Everyone working in tech sales had client meetings they were not very proud of or even considered embarrassing. Obviously, it is not possible to prepare for every possible question and outcome and every now and then such situations may still happen. But what differentiates an experienced account manager is the…

Many people working in various customer-facing roles are interested in joining the sales team. Sales is a great profession for those who are energetic, result-oriented, and have a passion for communication with customers and prospects. However, the role is also very challenging. It requires discipline, a lot of nerve, skill…

In order to be consistent in hitting and overachieving their targets, account managers (AMs) need to have good control over their pipeline. A common assumption is that the only aspect of working on the pipeline is constantly discovering and adding new opportunities. It probably would be the case if the…

Hiring leaders externally versus promoting team members internally has always been a subject of controversy. Both options have clear advantages and downsides and it’s unlikely that any of them could be called a single correct approach. While in every possible team or department, strong leaders can dramatically improve the effectiveness…

Almost in every possible category in tech, the competition is going tense. New players emerge on the market and existing large companies that have big budgets start diversifying their business in new directions. In such a business environment continuous improvement shifts from being a competitive advantage to something without which…

An accurate forecast is a critical component of sales planning. It enables leaders to clearly understand incoming revenue and plan costs effectively. When preparing and submitting the forecast, sales reps get an opportunity to evaluate the quality of their pipeline, review whether they have a sufficient volume of deals to…

Client Relation Management (CRM) systems are essential for the sales process. It is hard to imagine a sales team tracking all clients, associated activities, deals, and more in a notepad or spreadsheet. CRMs enable sellers to stay on top of what needs to be done, manage their books of business…

Taking full ownership of the book of business is one of the critical factors for an account manager (AM) to be successful. This is something that differentiates top performers from average AMs. Owning a book of business means having a clear strategy on how to engage the clients, understanding which…

One of the key components of a successfully closed deal is its qualification. Qualifying the deal ensures that all (or, at least — the most important) factors that have an impact on its successful closing are taken into account. Even in an unfortunate event where the deal doesn’t get closed…