Peter Ostrow

Senior Research Director, Sales Enablement Strategies

Peter capitalizes on 20+ years of revenue growth leadership in sales enablement, sales talent management, and operational expertise. Finding a better, faster way to help b-to-b sales teams beat quota drives just about every topic, company, rep, and channel partner he engages.

Prior to joining SiriusDecisions in the Sales Enablement Strategy (SES) service, Peter was a VP/Research Group Director for the Aberdeen Group, where he founded and was Principal Analyst for the Sales Effectiveness Practice. Here, he covered the technology, service, and consulting enablers that enterprise sales forces deploy to become Best-in-Class organizations. He also managed researchers in marketing, customer service, field service, and human capital management disciplines.

Previous roles for Peter include: VP, Business Development with MarketOne International, a global provider of lead lifecycle management services to technology sales and marketing executives; VP Global Sales Operations for Monster Worldwide’s TMP Advertising and Communications division; and a long-time stint with advertising firm JWG Associates.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Brown University.

Blog posts by Peter Ostrow

Results:
Title Date

Are You a Sales Enabler or a Sales Inflictor?

January 18, 2019 | By Peter Ostrow

Sales enablement is a rapidly growing function with a wide variety of definitions and responsibilities
Some organizations take a legacy approach to enablement rooted in product-centric learning to inform seller-buyer interactions
Best practices in sales enablement favor a more holistic approach to developing role-specific skills, knowledge and process awareness that yields stronger sellers

Why Do I Keep Hearing, “Play it Again, SAM”?

November 06, 2018 | By Peter Ostrow

Sales asset management deployments often fail to meet buyer expectations – why?
Too often, shiny object syndrome motivates misguided sales enablement technology purchases
Replacing a failing sales technology with a new product isn’t a panacea

What Is a Sales Manager Enablement Playbook, and Why Should I Have One?

September 28, 2018 | By Peter Ostrow

Compared to the reps they lead, first-line sales managers often receive significantly fewer opportunities to develop competencies specific to their role
Ad hoc and reactive sales manager enablement leads to inconsistent results and processes that lack scalability and repeatability
A lack of effective sales manager enablement drives away high-performing managers and their best reps

Account-Based Marketing

2019 Planning Assumptions Guide

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Three Customer Quotes About Sales Enablement That Are “Full Send”

September 17, 2018 | By Peter Ostrow

Sales enablement is a challenging blend of art and science that requires an extensive understanding of your internal customer
Organizations taking a holistic view of enablement – focusing on building great reps instead of conducting simple knowledge transfer – produce win-win results all around
While the research and advisory business focuses on teaching and guiding customers, sometimes you can learn a lot from them as well

The Worst Sales Hiring Mistake I Ever Made

September 05, 2018 | By Peter Ostrow

The process of hiring sales reps is often rushed by organizational pressures to fill open positions
Making an offer to the “best of the bunch” can result in long-term regret
Best practices in sales talent recruitment rely on a rigorous process that emphasizes quality over expediency

Give a Man a Fish, Teach a Rep to Close a Deal: What Great Sales Coaching Really Looks Like

June 29, 2018 | By Peter Ostrow

B-to-b sales coaching is frequently limited to managers stepping into late-stage opportunities and directly closing the deal
This short-term approach hinders enablement efforts to develop sales rep competencies
To continuously raise the bar on their overall effectiveness, organizations must instead shorten time to competency for their front-line sellers

Key Findings from the 2018 CMO Global Study

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Why Being a Boston Sports Fan Matters at SiriusDecisions Summit

April 30, 2018 | By Peter Ostrow

Compared with the reps they lead, first-line sales managers often receive significantly fewer opportunities to develop competencies specific to their role
Ad hoc and reactive manager enablement leads to inconsistent results and processes that lack scalability and repeatability
A lack of effective sales manager enablement drives high-performing managers and their reps out the door

Sales Learning and Coaching Technology: Three No-Brainer Outcomes

March 30, 2018 | By Peter Ostrow

Sales learning has long been executed manually and repetitively
Organizations are seeking ways to more effectively deliver learning to high-performing and Millennial sellers
Sales learning and coaching solutions are growing in popularity and influence

Three Ways to Guarantee a Sales Rep's First Day Is a Terrible, Horrible, No-Good One

February 09, 2018 | By Peter Ostrow

New sales hires are a highly valued commodity, and the imperative to get them selling immediately is understandable
Acclimating and orienting salespeople to their new environment requires time, patience and planning
Many organizations fail to resist the temptation to throw new hires into the sales equivalent of the deep end of the pool

Building an Inspiring Brand Through Customer (And Employee) Experience

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Four Success Factors for Featuring an Industry Analyst on Your Webcast

January 09, 2018 | By Peter Ostrow

Vendor-sponsored webcasts featuring industry analysts are frequently deployed to bring independent thought leadership into the overall go-to-market strategy
Webcasts must be managed as carefully as any other marketing event
This blog post includes best practices that will optimize your webcast effectiveness