Top Sales World announces the Top Sales Influencers of 2014.
For the third year running, we used the services of a small team of professional researchers a to discover who are the sales and marketing experts, who genuinely influence the way we think, and sell.
This was our criteria: * Social media presence – Twitter/ Facebook/ Klout score/LinkedIn authority. * Quality, regularity and popularity of written work – books, blog posts, articles, EBooks etc. * Active engagement with recognized resource sites. * And not least, a commitment to continually advancing selling and marketing practices.
Congratulations to everyone who made the list, and thank you for adding so much value to the way we sell, and market ourselves.
Selected for 2014
The 2014 Top Sales & Marketing Influencers
Dr. Tony Alessandra
Dr. Tony Alessandra is president of Assessment Business Center, a company that offers online 360º assessments, a founding partner in The Cyrano Group and Platinum Rule Group, an electrifying speaker and a prolific business author. He delivers a street-wise, college-smart perspective on business and his companies combine cutting-edge technology and proven psychology to give sales people the ability to build and maintain positive relations. Visit: www.PlatinumRule.com
Greg Alexander
Greg Alexander is CEO of Sales Benchmark Index (SBI), a professional services firm representing the top 5% of performers in sales and marketing leadership and focused exclusively on sales force effectiveness. Greg’s recent client list is composed of some of the world’s most respected companies, including Adobe, Eloqua, Reed Elsevier, Emerson Electric, Fairchild Semiconductor, Forrester Research, Integrated Device Technologies, Terremark, Ryder, Visit:www.salesbenchmarkindex.com
Miles Austin
If it has a button, switch or internet connected to it, Miles Austin has probably used it. He is a 30 year sales and leadership veteran who loves to learn, write, speak and train about technology and how it can be used to improve every business from enterprise to entrepreneur. Known around the world as “the Web Tools Guy,” he has become the trusted source for all things tech and tools. His clients and readers count on him for that practical, street-level smarts that is so hard to find in the marketplace. Visit:www.fillthefunnel.com
Trish Bertuzzi
Trish Bertuzzi is the foremost proponent of inside sales as a community, profession and engine for revenue growth. She founded The Bridge Group to help B2B technology companies build world-class inside sales teams, working with senior leadership on the big picture, with hands-on implementation and with the entire inside sales community through research and publishing. The industry has recognized her repeatedly as a Top Influencer. Visit www.bridgegroupinc.com
Joanne Black
Joanne Black is the world’s leading authority on referral selling. She is the author of “No More Cold Calling,” her Referral-Selling System which builds revenue fast, converts prospect to clients more than 50% of the time and aces out the competition. In Joanne’s most recent book “Pick Up the Damned Phone,” she explains why we should be tweeting less and talking more to the customers and contacts that really matter. Visit: www.nomorecoldcalling.com
Tiffani Bova
Tiffani Bova is a VP, Distinguished Analyst at Gartner where she specializes in the development of comprehensive sales strategies such as channel program development and optimization, go-to-market models, and the impact cloud will have on traditional sales initiatives. A highly sought-after keynote speaker at technology conferences, she is passionate about boosting sales performance and renewing competitiveness through sales innovation. Visit: blogs.gartner.com/tiffani-bova
Deb Calvert
Deb Calvert, President of People First Productivity Solutions and author of “DISCOVER Questions™ Get You Connected,” is a speaker, sales trainer, field coach and consultant to sales organizations. Deb’s work as a charter member of the Sales Force Advisory Board, an executive coach and a Director with a Fortune 500 company enables her to support clients in their alignment of sales productivity drivers and people practices. Visit: www.peoplefirstps.com
Jim Cathcart
The man who popularized the concept of “Relationship Selling™” and wrote the first book by that title, Jim Cathcart has delivered more than 2,900 presentations to audiences worldwide. A business strategist, psychological researcher and philosopher, he is one of the best known and most award-winning motivational speakers in the business; for 5 consecutive years he has been selected as one of the Top 5 Speakers on Sales & Service in an online survey of over 12,000 people. Visit:www.ttp://cathcart.com
Kevin Davis
Kevin Davis is one of the foremost authorities in the field of sales leadership: He is the president of TopLine Leadership Inc., a leading sales and sales management training company serving clients from diverse sectors. Kevin has more than 30 years of experience in every aspect of sales, sales management and sales training and is the author of the best selling “Slow Down Sell Faster” and “Getting Into Your Customer’s Head.”Visit: www.toplineleadership.com
Jonathan Farrington
He appears on everyone else’s list, so it would be very remiss of us to leave him out of ours! He is of course the man who had the vision to create Top Sales World, 7 years ago, and the ambition to make it the most popular and significant sales resource venue – mission accomplished. Described as “a visionary and sales thought leader at the vanguard of sales thinking,” in his spare time he writes an award-winning blog and heads up his own global consultancy, based in London & Paris. Visit:www.thejfblogit.co.uk
Colleen Francis
Colleen Francis is driven by a passion for sales – and results. A successful sales professional for over 20 years, she has studied the habits of the top 10% of sales performers from organizations of all sizes and shapes – from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. The author of “Nonstop Sales Boom” and “Honesty Sells” books, she and her company, Engage Selling, were named by Marketing Magazine as one of the top 5 most effective sales training organizations in the market. www.engageselling.com
Barb Giamanco
Barbara Giamanco is probably the world’s leading expert on social selling. She is the co-author of “The New Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media” and author of “Tweet Me, Friend Me, Make Me Buy,”published in the July 2012 edition of the Harvard Business Review. Her first-of-its-kind research report, “Social Media and Sales Quota,” proves the measurable return-on-investment when using social media to sell. Known as a Social Selling Rainmaker, she is a sought after Sales and Social Media Advisor, Speaker and Coach. Visit: www.cs-connect.com
Jeffrey Gitomer
Jeffrey Gitomer is known widely as the author of “The Sales Bible”and “The Little Red Book of Selling” and for his nationally syndicated business column read by more than 3.5 million people. A member of the National Speakers Association’s Hall of Fame, he presents more than 100 public and corporate sales training and leadership annually and conducts regular live and Internet training programs on selling, sales management and leadership. Visit: www.gitomer.com.
Charles Green
Charles Green is an author, speaker, consultant and seminar leader who builds trust-based business relationships of all types. He wrote “The Trusted Advisor” and its followup book “The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook” and also “Trust-Based Selling.” As the founder and CEO of Trusted Advisor Associates, he is passionate about crafting insights and ideas in ways that are memorable and that allow people to change. He holds a degree in philosophy that he earned while driving a NYC taxi and an MBA from Harvard. Visit:www.trustedadvisor.com.
Gerhard Gschwandtner
Gerhard Gschwandtner is Founder and CEO of Selling Power, Inc., a multi-channel media company that produces Selling Powermagazine, SellingPower.com and a daily 5-minute video series. He is also host of the Sales 2.0 Conference series. Over the course of three decades, he has interviewed some of the most successful leaders and experts in sales, business, sports, entertainment, and politics and has written 17 sales management books. Visit: www.sellingpower.com.
Matt Heinz
Prolific author and blogger Matt Heinz brings more than 15 years of marketing, business development and sales experience from a variety of organizations, vertical industries and company sizes. His career has focused on delivering measurable results for his employers and clients in the way of greater sales, revenue growth, product success and customer loyalty. Matt’s company, Heinz Marketing, specializes in strategic customer acquisition and retention strategy and execution. Visitwww.heinzmarketing.com
Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Leanne Hoagland-Smith is a heurist who disrupts the status quo by discovering new ways to guide and support rapidly growing small businesses; those who wish to grow beyond their current employees and executives in chaos. A specialist in human-to-human (H2H) leadership development, she utilizes a map for small business owner to C-suite executive that begins with their people first and that engages more employees in driving innovation. Visit: www.processspecialist.com
Mark Hunter
Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter and author of the best-selling“High-Profit Selling: Win the Sales Without Compromising on Price,” is recognized for his cutting-edge thought leadership, high energy, entertainment value and actionable strategies. A consultative selling expert who helps individuals and companies identify better prospects, close more sales, and profitably build more long-term customer relationships, he is an acclaimed keynote speaker whose sales techniques are in use by salespeople on five continents and in more than 100 countries. Visit: www.TheSalesHunter.com
Anthony Iannarino
Anthony Iannarino is the President and Chief Sales officer for SOLUTIONS Staffing, a best-in-class regional staffing service based in Columbus, Ohio, and is also the Managing Director of B2B Sales Coach & Consultancy, a boutique sales coaching and consulting company. His coaching specializes on entrepreneurial companies and individual sales professionals seeking to improve their sales performance. A popular speaker, Anthony also blogs daily. Visit: www.thesalesblog.com
Geoffrey James
Geoffrey James writes a daily sales column for Inc.com and has been published repeatedly in a variety of national publications such as Wired, Men’s Health, Business 2.0, Selling Power and CIO. He co-hosted Funny Business on New England’s largest all-talk radio station and his most recent of eight books, “Business Without the Bullsh*t,shares the 49 most important, generally unknown shortcuts for surviving and conquering the corporate world. Visit: www.GeoffreyJames.com
Jim Keenan
The founder of A Sales Guy Consulting, Jim Keenan is a seasoned executive with particular expertise in sales process, sales team development, complex sales and Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 strategies. Jim has been cited in The Harvard Business Review, SoldLab Magazine and Guy Kawasaki’s AllTop blogs. A big Twitter fan, he was named by enterprise resource planning company SAP as one of the top 30 sales experts to follow on Twitter and was a Top Sales & Marketing Influencer for 2012 and 2013. Visit: asalesguy.com
Jill Konrath
Twelve years ago, Jill Konrath was a quiet, unknown consultant who did great work for her clients. Today, she is an internationally recognized expert who is known for her fresh sales strategies and game- changing approaches. Jill is a bestselling author of“Selling to Big Companies” (Which Fortune named one of eight “must reads” for sellers, along with How to Win Friends & Influence People, The New Strategic Selling and Getting to Yes.) “SNAP Selling,” and her latest offering, “Agile Selling,” available as of May 28. Visit: www.jillkonrath.com
Ken Krogue
Ken Krogue is the co-founder of InsideSales.com, which was the first company to combine hosted CRM with built-in phone dialer software and the pioneer of Lead Response Management (LRM). He is a strategic thinker, sales and marketing tactician, recognized for combining permission marketing tactics with inside sales personnel, and the inventor of technological systems to increase productivity in web-based sales and marketing environments. Visit: www.insidesales.com
Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best selling author, radio show host, successful entrepreneur and sales development industry pioneer. Dave is the founder and CEO of two companies, Objective Management Group and Kurlan & Associates, a global sales consulting firm. He has written two books, including the best seller “Baseline Selling.” His “Understanding the Sales Force” blog was named a Top Sales & Marketing Blog for 3 consecutive years. He was named a Top Sales & Marketing Influencer for 2012 and 2013 and he was a 2012 inductee into the Sales & Marketing Hall of Fame. Visit: kurlanassociates.com
Dan McDade
Dan McDade founded prospect development company PointClear in 1997 to help B2B companies with complex sales processes drive more revenue through effective prospect development. The author of “The Truth About Leads,” he also hosts PowerViews, a video interview series featuring thought leaders in the sales and marketing field. The Sales Lead Management Association named Dan to the inaugural SLMA College of Fellows in 2013, and he was named one of the 50 Most Influential People in sales lead management for five consecutive years. Visit: www.pointclear.com
Nancy Nardin
Nancy Nardin is the foremost expert on increasing sales productivity through the use of tools. As President of Smart Selling Tools, she consults with many of the top sales productivity software vendors as well as end-user organizations looking to select the right tools. She is a pioneer in sales prospecting technology, having consulted executives at leading marketing automation, pipeline management and forecast analytics firms, and has written ebooks and guides for a variety of popular marketing software companies. Visit: www.smartsellingtools.com
Michael Nick
Michael Nick is the the author of 3 best-selling business books – including the groundbreaking “Why Johnny Can’t Sell” – and numerous research and white papers. His C-suite clients include such top companies as Rockwell Automation, Oracle, HOP, NEC and many others throughout the United States and the world. Michael’s company, ROI4Sales, designs and builds software sales tools for nearly every phase of the sales process. Michael also is a noted speaker and webinar prsenter. Visit:www.roi4sales.com
Daniel Pink
Daniel H. Pink is the author of five provocative books — including the long-running New York Times bestsellers, “A Whole New Mind”and “Drive.” In 2013, Thinkers 50 named him one of the top 15 business thinkers in the world. Dan worked in the White House for two years as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore and he lectures around the world on economic transformation and the new workplace. “He is a rare combination: A deep thinker and an effective leader,” says one accolade. Visit:www.danpink.com
Debbie Qaqish
Debbie Qaqish is Principal Partner and Chief Strategy Officer for The Pedowitz Group, a Revenue Marketing™ agency. A nationally recognized speaker, thought leader and innovator, Debbie is a leader in helping organizations connect marketing to revenue. She is a pioneer in marketing automation – first as a beneficiary of the technology and now as an advocate and expert. Debbie coined the term Revenue Marketer® in 2010 and her book, “Rise of the Revenue Marketer: An Executive Playbook,” was published in 2013. Visit: www.pedowitzgroup.com
Neil Rackham
Neil Rackham is known as the “Professor of Professional Selling” His books regularly rank among business best sellers, and “SPIN Selling”is McGraw Hill’s best selling business book ever with sales increasing each year since its publication. SPIN Selling was also one of the first models of consultative selling. Neil has worked closely with sales forces for companies such as IBM, Xerox, AT&T and Citicorp. He has also worked extensively with senior partners in some of the world’s most successful professional services organizations including McKinsey & Company. Visit http://www.neilrackham.com
RainToday
Published since 2005, RainToday is the premier online resource for professional services sales and marketing. RainToday attracts professionals from around the world who want to grow their service business and maximize their success. Fresh content is published every week from top experts covering the sales and marketing topics most relevant to services professionals: lead generation and prospecting, cold calling, referrals, value propositions, sales conversations, overcoming objections, sales training, and more. Visit: www.raintoday.com
Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is a New York Times bestselling author, educator, sales leader, and the founder of the Richardson consulting firm. She has dedicated herself to helping organizations around the world improve sales performance, process, and effectiveness. Linda began her career as a teacher and firmly believes that great selling is great teaching—collaborative, relevant, and results. Linda’s most recent book, “Changing the Sales Conversation,” was published in January 2014. Visit: www.lindarichardson.com
Lori Richardson
The founder and CEO of Score More Sales, Lori Richardson is a thought leader on B2B front-line sales growth and works with (or in conjunction with) technology brands worldwide. She is an integral part of the expertise on selling and lead development on the web and manages Sales Shebang®, a community of the world’s top women B2B sales experts. In addition to coaching and training front-line sales leaders and sales reps, Lori writes and blogs for technology brands on selling. Visit:www.scoremoresales.com
Kelley Robertson
Kelley Robertson, author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven Sales Techniques That Turn Browsers into Buyers” and “The Secrets of Power Selling,” is passionate about helping sales people improve their results. A proponent of selling as one of the best careers in the world, he teaches sales professionals and businesses to pinpoint what they need to do differently to improve their sales. One admirer says “there is nothing more refreshing than a sales professional with heart, and Kelley Robertson certainly fits the bill.” Visit:www.kelleyrobertson.com
Keith Rosen
Keith Rosen is a globally recognized authority on sales and leadership who has delivered his management coach training programs and sales training programs on six continents in over 40 countries. His best-selling books on time management, selling, prospecting and leadership coaching include the acclaimed “Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions,” winner of Five International Best Book Awards. Keith often is featured in such top media as Entrepreneur, Fortune, The New York Times, Selling Power and The Wall Street Journal. Visit: www.profitbuilders.com
Steven A. Rosen
Steven Rosen is an executive coach who transforms sales managers into great sales leaders and helps sales executives achieve greater success. As the founder of STAR Results, a sales leadership consulting, training and coaching organization, Steven teaches executives how to build high-performance organizations as well as to identify, develop and retain their top managers and sales people. As an avid hockey fan, Steven cheers both for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. Visit:www.starresults.com
Craig Rosenberg
Craig Rosenberg is a well-known expert in the demand process spanning demand generation through sales. He is the co-founder and Chief Analyst for TOPO, where he helps clients improve the experiences that sales and marketing deliver to buyers. Craig shares his expertise on his popular sales and marketing blog, the Funnelholic. One former colleague says that “whether Craig is selling or managing, his attitude is so positive that it motivates those around him to strive to achieve their best.” Visit:www.funnelholic.com
Tamara Schenk
Tamara Schenk has become a significant voice in the global sales space, and since joining the Miller Heiman Research Institute as Research Director she also has developed as a much-sought-after speaker on the conference circuit. Tamara is a highly experienced sales business and enablement leader, a creative, innovative and passionate executive, and she still finds time to post regularly to her extremely popular blog, “Sales Enablement Perspectives.” Visit: www.tamaraschenk.com
Todd Schnick
Todd Schnick has advised hundreds of organizations, ranging from tech startups to multi-million dollar organizations. A marketing, sales, and business strategist, he teaches organizations how to impact their sales and marketing programs with a dynamic content marketing program. An exception blogger and speaker, he also has published four books and is a radio show host and producer; he has hosted thousands of business talk shows in his Atlanta studio, over the internet and on trade show floors across North America. Visit: www.intrepid-llc.com
David Meerman Scott
David Meerman Scott is an internationally acclaimed strategist whose books and blog are must-reads for professionals seeking to generate attention in ways that grow their business. He is author or co-author of ten books, including international bestsellers “The New Rules of Marketing & PR,” “World Wide Rave” and “Newsjacking.” His high-energy presentations have entertained audiences on all seven continents. Visit:www.davidmeermanscott.com
Tom Searcy
Tom Searcy is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and the foremost expert in large account sales. By the age of 40, Tom had led four corporations, transforming annual revenues of less than $15 million to more than $100 million in each case. He is the author of “RFPs Suck! How to Master the RFP System Once and for All to Win Big Business”and co-author of “Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company.”He writes weekly online columns for Forbes, CBS MoneyWatch and Inc. Visit:http://www.huntbigsales.com/
Koka Sexton
Koka Sextion is Senior Social Marketing Manager at LinkedIn and one of the most recognized social experts in the technology industry. An evangelist for social selling, he promotes it through global speaking engagements and customer trainings. His expertise extends beyond his knowledge of social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter and other online applications into his skill at employing them to drive lead generation, create new opportunities, and engage customers. Visit: www.kokasexton.com
Tibor Shanto
Tibor Shanto is a 25-year veteran of B2B sales who has developed an insider’s hands on perspective of successful sales execution. As founder and President and Principal of Renbor Sales Solutions Inc., he works with Canada’s leading corporations and others in the United States and the U.K, helping these organizations realize sustained revenue attainment through improvement in sales strategy and execution. He co-authored the award-winning “SHIFT! Harness the Trigger Event that Turn Prospects into Customers.” Visit: www.sellbetter.ca
Art Sobczak
Since 1983, Art Sobczak has helped thousands of sales professionals each year use the phone to be more effective in their prospecting, sales, and servicing of customers. He’s the author of hundreds of training resources on inside sales, telesales, and prospecting for outside sales reps, including audios, videos, his long running (27 years) Telephone Selling Report newsletter, books, and online training. His latest book, “Smart Calling™- How to Take the Fear, Failure, and Rejection Out of Cold Calling,” hit No. 1 in the Sales and Marketing category on amazon.com on its very first day of release. Visit: www.SmartCallingOnline.com
Colleen Stanley
Colleen Stanley is president of SalesLeadership, Inc., a business development firm specializing in sales and sales management training. Colleen is the creator of Ei Selling™, a unique and powerful sales program that integrates emotional intelligence skills with consultative sales skills. The result is consistent and predictable sales growth. Colleen is a monthly columnist for Business Journals across the country and the author of “Growing Great Sales Teams” and her newest book, “Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success.” Visit: www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com
Dave Stein
Having founded and run ES Research Group, the Gartner of sales training, for eight years, Dave is now managing a few critical sales performance-related projects with technology companies he has invested in. He still continues as webinar host and columnist for, as well as advisor to, Sales and Marketing Management magazine. Dave has worked in 26 countries with companies from the Fortune 10 to startups. He currently is working on a new book due out in 2015. Visit: www.DaveStein.biz
Babette Ten Haken
Babette Ten Haken provides technical people and other sellers a solid strategy for how to explain a product, its benefits and its value in ways that buyers can easily understand and sellers can comfortably present. Her company, Sales Aerobics for Engineers®, LLC, works with technology-intensive entrepreneurs and manufacturers, focusing on revenue-generating business development strategies to take your business to the next level. Her book “Do YOU Mean Business?” was named 2012 Finalist, Top Sales & Marketing Awards. Visit: babettetenhaken.com.
Robert Terson
Robert Terson, author of “Selling Fearlessly: A Master Salesman’s Secrets For the One-Call-Close Salesperson,” is an inspirational speaker, fearless sales trainer and personal coach. After a 40-year-career selling advertising to small business people, he is devoted to writing, speaking and helping others succeed to give back for a lifetime of blessings. As one sales blogger wrote, “Bob is one of those guys that clearly understands the important of selling and the value of professional salespeople.” Visit:www.sellingfearlessly.com
Ken Thoreson
Ken Thoreson “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. His Acument Management Group, Ltd. jumps-starts early-stage companies, turns around struggling businesses and tranforms challenge into success.. As a speaker, Ken energizes audiences and recharges their personal commitment to professional excellence. His latest book is:“Leading High Performance Sales Teams.” Visit: www.acumenmanagement.com
Dan Waldschmidt
Popular speaker, business strategist, and ultra-runner Dan Waldschmidt has been refusing since birth to accept business as usual. Sure, he had a paper route, but he turned his into a money-making machine (though he opted not to tell his mom about his increased profits). These days Dan is a people strategist and a conversation changer. His new book, “EDGY Conversations: How Ordinary People Can Achieve Outrageous Success,” is a gut-wrenching, no-holds-barred discussion about confronting and fixing the beliefs and behaviors that limit your ability to be amazing. Visit:www.danwaldschmidt.com