Top 17 Sales Hacker Articles of 2017

Here’s a recap of the best sales articles of 2017 from Sales Hacker!

Time flies when you have so many great contributors to a site like we do.

It’s only right that we close 2017 with a bird’s eye review of our top-performing articles to celebrate yet another year of killer content.

Thanks to all our contributors and readers for a great 2017! We look forward to engaging with you on the site and at events in the next year.

If you’d like to contribute to Sales Hacker, please fill out our contributor survey so we can add you to our database.

Top 17 Articles of 2017 (In no particular order!)

260 Sales Terms From A to Z: The Updated Glossary of B2B Sales Definitions by Max Altschuler

• Sales jargon is always evolving — that’s why we built the full glossary of sales terms and definitions to bring it back to basics! Use this glossary for definitions of terms across different sales and marketing topics. We even suggest bookmarking for easy access to one of the best sales glossaries out there!

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 4,948
• Avg. Time on Page: 17:26
• Total Shares: 574
• Backlinks: 82

Sales Tech Landscape 2017: Making Sense of 700+ Players by Nicholas de Kouchkovsky

• The 2017 Sales Tech Landscape — Expanded to cover the entire sales tech industry, including 32 categories and over 700+ players in SaaS. A one-stop resource for getting to know the players in our ever-evolving game.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 4,756
• Avg. Time on Page: 9:24
• Total Shares: 1,500
• Backlinks: 376

The SaaS Metrics Blueprint: How to Define, Measure and Display What Actually Matters by Jacco Van der Kooij

• The sales scientists at Winning By Design explain how to structure your SaaS metrics and measure the right data for your business. Consult this guide when creating your metrics to keep yours clear and relevant.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 2,967
• Avg. Time on Page: 15:28
• Total Shares: 725
• Backlinks: 89

Best 160+ Sales Tools: The Complete List (2017 Update) by Max Altschuler

• We reviewed the entire SaaS sales landscape from top to bottom. Here’s our complete list of over 160+ sales tools (2017 update). Another great resource if you’re looking for a useful tool in a number of different categories.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 8,052
• Avg. Time on Page: 9:56
• Total Shares: 925
• Backlinks: 196

10 Essential Characteristics of Highly Successful Salespeople by Bhaswati Bhattacharyya

• Successful salespeople aren’t born, they’re made. Learn the top characteristics that separate the good sellers apart from the great sellers.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 9,044
• Avg. Time on Page: 4:58
• Total Shares: 1,100
• Backlinks: 31

43 Bad Ass Sales Podcasts Every Sales Professional Should Follow in 2017 by Max Altschuler

• Not all salespeople have time to read articles. That’s why we’ve rounded up the complete list of best sales podcasts to turbocharge your learning.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 6,670
• Avg. Time on Page: 11:55
• Total Shares: 1,400
• Backlinks: 60

5 Psychology Tips From An FBI Hostage Negotiator That Will Make You Sell Better by Falon Fatemi

• Negotiation is a must-have skill in business. Win more deals with these 5 expert psychology tactics from a former FBI hostage negotiator.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 3,100
• Avg. Time on Page: 17:37
• Total Shares: 973
• Backlinks: 117

23 Email Call To Action Examples To Make Your Prospects Respond by Aaron Ross

• Open rate is a vanity metric if your prospects never respond. Try these 23 email call to action examples to boost your response rate today.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 5,139
• Avg. Time on Page: 7:47
• Total Shares: 847
• Backlinks: 39

The Most Comprehensive Guide To Social Selling You’ve Ever Frickin’ Seen by Dylan Hey

• The ultimate guide to social selling on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook — Learn how to increase your pipeline with social selling today!

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 3,449
• Avg. Time on Page: 17:10
• Total Shares: 781
• Backlinks: 86

This Is How a Bad Quarter Starts In Sales (As Illustrated by Data) by Chris Orlob

• Ever have a bad sales quarter? You’re not alone… We discovered that bad sales quarters almost always follow a pattern. Learn how to avoid it today.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 2,498
• Avg. Time on Page: 5:40
• Total Shares: 745
• Backlinks: 21

Overcoming Sales Rejection: How To Turn Failure Into Opportunity Every Single Time by Carol Luong

• Overcoming sales rejection is a challenge for some salespeople. Learn how to brush off your losses FAST and turn them into opportunities.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 2,354
• Avg. Time on Page: 9:13
• Total Shares: 658
• Backlinks: 38

How To Build Your Personal Brand On LinkedIn (And Drive More Sales Conversations) by Jack Kosakowski

• Creating noise on LinkedIn is NOT the way to build your personal brand. Learn how to get valuable, visible, and connected to drive more sales conversations.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 2,121
• Avg. Time on Page: 6:28
• Total Shares: 730
• Backlinks: 70

Marketing Qualified Leads Are Cool, But I’ll Take Product Qualified Leads Any Day by Emmanuelle Skala

• Following up with Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) can suck. Find out why Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) are absolute GOLD to sales teams.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 2,538
• Avg. Time on Page: 3:50
• Total Shares: 613
• Backlinks: 47

6 Horrendous Ways To Begin Your Sales Call (And What To Do Instead) by Lauren Bailey

• Sales training expert Lauren Bailey explains what you should NOT DO on a sales call intro, and what you should do instead.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 4,158
• Avg. Time on Page: 7:48
• Total Shares: 679
• Backlinks: 21

The Danger of Following Thought Leaders: How Bad Sales Advice Spreads by Jacco Van der Kooij

• Learn how to differentiate between an expert with real insight, versus “thought leaders” sharing opinions and bad sales advice.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 3,177
• Avg. Time on Page: 3:49
• Total Shares: 618
• Backlinks: 17

What Happened to Relationship Selling? by Emmanuelle Skala

• Robots and AI will never replace the human-to-human part of sales. Learn why you should implement a trust-based, relationship selling approach.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 2,305
• Avg. Time on Page: 7:26
• Total Shares: 655
• Backlinks: 40

How to Create Viral Content on LinkedIn by Gaetano DiNardi

• There are thousands of articles being published every day. Find out what it takes to cut through the noise and create viral content on LinkedIn.

Notable Stats:

• Unique Page Views: 2,355
• Avg. Time on Page: 6:37
• Total Shares: 330
• Backlinks: 27

Bonus Articles

Sales Hacker’s Top Sales Trends & Predictions You MUST Be Aware Of In 2018 by Max Altschuler

• It’s that time of year again — leverage our expert analysis of top sales trends and predictions of 2018 to inform your sales strategy!

Best Sales Hacker Blog Entries of 2016 by Chris Muyo

• Read ten of Sales Hacker’s best blog entries from 2016! Industry leaders contributed throughout the year to give us a wealth of knowledge to take into 2017!

Honorable Mentions

The One Thing I Wish I Knew at 22… by Max Altschuler

• Get sales advice form over 80 industry leaders who have been part of the Sales Hacker community. Share this sales advice with your team members!

Think Like a Sales Rep. Act Like a Marketer. React Like Customer Service. by Karri Bishop

• The hard sell is DEAD. Learn why you should think like a sales rep, act like a marketer, and react like customer success.

How To Generate MASSIVE Leads by Writing Blog Posts! by Daniel Disney

• Dan Disney has written viral blog posts that generated massive leads. Learn how to make blogging a crucial part of your sales process.

SP3O: The Only Sales Prospecting Email Template You’ll EVER Need! by Dan Murphy

• Writing a personalized cold email is no walk in the park. That’s why we’ve crafted the only sales prospecting email template you’ll ever need.

3 Ultra Creative Strategies to Get Face Time with Your Toughest Prospects by Samantha McKenna

• Struggling to get sales appointments with tough prospects? Here are 3 creative techniques to help you get the most impossible meetings.

Become a Google Chrome Powerhouse: 60+ High-Performing Chrome Extensions for Sales Professionals by Samantha McKenna

• Learn how to become a Google Chrome powerhouse with our all-encompassing list of best Chrome Extensions for sales professionals.

Are You Pissing Off Your Prospects With These Annoying Opening Email Lines? by Sujan Patel

• People might be opening your messages, but if they aren’t taking action, that’s a failure of your opening line to engage prospects.

10 Free Sales Excel Templates For Tracking Your Pipeline, Activities & Performance by Matt Smith

• Manage your pipeline and business growth with our free sales templates for Excel and Word. Track your activities, funnel, performance and more.

How To Audit Your Sales Process: An Actionable Guide For Business Growth by Hazel Butters

• Are deals falling through the cracks? Team not at optimal performance level? Here are 4 actionable steps to audit and fix your sales process.

3 Proven Methods for More Accurate Sales Forecasting by Michael Pici

• Did you know 60% of forecasted sales deals never close? Here are 3 proven sales forecasting methods for more accurate revenue modeling.

5 Unforeseen Financial Pitfalls of Making the Wrong Sales Hire by Amy Volas

• Have you made the wrong sales hire? Learn the painful cost of making a bad sales hire, and how to avoid it in the future.

Those are some of our most-viewed articles from 2017. You can view any entry by using the search tool in the top right of the page. Let us know in the Comments section what kind of content you want to see in 2018!

Happy New Year!

Originally published at Sales Hacker.