You've probably heard the old age phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover." The same goes for leads—even if the "cover" in question is on a computer screen.

Sure, most account executives can't tell at first glance whether a lead will be a good fit for their business (or even care about what they have to offer). But that doesn't mean you have to fumble around blindly, shooting emails at every poor prospect you come across.

In fact, there's a way to ensure you target the right people at the right time, every time. And we're going to show you how.

It should come as no surprise that customer success and sales collaboration can help revenue teams close better deals.

What do we mean by better deals? 

Simple.

• Customers who are the right fit for your product or service. 
• Customers who will become advocates.
• Customers who will contribute to expansion.
• Customers who won’t churn.

Sales teams used to be encouraged to sell at all costs to grow revenue. Even if it was the wrong fit.

But if Cinderella has taught us anything, it’s that no matter how hard you try, if your foot’s too big or too small, the shoe just won’t fit. 

Nailed that analogy.

Anyway.

The problem with that old-school method of selling is that customer success teams are left to pick up the pieces. They’re left trying to figure out what went wrong when the customer churns. And more often than not, they take the blame for it.

Doesn’t sound fair, does it?

The best way to avoid that whole fiasco is through collaborative selling.

Your sales process is one of the most essential operations across your entire business. 

Generally, sales processes include a range of different steps, each one with its own degree of importance and complexity, and each one seamlessly leading to the next. 

The end goal is to close a deal and make it official.

The last part of a typical sales process is the sales proposal. But guess what? Many companies often take this bit for granted. 

They think: “Well, we got this far, so surely you aren’t going to pull out of the deal NOW?” 

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but not only is this not the case, but it can also lead your salespeople to neglect sales proposals entirely (or kind of). 

Keep reading our handy guide to find out how to write winning sales proposals that lead to successful deals each time.

Here’s the current situation.

It looks like we’re headed toward a recession, or perhaps we’re already in one.

We’re seeing signs of it all over the place, and the tech industry seems to be impacted the most with a shocking 150,000+ layoffs in 2022.

In these uncertain times, morale is understandably low. 

But this is when your leadership skills are put to the test. This is when your team needs you the most, and it’s time to rise to the occasion.

How will you motivate your sales team and keep up morale? How can you ease their fears? How will you help them reach their goals?

2022 was a rollercoaster for most businesses. 

From the tech industry losing $7.4 trillion in just 12 months to those ever-rising inflation numbers, it looks like the universe still isn’t done throwing us curveballs.    

That doesn’t mean we’re all doomed, though. 

A number of positive developments are happening in the background, such as the happy outlook for e-commerce and IT. If anything, these obstacles simply prove it’s more important than ever to stand out in the market. 

Thankfully, it looks like 2023 could provide a few opportunities to do just that.

Read on to explore some of the sales predictions that will shape how we sell in 2023 and give your team some ideas about what's coming next in your industry.