Sales Archives - Trade Press Services

Your Elevator Pitch Isn’t the Problem. Your Messaging Is.

Posted on August 3, 2026 by Jamie Pagett

Organizations have countless opportunities to explain who they are and what they do. It happens during sales calls, networking events, on trade show floors, and in casual conversations. The setting changes. The challenge doesn’t. Someone asks a seemingly simple question: “So, what does your company do?” Five minutes later, the representative recited products and services, differentiators, target markets, capabilities, growth strategy, and the company’s mission statement. Everything they’ve said is accurate, but what will people remember tomorrow?

Why Sales Enablement Content Drives Revenue

Posted on March 30, 2026 by Jamie Pagett

In many B2B organizations, marketing’s role is often measured by leads generated, but that is only part of the process. Sales enablement content is the bridge between interest and revenue. It equips sales teams with the tools, proof, and strategic positioning that move conversations forward with confidence. When thoughtfully developed and aligned with real sales needs, enablement content shortens sales cycles, strengthens messaging, and directly improves close rates.

New Rules, New Buyers: How to Stay Relevant in B2B

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Gerri Knilans

Today’s B2B buyers operate differently than they did a decade ago. They are more independent, conduct extensive research, and rely heavily on peer networks before ever speaking to a sales representative. The critical question for companies to address is whether the buying experience your company delivers is aligned with is the way modern buyers want to engage.

Accelerating the B2B Sales Process: What Works in 2025

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Gerri Knilans

It’s a familiar story in B2B: a well-qualified lead comes in, conversations start strong, and then the process drags. More meetings. New decision-makers join the mix. Another follow-up. A revised proposal. All separated by stretches of silence. Eventually, the deal closes later than anticipated, turns into a disappointing “no,” or fizzles into oblivion. In B2B, long sales cycles are often considered an unavoidable cost of doing business. They may stem from buyer indecision, large buyer committees, organizational red tape, or budget constraints. The potential client, however, is not always to blame. Sometimes the friction comes from the seller, resulting from misalignment, missing information, or a buying experience that creates more questions than answers.

Cold Call vs. Cold Email: The Pros, Cons, and Best Practices

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Gerri Knilans

Cold calls have long been a staple of sales. In some cases, calling on prospects who have not had any interaction with your organization can generate direct, real-time conversations, but those calls come with the downside of being intrusive to the recipient. Meanwhile, cold emails provide scalability and flexibility but risk being ignored. Which approach drives better results? The truth lies in using both methods strategically.

What Your Buyers Think About You (And What You Can Do About It)

Posted on September 25, 2023 by Gerri Knilans

The B2B sales journey is complex, typically involving multiple small decisions about your brand that lead to a decision to purchase. According to Roy Chitwood, late author of World Class Selling: The Science of Selling and president of global sales training firm Max Sacks International, there are five key impressions that impact B2B decision-making, even if the prospect is not aware of them. By understanding the decisions buyers make throughout their journey, marketers can take strategic actions that meet the needs of today’s B2B buyer.

Why Do Customers Buy? The 6 Universal Buying Motives

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Gerri Knilans

While sales and marketing functions are different, the two teams share a common goal: to present products and services in a way that creates new customers and keeps existing customers coming back for more. In his Track Selling System, master trainer Roy E. Chitwood taught salespeople (and marketers) what he believed was a scientific approach to selling (and marketing). It included seven steps in the sales process, five buying decisions and six universal buying motives.

How to Unify Sales and Marketing Teams Through Sales Enablement

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Gerri Knilans

Business leaders have discussed the differences and similarities between sales and marketing for years. Too often, the conversation ends there, without any clear and actionable takeaways. Yet, there are many insights to be gained that can lead to better sales results, deeper understandings of one another’s needs, and more camaraderie, collaboration and engagement. This process is known as sales enablement.

5 Statistics That Will Transform Your Lead Generation Beliefs

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Gerri Knilans

Generating quality and consistent leads is a priority for most businesses. As communication platforms grow and change and as customer preferences and new marketplaces emerge, business trends shift. For marketers to effectively create, implement and evaluate lead generation programs, they need to understand and leverage the latest statistics, research and trends.

The Art and Science of a Buying Decision

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Gerri Knilans

How do buyers make purchase decisions? If more salespeople understood the answer to this important question, sales productivity would increase. To begin, recognize there is an emotional and logical component to every buying decision. The emotional component has to do with two factors: 1) Does the buyer like the salesperson? and 2) Does the buyer trust the company and the brand? The logical component represents how buyers think.

4 Statistics that Will Transform Your Telemarketing Efforts

Posted on October 2, 2017 by Gerri Knilans

Some suggest that telemarketing is dead. Some research indicates that a mere one percent of cold calls ultimately convert into appointments. But at the same time, other research shows that 78% percent of decision-makers have taken an appointment or attended an event because of an email or cold call. Why the discrepancy? The issue isn’t whether or not cold calling is an effective marketing strategy. Instead, it’s about knowing how to execute telemarketing initiatives that effectively reach and influence potential customers.

Why No Doesn’t Always Mean No: How to Manage Rejection

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Gerri Knilans

Dealing with rejection is a reality in sales and marketing. Fortunately, rejection isn’t always negative. It provides professionals with an opportunity to set themselves apart from the crowd. They can analyze their roles as knowledgeable resources, use the time to learn more about their prospects and themselves and create a competitive edge to help them with future success. Help your sales and marketing personnel better respond to no by considering the underlying meaning, motivation and reasons why these responses occur.

Sales Brings in the Dollars. What Does the Marketing Department Do?

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Gerri Knilans

It’s true that corporate revenue is dependent on monetized customer transactions that result from sales efforts and activity. However, the quality, strength, consistency and implementation of a comprehensive marketing strategy is the backbone of the sales organization. Marketing creates interest, identifies marketplace needs, outlines a competitive differential and positions the company as a viable solutions provider.

Sales and Marketing: 4 Ingredients for a Winning Collaboration

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Gerri Knilans

Too many people think sales and marketing are the same thing. They aren’t. Often, there’s no collaboration between the two. In some organizations, there might be a sales executive who heads up marketing. In other companies, you’ll find a marketing executive who is also responsible for business development. To complicate it further, there are companies that

4 Tips to Improve the Sales Cycle

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Gerri Knilans

Is there a magic formula for shortening the sales cycle? Unfortunately, the answer is no. But there are some tried-and-true techniques that can help improve the time it takes to close a sale. After finding qualified prospects, use these to help prospects discover how your products or services assist them solve problems or become more

Eliminating the Guesswork in Qualifying Prospects

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Gerri Knilans

In order to manage the sales cycle, it’s important to know who the best prospects are for a company’s products or services. Calling on the wrong company or the wrong person at a qualified company squanders time and delays closing the sale. That’s why defining the right target markets and creating customer profiles are important