With most of the world still on lockdown, 2020 events cancelled and business travel at a near standstill, we are nearing unprecedented levels of video chats, webinars and podcasts.

There’s been a lot of debate around what’s differentiating companies that are faring well during the pandemic versus those that are struggling. Obviously products, offerings and the ability to pivot, if needed, play an important role in a company’s success, but commercial activities are critical too. We asked a few industry sales leaders to share what they’re doing to drive their teams’ success right now. Here’s what they’re up to:

If you’re flummoxed by how to sell or market through COVID-19, you’re not alone. That said, it doesn’t mean we should stop trying to figure it out. As with any major disruption, “business as usual” is likely to result in tone deaf outreach. I find that companies are in 1 of 3 modes right now.

If you’re on the hunt for additional profit, your current product portfolio may hold more treasure than you realize. Whether it’s identifying new buyer segments, increasing margins, identifying areas to leverage technology or identifying products primed for divesting, there may be a number of spots marked with an X on your product map. Here are 4 ways to optimize your current product portfolio:

In the past 60 days I’ve spoken at events in Edinburgh, Denver, Mexico City, London, Bucharest. Lisbon and Los Angeles. As with every conference, the days are filled with networking opportunities and endless vendor pitches for new products and services. So how to cut through the clutter? 

After leaving a recent major industry event, I had multiple conversations with attendees who marveled at the number of vendors and foot traffic in the exhibit hall but then confided that, off the floor and away from the bustle, they really couldn’t differentiate them. One attendee summarized it well, “Even after listening to the pitches, I walked away unable to really tell what they could do and unable to tell how they were different from the five other vendors that seemed like them.”

If you touch any part of the commercial side of a business, you are intimately familiar with the promise and pressure that is Q4. Whether you’ve been planning for this the whole year and are working a solid pipeline, or it’s snuck up on you and you’re clawing your way to the finish line, it takes a special mix of endurance and focused drive to make it to the end... successfully.  We asked some of the experts who’ve motivated (and sometimes carried!) teams over the finish line to share their tips for inspiring teams to their best performance.

The competition to find, and land, top-notch sales talent is as fierce as the push to meet Q4 numbers. Between the formalized open positions and the “always looking for good talent” opportunities, if you’re a successful sales professional, the world is your oyster. If you happen to be on the managerial side of the equation, life may not seem as rosy. With the cost of mis-hiring a sales rep costing you well into the six-figure range, it’s crucial you make an informed, but expedient, decision. 

Q4 is known for the frenetic pace that inevitably comes with the final push to meet (and exceed!) annual goals. Amidst the frenzy, we need to pull ourselves out of the weeds of the current plan to focus on creating next year’s plan. Short on time, many leaders short-change the planning process, committing a few cardinal sins that perpetuate the planning-to-scrambling cycle.