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Listen well, and you will sell!
People buy for their reasons, not yours. Sometimes they even buy in spite of you. Once you accept that premise, your mindset should be to find out what is important to the prospect. The easiest way to do this is by asking questions, and by listening to their responses. By listening, I mean taking note […]
The dark side of discounting
During tough times, people like bargains and discounts, but they also like quality and certainty. Many buyers have come to expect discounts as a “new” part of the sales process and have no trouble asking for them. Your potential customers are nervous, tightening their spending and shopping around for the best price, but selling on […]
David vs. Goliath, business-style: Part 2
In my last article, I talked about how “David” companies can compete against industry Goliaths with smart positioning. The idea is to create a niche where your differentiators are without compare; something that addresses a particular market pain point that you do better than anybody else. Now I’d like to drill down into some tactical […]
Ten reasons up-front contracts work
Mutual agreements, what I call verbal "up-front contracts," that you can make with buyers at the beginning of the sales process, contain a clear understanding of the steps you will take "together." This reduces their resistance.
High-performance selling
Fear is one of the most powerful human emotions; its grip is strong and pervasive. To maximize your success in business and selling, you must learn to control your fear of sales – or it controls you. There are four kinds of sales in business: products, services, ideas and yourself. In the corporate world, you […]
Sales 101 B.C.
Can you name three of today’s best-selling sales authors? Simple, right? Jeffrey Gitomer, Zig Zigler, Brian Tracy, are just a few of the familiar names. Now here’s a more challenging question: Can you name one female best-selling sales author? Just one. Tough, isn’t it? That’s because there is only one female author in the Top […]
Top five networking no-no’s
Networking is a powerful and productive way to build professional relationships and generate new business opportunities. It’s a reciprocal process based on the exchange of ideas, advice, contacts and referrals. There is no one-size fits all approach to network. Done well, networking increases clients, builds lasting relationships and improves sales. Done poorly, costs you sales, […]
Possibly mission impossible: Managing your sales team
Managing a sales team can be quite a challenge. Harnessing individual personality preferences and getting everyone focused on the same goals, moving at the same pace and working in collaboration to develop business opportunities is a major (and some would say, impossible) undertaking. To illustrate the complexity of the task, let’s examine the dynamics of […]
I hate cold calling!
Don’t talk to strangers!Don’t rock the boat!Don’t ask so many questions!Don’t speak unless spoken to! What do these statements have to do with sales and cold calling? Ever pick up the phone to make a cold call, and you freeze? The phone just became a 500-lb. object. Or call a referral and you don’t know […]
Following up isn’t optional
What’s your excuse for not following up? These days everyone seems to have one. Some of the tired and overused excuses are; too busy, not enough time, didn’t get around to it, or I forgot. It doesn’t really matter what your excuse is because there’s no excuse for not following up. You’re losing money every […]
Selling to a group?
If your salespeople are making a presentation to a group, they must conduct a dry run or practice of the presentation ahead of time. A dry run is a more elaborate version of the planning meeting held by a selling team. In addition to the members of the selling team, you (the sales manager) and […]
How to identify your ideal customers
How do you answer the question, “Who are your customers?” Many of the businesses we work with typically answer with a very broad and vague description, and their marketing reflects their answer. Even those companies that can more sucinctly articulate what their ideal customer looks like rarely implement this into their sales and marketing activities. A […]
