You’ve probably heard it all from your sales team.
“The pitch looks a little rough. I built it myself.” “I didn’t know that was our focus.” “They just aren’t interested in our offer.”
Sound familiar? If so, you just might need a counterpart to help with sales enablement. If you’re facing any of the following issues, try the message strategy experts. We’ve helped distributors, logistics providers, and other B2B businesses drive better results from their sales teams.
They can build relationships
But not presentations
Charisma and design are not interchangeable skills. You need to support your team with materials that feel as friendly, engaging, and consistent as your reps.
Sales has change-aphobia
Habits are hard to break. Senior sales reps bring experience, but that can cause a lack of flexibility. You can drive new behaviors by sharing leadership expectations, peer successes, and predicted results.
Your reps can’t compete with pricing
People pay for what they need — especially when their business is at stake. But here’s what happens when you sell on price: Your competitor’s rate drops. And your customer drops you. Instead, your reps need to help customers focus on value.
There’s never enough time
Without a consistent plan, your reps are trying to figure out what to sell, how to sell it, and who to sell it to. They’re bootstrapping their own materials. Sourcing their own leads. And losing valuable time that could be spent growing customer relationships.
There’s no accountability
Do you know why one rep succeeds while another struggles? Do you know what they’re saying to customers? Consistent strategies help identify gaps in the team and help your team avoid overpromising to close the sale.
Reaching sales is hard
Communicating new goals and initiatives is tough. Before you can get a customer on board, you need your team on board. But if your sales team is scattered or busy, you need to establish a consistent way to distribute key information.
What happens when you fix these problems?
You see more engagement from your team. And they’re empowered to bring in more revenue. Working with Counterpart, you’ll develop an approach powered by message strategy to help your team adopt the beliefs and behaviors you care about.
- Eliminate mental obstacles
- Make it easy to understand
- Create motivation
- Make it easy to do
Check out this case study: The distributor whose old dogs wouldn’t learn new tricks
Message strategy isn’t just for sales
Finding the right ways to communicate to your customers is just as important as equipping your sales team. You can find counterparts for that, too.
“This was the largest increase in the history of the program. We directly attribute it to the materials update because that’s the only element that changed.” -Ginny S.
Work fueled by real insights from professionals like you
Your business is too important to take a chance with untested partners. That’s why your counterparts stay plugged in to the latest challenges B2B sales organizations face. How? By listening!
The Counterpart Sales Enablement Advisory Board consists of clients and industry contacts who continually help us refine our approach. So you’re working with experts who plan your strategy according to data and insights — not a prewritten pitch.
Meet the board
Erik Frank
Erik Frank is the president and CEO of Tristate Armature, an electrical construction and distribution company that powers industry. He started his sales career in 1986 with Dun & Bradstreet and served in sales leadership roles for 30 years, both domestically and internationally. In 2015, Erik founded Elite Sales Leadership, where he coached business owners on strategies to achieve consistent and sustainable growth.
Lela Gerald
Lela Gerald is vice president of Global Marketing Communications for Buckman International, a global specialty chemical and technology company. For more than 35 years, she has managed B2B marketing accounts on both the agency and client sides. Her work includes branding, customer experience, promotions, and corporate communications for International Paper, FedEx, Smith & Nephew, and Conagra. Lela is licensed in Prosci change management, a framework for managing the people side of change. She is also the founder and chief cook of Jacko’s Pepper Jelly, sold in specialty stores around the South.
David Rose
David Rose has 30 years of experience in brand and message strategy, digital advertising, direct marketing, and sales effectiveness. He served as the segment marketing leader for the Veritiv Corporation, where he led sales enablement initiatives for 1,000 sales and service reps. In his role as the vice president of marketing for LasikPlus Vision, he drove +50% YOY growth for ten consecutive quarters. David began his career in advertising, supervising accounts for United Healthcare, AT&T, and other Fortune 500 companies.
Brian Schuster
Brian Schuster is the vice president of Sales East at Betco — leading manufacturer of cleaning and floorcare products since 1950. He was previously a national account manager at Henkel — makers of Dial, All, and Renuzit — and director of marketing at xpedx. He also held multiple marketing and IT positions at International Paper. Brian has been recognized for consistently exceeding sales goals, building high-performance teams, and leading effective sales and marketing campaigns. He has 25 years of experience.
Tera Simmons
For 10 years Tera Simmons was the driving force behind all of Counterpart’s sales enablement work. The other 20 years of her career include a role as a senior marketing specialist at FedEx (where she worked on a Super Bowl commercial) and as marketing director for a travel agency. She has held account executive positions at three ad agencies, serving Medtronic, International Paper, Dollar General, and Sheraton Casinos. And she’s provided director-level leadership at four nonprofits.
Brian Tisdale
Brian Tisdale is a solutions manager and leader of the sales enablement team at FedEx. He is responsible for empowering sales by providing them with the necessary information, tools, and training to excel in their roles and grow revenue. Previously, Brian was a partner at Signature Advertising in Memphis, Tennessee. His clients included the Memphis Grizzlies, Hilton Hotels, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He is the recipient of two FedEx Shining Star awards and a member of the Ambassador Club.
Mike Vazeii
Mike Vazeii is the senior director of commercial marketing for Rentokil Terminix. Under his leadership, the Terminix commercial pest division achieved revenue growth of 52% and market share growth of 33% over four years. In his 25-year career, Mike also served as product and segment marketing director for American Home Shield. He has been recognized with the American Home Shield Leader of the Year award, the MarCom Platinum award, and the Direct Marketing Association International ECHO award.
Have insights to share? Contact us to let us know you’re interested in joining our Sales Advisory Board.