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Ellen Bristol

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President, Bristol Strategy Group

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Ellen Bristol is the founder and driving force behind Bristol Strategy Group, the Miami-based sales-force effectiveness company she founded in 1995. Ellen is an expert in analyzing and improving the productivity of the sales force and the nonprofit fundraising team ...

Ellen Bristol is the founder and driving force behind Bristol Strategy Group, the Miami-based sales-force effectiveness company she founded in 1995. Ellen is an expert in analyzing and improving the productivity of the sales force and the nonprofit fundraising team. The company's flagship methodologies Selling the SMART Way and Fundraising the SMART Way, produce significant, measurable gains in profitability, customer/donor retention, and employee engagement. The SMART Way solutions now include consulting and training solutions as well as add-ins for the customer's in-house CRM system.

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May 14, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 5 other people answered this question

What are your thoughts on change management, particularly in a sales organization?

Alex, this is a great question and I agree with Dave that it gets far too little attention. You will find lots of literature on the subject of change and change management - as long as you don't seek it within the sales profession or ... more

Human Resources

Change Management

Corporate Culture

May 11, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 10 other people answered this question

Can anyone recommend a CRM tool for a nonprofit?

There are hundreds of applications out there. Before you decide, it's important to figure out exactly what you want your platform to do for you. Are you looking for a constituent-relationship management system, that keeps track of donors, prospects, gift-opportunity pipeline, clients, volunteers, board members? ... more

May 7, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 4 other people answered this question

How do you calculate the close ratio for your organization?

This is one of those questions about sales that really reveals the weakness of the sales process. It's simply not being managed like a process in the first place. Thus we have all kinds of questions about whether there are standard conversion ratios and other ... more

Sales Management

May 4, 2012

Ellen Bristol recommends this answer by Michael A Brown

What does sales want more: qualified leads or early leads?

On the strategic level, best practice is to assure flexibility in the opportunity development process so that sales can get involved at ANY appropriate point. Worst practice is to mandate that sales wait until marketing “blesses” the lead. In engineered products and many other sectors, ... more

Demand Generation

May 2, 2012

Ellen Bristol recommends this answer by Alex Shootman

What are current best practices you have seen in new hire sales training?

Robert, I do not know if this is a best practice, but we do two things; one for orientation to the company/culture and another to build skills for their first moments of truth with clients.
With respect to company and culture, we unabashedly stole an ... more

Sales Enablement

April 27, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 11 other people answered this question

What are the most effective sales techniques and what are some alternatives to cold calling?

OK, let me try to complement what Tibor and Dave has said, without restating their insights. Although lots of people hate to make cold calls, there's a reason why we need to do it anyway. It works. It's pretty hard to expand your target market, ... more

April 18, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 15 other people answered this question

What are some tips to making PowerPoint presentations less boring?

I'd like to add one thing. Design your presentation to fit the needs of the situation. And remember, if you're meeting with prospects, every presentation is different - you have to do just what Dennis suggests and scope out the situation in advance. Canned presentations ... more

April 17, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 5 other people answered this question at this roundtable

How to Network at Events [4/16 @ 11 am]

What are your top opening lines when you first meet someone at a biz event eg: a speaker lunch (particularly if you are not a confident networker)?

Liz, I too have observed that many women find it difficult to start conversations at networking events. I did the same thing myself for quite a while. Although icebreaker ideas can be helpful, I found a different approach that has been invaluable for me personally, ... more

Information Technology

Lead Generation

April 4, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 10 other people answered this question

Should sales people use texting as a means to engage their buyers?

Yes. If that's the way the prospect wants to communicate. It's not just a matter of age, position or culture. Great sales professionals always try to speak the language of the customer, so if texting is the preferred communication mechanism, then texting it is. more

April 4, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 6 other people answered this question

How do you evaluate the success of your sales manager?

As so often happens in these discussion groups, folks ask deceptively simple questions that deserve decidedly complex answers. Rather than recommending specific metrics, which Dave has done in his classically brilliant manner, I just want to say this. No one performs at optimal levels, if ... more

March 30, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Selling Is Going Inside – Isn’t It? [3/8 @ 9 am]

What are the factors that prevent salespeople from understanding a prospect's business and objectives?

This is an intriguing issue. Dave is, as always, on the mark. The simple truth is that people do what's expected of them. If you SAY you want your sales people to understand prospects' business objectives, but then you only provide collateral and training that ... more

Human Resources

March 22, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 11 other people answered this question

How do you stay focused?

How do I stay focused? With difficulty! This thread offers many excellent suggestions about the how-to's but even with great tools, staying focused is tough for lots of people. What works for me is access to great tools and practices PLUS the availability of a ... more

Personal Productivity

March 21, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 4 other people answered this question

How important are digital marketing services for well-established and branded companies?

They need them because the means by which companies (i.e. their customers) seek out and evaluate potential vendors and service providers depend on these mechanisms. In fact, in many instances they've come to rely on them. If a "well-branded, established" company has not adopted such ... more

Digital Marketing

March 21, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 11 other people answered this question

How do you know if a sales rep is ready to move into sales management?

Don is on the money. What disturbs me about your question, Kendra, is the assumption that the career path for sales people is rep to manager. In practice, these promotions often reveal the "Peter Principle", where people get promoted to the level of their incompetence. ... more

Sales Management

Feb. 15, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 5 other people answered this question

How would you define a "social enterprise"?

Interesting that this question didn't get answered until yesterday. I missed the initial question altogether, but saw Steve Moody's reaction; my interest in the nonprofit sector was what persuaded me to respond. And Michael Brown, I really like your definition of the social enterprise as ... more

Customer Service

Feb. 14, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 27 other people answered this question

What's the best thing to do with a top-producing salesperson who refuses to follow process?

Matt, this is a masterful answer to this persistent issue. Thanks so much! I really like the way you pulled this issue apart into manageable chunks, and particularly appreciate your last point. If a top performer is poisoning the rest of the sales team, then ... more

Sales Management

Talent Management

Feb. 13, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 2 other people answered this question

Why might the trend of social enterprise be more effective than the non-profit organization model?

James, I just ran across your wonderful question; sorry I'm so late to join the party. I'm very interested in the social-enterprise model, and am starting to see some not-for-profit organizations pop up in our area that truly seem to get it. For one thing, ... more

Non Profit Organizations

Social Enterprise

Feb. 13, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 4 other people answered this question

What are some of the issues Executive Directors of non-profits are facing?

Theresa, nonprofit leaders are often poorly informed about their needs for insurance, especially when the organization is relatively young, has a small budget, or is still being managed by its founder. I definitely agree with Robert that the funding landscape is shifting, but I remain ... more

Non Profit Organizations

Feb. 2, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 7 other people answered this question

What are the most meaningless sales metrics you have seen?

Clearly, I spent too much time at the Thalia!

Sales Management

Jan. 17, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 1 other person answered this question

What is the best way to keep your workforce motivated and productive after the loss of a major contract?

If the loss is too painful I'd re-examine the size of the pipeline. Part of the reason this sort of shock and misery happens is because we've got too much riding on a single deal. Linda is on the right track - it's a good ... more

Human Resources

Motivate Salespeople

Sales Management

Jan. 17, 2012

Ellen Bristol and 13 other people answered this question

How do you reconcile problems when selling ethically and making goal are not in alignment?

Lots of great answers but not enough focus on management. It's pretty tough for a sales representative to maintain ethical standards when the culture or metrics or corporate values violate them, just like it's nearly impossible to produce great teamwork simply by exhorting your team ... more

Sales Management

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