Drew Zarges
Drew Zarges
Drew Zarges serves as a Senior Consultant at Sales Benchmark Index (SBI). Drew helps sales and marketing leaders hit their number through extensive work within these disciplines: Lead Management, Demand Generation and Campaign Planning, Compensation Planning and Specialties.
The Christmas Bluebird
T’was the week before Year End, And all through HQ, The office was silent, with not much to do. Except for one employee, a Sales…
Does Your Sales Structure Support Your Plan?
I sat across from the SVP of Sales. His company had knocked the cover off the ball for the second year in a row. ...
Why Working Smarter and Harder Won’t Work
Most Sales Leaders still haven’t received their number for next year. Still many SVPs I've spoken with express confidence that they can achieve this...
What is Sales Enablement?
Five years ago Sales Enablement was a fringe term. Today, it is one of the fastest growing positions within the sales organization. Why? Sales leaders…
Why Following The Competition Will Lead You Astray
A salesman and an economist are walking down the sidewalk. All of a sudden, the salesman looks down and sees a twenty dollar bill. “Look,...
Is Your Team Suffering from Process Overload?
“I should have been a stenographer,” the sales rep told me. He was punching in results from a sales call. “How long does this typically...
What Makes Your “A” Players So Great?
If identifying top performers was easy, sales leaders wouldn't be so worried. But the "gut check" test is flawed. When we ask most sales...
3 Big Forecasting Blunders
Nothing enrages a CEO like a quarter that completely misses forecasts. One VP of Sales summed it up nicely: “It’s worse to not know...
Do You Really Know Your Best Customers?
Who is your ideal customer? When we sit down with Sales Executives, this is one of the first questions we ask. It seems simple. ...
Are Your New Reps Prepared for the Real World?
Your company is growing quickly. You have an aggressive number for the year. The only way to make it is to hire more heads. ...
Sales VPs: How to Get Marketing to Accept a Number
You're closing in on the fiscal year. Soon you will be given a new number. It will be higher than last year. There...
The Challenge with The Challenger Sale
It's been two years since The Challenger Sale was published. The book's premise is simple: the most successful reps are not relationship builders, but...
How To Survive The Great January Talent Exodus
Every year-end your top reps are thinking, "Should I stay here another year"? Despite your best efforts, you will lose reps. Departing "A" players...
Renew Your Vows with The CRM System
One of the biggest purchases a Sales Department makes is the CRM system. Companies that have successfully implemented a system tout benefits like: Increased rep...
Are You The Best at Engaging Prospects?
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not...
The Six Skills of Great Sales VPs
The newly promoted manager repeats behavior that made him successful as a rep. He neglects his skill development and sales initiatives. His...
How Tesla Is Threatening An American Sales Tradition
Most Americans don't like negotiating over a price. However, one icon remains at the epicenter of haggling: the auto dealership. The...
How Top Sales VPs Improve Their Talent
I don't have the talent on my team to make the number. This is the top complaint we hear from Sales Leaders. ...
5 Sales Management Myths Debunked
I sat across the desk from Mike, the new VP of Sales. He had just been promoted 6 months ago. Before his promotion...
How Big Data Can Help the Sales Leader
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last two years, you've heard about "Big Data". However, most Big Data examples concern...