why Customers Don't Buy
Use Sales Linguistics for Winning Presentations
Top Salespeople Use LinkedIn to Sell More
Ten Reasons Salespeople Lose Deals
Is Your Sales Organization Good or Great?
Top 10 Sales Trends for 2013
Plan Your Sales Call Strategy
Top Reasons Salespeople Lose Business
Win the Business with this Elevator Pitch
Understanding Five Types of Sales Coaches
What's Wrong With Your Sales Training Program
Strategies for Answering Customers' Questions
Are You a Closer? Take the Test
How to Close a Sales Call
Are Top Salespeople Born or Made?
Seven Personality Traits of Top Salespeople
Persuasion Tactics of Effective Salespeople
Why Sales and Marketing Are at Odds or Even War
How to Hire a VP of Sales
A Salesperson's Seven Deadly Sins
Heavy Hitter Sales Blog
Top Ranked B2B Sales Blog
Percentage of B2B Buyers Ranking Salespeople as Excellent, Good, Average & Poor
Statistical Proof You Need a Sales Manager
A Salesperson's Ideal Height and Do Tall Salespeople Sell More?
Why One LinkedIn Article Went Viral (30k views) and Another Didn't
Research Shows the Most Accurate Sales Forecasters
Why Big Deals Don't Close
The Three Pillars of Persuasion
Best Books for Salespeople - Inc.com
Sales Innovator: Sales Linguist,Steve W Martin Interview
The Physiology of Sales Calls
The Top Seven B2B Sales Books to Read
Landmark Sales Organization Study
Sales Excellence Infographic
Take the Sensory Price Test from Harvard Business Review
Sales Trends Infographic
7 facts About the Salesperson’s Mind
The Truth About 50+ Year Old Salespeople
Why Did I Lose? Six Win-Loss Questions
20 Great Companies to Sell for
IT Sales Strategy: Software & SaaS
Are You a Contagious Salesperson?
Salesperson's Most Important Weapon
Why Deals Don't Close: The Cesspool!
Know Why You Lose: The Martin Curve
Top Five Sales Presentation Mistakes
What Not to Say to a Spouse in Sales!
Motivational Sales Quotes
5 Truths About Selling to the C-Level
The IBM Rally Song! Do you Have One?
If Sigmund Freud Was Your Sales Manager
How Reagan Would Change Your Presentation
COMPENSATION RESEARCH
HOW COMPENSATION IMPACTS SALES ORGANIZATION QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE
Salespeople and sales leaders alike know that compensation can be a strong motivator, but it usually comes at a high budgetary cost. This leads many to ask what the real impact of compensation might be on overall sales professionals’ satisfaction and performance. This study explores the answer to that question.
Nearly 800 sales professionals participated in a sales organization performance study. Participants were asked to share their opinions on their sales organization and personal details on their company’s compensation. Twenty-two percent of survey participants were top-level sales leaders, such as vice president of sales; 14 percent front-line sales managers, who manage salespeople; 17 percent were hybrid sales managers, who sell directly to customers and manage other salespeople; and 47 percent were salespeople, who carry their own quota. Learn More
IN-DEPTH STUDY
The Similarities and Differences Between Men and Women in Sales
The most comprehensive study on the impact of gender in the sales profession ever conducted. The research provides a fascinating analysis of the similarities and differences between men and women in sales grouped into three subject areas: belief systems, sales strategy, and career orientation. Learn More About the Research
FORECASTING RESEARCH
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF SALES FORECASTING
Sales forecasting is a science and an art. It is the combination of information and metrics, intuition and best practices. However, sales forecasting is most commonly associated to the standard grading methodology of the particular customer relationship system that is being used (Salesforce.com, Oracle, Microsoft, etc.). In reality, how accurately do salespeople forecast and what are the attributes of the best forecasters? Read this first-of-its-kind research project on forecasting. Learn More
The "Heavy Hitter" Series of Books for Senior Salespeople
- Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics
- Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology
- Heavy Hitter Sales Wisdom
- Heavy Hitter Selling
- Story of Informix
- IT Sales Strategy
Advanced Sales Call Strategy
Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics: 101 Advanced Sales Call Strategies for Senior Salespeople
Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics is the first book that truly explains “sales linguistics,” the revolutionary new field of study about how customers and salespeople use and interpret language during the decision making process.
Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics provides communication strategies that enable salespeople to rise above their competition and impactful psychological suggestions that compel customers' rational intellect and emotional subconscious to buy.
- Language-based strategies and tactics to secure customer meetings
- What to say, do, and present in face-to-face customer meetings and phone calls
- Bonding with customers using sales linguistics, the study of how the customer's mind uses language
- Perfecting your sales intuition so you always say the right words at the right time
- Extensive examples, illustrations, and exercises in an easy-to-read format
Learn More About Heavy Hitter Sales Linguistics
C-Level Sales Strategy
Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology: How to Penetrate the C-Level Executive Suite and Convince Company Leaders to Buy
The biggest challenge facing salespeople today is securing meetings with C-level executives and convincing them to buy in the life-or-death meetings that determine who will win the deal. Based upon comprehensive interviews with more than 500 C-level executives, Steve Martin's Heavy Hitter Sales Psychology will help you understand how C-level executives think, how they communicate, and how to adapt your use of language to match executive decision makers'. Steve W. Martin provides language-based strategies that enable your message to rise above your competitors' and impactful psychological suggestions that compel executives to take action. Inside, you will find expert advice on
- Strategies and tactics to penetrate the C-level executive's offic
- What to say, do, and present in face-to-face meetings with C-level executive
- Building rapport using sales linguistics, the study of how the customer's mind uses and interprets languag
- Anticipating how the C-level mind-set impacts organizational politics and influences the complex decision-making process
- Extensive real-world examples, illustrations, and exercises to help you apply the techniques immediately
Sales Strategies for Large Enterprise Accounts
Heavy Hitter Sales Wisdom: Proven Sales Warfare Strategies, Secrets of Persuasion and Common-Sense Tips for Success
All salespeople must play three completely different roles to succeed. First, they must be generals who create a strategy to win their wars long before the first battle begins. The successful military leader painstakingly plans how and where he will attack in accordance with the troops and weapons at his disposal. When the fighting starts, the victorious commander achieves his objective through battlefield maneuvers to gain the advantage and countertactics to neutralize his enemy’s advance.
Second, all salespeople must be professional persuaders. In essence, salespeople are paid to persuade. They must gain the willing obedience of others and convince complete strangers to follow their advice. However, the most product-knowledgeable salesperson is not necessarily the most persuasive one. Persuasive salespeople naturally connect with customers, instill customer confidence, and establish trust.
Finally, successful salespeople must be oracles who predict their chances of winning based upon their common-sense judgment. As common sense accumulates over the years through interactions with customers, it becomes a salesperson’s lifesaving device. It prevents salespeople from repeating past mistakes and guides their intuition to maximize their most precious resource: time.
When a salesperson has mastered these three roles--strategist, persuader, and common-sense sage--he has attained sales wisdom and become a Heavy Hitter. Heavy Hitters are truly great salespeople who have acquired prominence through their accomplishments, expertise, and judgment. They continually exceed quotas, close big deals, and enjoy themselves in the process.
The Art and Science of Complex Sales
Heavy Hitter Selling: How Successful Salespeople Use Language and Intuition to Convince Customers to Buy
Successful salespeople, known as a “Heavy Hitters,” are experts on human nature who skillfully use language and intuition to build relationships with customers and persuade them to buy. Heavy Hitter Selling reveals why Heavy Hitters are successful and explains how to duplicate their accomplishments. This innovative sales book provides expert guidance and tips on:
- Understanding how people think and communicate
- Finding the right words at the right time
- Predicting a customer’s behavior and influencing his thoughts
- Choosing your battles
- Building customer rapport and understanding his motivations
- Persuading both the customer’s rational mind and his emotional subconscious side
From the psychological and physical aspects of a sale to the real-life achievements of actual salespeople, Heavy Hitter Selling provides valuable tips and techniques that ambitious sales teams need in order to connect with prospects and close the deal.
Silicon Valley Case Study
The Real Story of Informix Software and Phil White: Lessons in Business and Leadership for the Executive Team
The Real Story of Informix Software and Phil White chronicles the meteoric rise of Informix Software, how it became a billion dollar software giant, and the scandal that ultimately led to its spectacular fall. In 1991, Informix was just one of many database suppliers in a market that included companies such as Sybase, Ingres, Unify, and Progress. Together, they were competing against Oracle, the eight-hundred pound Gorilla. In only four years, Informix was able to challenge Oracle’s dominance, moving past all these other companies in the process. This was a truly remarkable feat and many of the sales, marketing and product strategies that enabled Informix to survive and succeed in tough times and a hypercompetitive market are directly applicable today.
As president, CEO, and chairman of the board, Phil White and Informix Software were synonymous. At the height of his popularity he was recognized as one of Silicon Valley’s most brilliant business leaders. This fascinating behind the scenes book offers an insider’s perspective on the business strategies that succeeded, the products that failed, and how a technology industry titan ended up in jail.
Technology Sales Strategy
Influence the Hidden Politics of Decisionmaking
Heavy Hitter I.T. Sales Strategy is a comprehensive guide for penetrating new accounts, differentiating your solution during the sales cycle, and winning highly competitive accounts. It is based on extensive research and interviews with more than 1,000 key information technology decision makers, top technology salespeople, and vice presidents of sales. The book provides state of the art technology sales strategies and advanced tactics for senior salespeople who want to learn the secrets of top performers.
Technology Sales Organization Strategy: Key Trends and Performance Metrics
Advanced Sales Cycle Strategy: Control the Complex Technology Sale
Sales Call Strategy: Strategically Structure Meetings to Differentiate Yourself During Customer Meetings
Steve W. Martin
Steve W. Martin is the foremost expert on Sales Linguistics and the Human Nature of Complex Enterprise Sales. He is the author of the "Heavy Hitter" Series of books for Senior Salespeople.
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Keynote Speaker
Steve Martin will energize, enlighten, and entertain your sales team with real-world sales strategies, proven tactics, and helpful advice delivered with a healthy dose of humor!
Sales Training
Heavy Hitter training is not the typical classroom lecture, it’s a completely interactive workshop. Learn how to penetrate, navigate, and conquer complex enterprise accounts.
What Clients Say!
Learn what "Heavy Hitter" Clients have to say about Steve W. Martin's Sales Kickoff Meeting Keynote Presentations, Top Salesperson Panels, Sales Training Workshops!