Mike Schultz

In the past several years we’ve been obsessed not only with how sellers should sell, but also with helping them execute. We’ve been working with our clients around the globe to implement a variety of strategies to drive motivation and execution, and help teams perform at the highest levels through our Extreme Productivity System.

For our Extreme Productivity research, we studied 2,377 business professionals to find out which work habits and hacks, when applied in different combinations… Show more

In the past several years we’ve been obsessed not only with how sellers should sell, but also with helping them execute. We’ve been working with our clients around the globe to implement a variety of strategies to drive motivation and execution, and help teams perform at the highest levels through our Extreme Productivity System.

For our Extreme Productivity research, we studied 2,377 business professionals to find out which work habits and hacks, when applied in different combinations, drive not only productivity, but also top performance versus peers, job satisfaction, and happiness. Through this global study of sellers and non-sellers alike, we've validated and honed the Extreme Productivity System and Extreme Productivity Assessment tool.

We learned some surprising differences between how The Extremely Productive (The XP) work compared to The Rest. Show less

What do sales organizations with the highest win rates, revenue growth, and sales goal achievement do differently than the rest? Where do they focus and what factors make the biggest difference for success?

In the Top-Performing Sales Organization research, we set out to answer these questions.

While quite a bit of research has been published on what separates top sellers from the rest, there’s relatively little on what organizations are doing.

We studied 472 sellers and… Show more

What do sales organizations with the highest win rates, revenue growth, and sales goal achievement do differently than the rest? Where do they focus and what factors make the biggest difference for success?

In the Top-Performing Sales Organization research, we set out to answer these questions.

While quite a bit of research has been published on what separates top sellers from the rest, there’s relatively little on what organizations are doing.

We studied 472 sellers and executives representing companies with salesforces ranging in size from 10 to 5,000+. 37% of respondents had less than $50M in revenue, 38% had between $50m and $1B in revenue, and 27% had greater than $1B in revenue. Respondents were located in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific, and represented 26 industries.

We analyzed results across the 8 categories of the Sales Performance Wheel and studied the factors that correlated to higher win rates. We learned that the Top-Performing Sales Organizations, across all industries and company sizes, are strong in similar areas that have great impact on their sales organization’s performance. Show less

There’s a revolution underway in sales. Sales approaches that have been working for decades are no longer getting the same results.

We wanted to know how selling is changing and what sellers need to do to maximize their success. So we posed the question: “What are the winners of actual sales opportunities doing differently than the sellers who come in second place?”

To find out, we studied more than 700 business-to-business purchases made across industries by buyers who represent… Show more

There’s a revolution underway in sales. Sales approaches that have been working for decades are no longer getting the same results.

We wanted to know how selling is changing and what sellers need to do to maximize their success. So we posed the question: “What are the winners of actual sales opportunities doing differently than the sellers who come in second place?”

To find out, we studied more than 700 business-to-business purchases made across industries by buyers who represent a total of $3.1 billion in annual purchasing power.

We found that the sellers who ultimately win the sale don’t just sell differently—they sell radically differently than the closest second-place finishers. Show less

No area in selling is more rife with conflict, advice, and data than prospecting.

Do automated form emails work? Is cold calling dead? Do buyers accept cold meetings? How many touches does it take to connect? How can you get through to the C-suite?

Indeed, what do sellers who get the best prospecting results do differently?

With our Top Performance in Sales Prospecting research, the team at the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research has uncovered what works and what doesn’t… Show more

No area in selling is more rife with conflict, advice, and data than prospecting.

Do automated form emails work? Is cold calling dead? Do buyers accept cold meetings? How many touches does it take to connect? How can you get through to the C-suite?

Indeed, what do sellers who get the best prospecting results do differently?

With our Top Performance in Sales Prospecting research, the team at the RAIN Group Center for Sales Research has uncovered what works and what doesn’t in sales prospecting—according to both buyers and sellers. We sought to find out how sellers break through and connect with buyers, what works to generate meetings, what influences overall purchase decisions, and where buyer and seller views on prospecting overlap.

The study included 488 buyers representing $4.2 billion in purchases across 25 industries, and 489 sellers who outbound prospect. We analyzed results across Top Performers—those with the best prospecting results—industry, company value-focus, buyer title, company size, prospecting maturity and success, brand cachet, and geography.

Never before has prospecting research been done to this scale. The findings have been integrated into our RAIN Sales Prospecting training and published for our clients and Center for Sales Research Panelists. Show less

Most executives believe they are not generating maximum revenue and profit, nor are they maintaining the highest levels of loyalty possible with their existing accounts.

In our Top Performance in Strategic Account Management research, we set out to learn what sets Top Performers apart from The Rest and what you need to do to excel at growing and protecting your most important accounts.

We collected and analyzed data from 397 participants at companies that engage in formal… Show more

Most executives believe they are not generating maximum revenue and profit, nor are they maintaining the highest levels of loyalty possible with their existing accounts.

In our Top Performance in Strategic Account Management research, we set out to learn what sets Top Performers apart from The Rest and what you need to do to excel at growing and protecting your most important accounts.

We collected and analyzed data from 397 participants at companies that engage in formal strategic account management. From the data, along with our advisory and training work with companies in the area of strategic account management, we have gleaned thought-provoking—and often counter-intuitive—insights into what separates the Top-Performing companies in strategic account management apart from The Rest. Show less