Is it OK to do this in business? Ladies, please weigh in on this. If you’re at a networking event and two people are engrossed in conversation, is it OK to break in and say to one of the people, “I just had to say hello to this lovely lady.” Then you plant a wet one dramatically on her cheek? I say, you don’t break in on a two person conversation no matter if it’s 2 … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2014
Make It Easier for Your Customers to Hear You When You Sell
What’s one sales skill that you will work on this year? Your listening skills can be improved if you are like most salespeople. As you begin to make sales calls this year, evaluate who is doing most of the talking during your sales calls. You are fine if your customer is doing 80%. You might need to work on your listening skills if you are doing 80% of the talking. Why? … [Read more...]
Want to set some sales resolutions that actually work?
It may be just about now that you’ve broken your new year’s resolutions. How about setting ones that actually work? Be realistic. Stop kidding yourself. You know what’s important to customers by where they spend their time and money. You’re no different. You should be spending your time on activities that produce sales. Examine your networking activities from last year. … [Read more...]
Shorten your sales cycle
Are you thinking about ways to shorten your sales cycle? One way to extend your sales call beyond what it should be is to call on the wrong person. Make sure that you’ve identified the decision maker(s) early in the sales process. Ask the question, “Who along with you makes the decision to buy?” That answer confirms you’re talking to a decision maker. Ask questions to learn … [Read more...]
What’s the most important selling skill?
Think about what’s working in your selling AND what’s not working. What are you going to change? I recently posted on another blog to respond to a sales prediction. What was it? That the salesperson is going to be the differentiator in sales in 2014. I agree. Here’s what I wrote. You’re so right about the salesperson being the differentiator. That’s why the skill of … [Read more...]
A Question to Sell More Now
What’s the recipe for a successful sales call? It’s asking the right questions. Here is one question that will lead to more sales and shorten your sales cycle. How much does this problem cost? There’s no need to act or buy anything unless the customer quantifies the problem. Many customers often have not thought about how much the problem costs. Their problem is just a … [Read more...]
Are you missing buying signals?
As you’re presenting watch the change in behavior of where your prospect is facing. It’s a good sign if the presentation starts and the prospect changes body position from not facing you to facing you. The opposite is a bad sign for your sale. He is showing a lack of interest if he is facing away from you. You can probably guess what that means if his feet are facing … [Read more...]
Do you know what you’re saying when you sell?
“ All human knowledge takes the form of interpretation. ” — Walter Benjamin, writer Benjamin’s observation would have made him successful in sales. Why? He recognized that what he said might be interpreted differently by those who listened. Do you recognize that your customers and prospects may be interpreting your sales message differently than you think? You’ve just … [Read more...]
Don’t work so hard when you sell
I was asked last night at my presentation to the American Society for Quality what characteristics make a great salesperson. My answer was a surprise to the group. I cited my column, “Why Engineers Can Make the Best Salespeople.” They have the same characteristics of great salespeople They get process. Sales is a process. You have to follow it to get the results you … [Read more...]
Using I and We as a sales leader.
You also communicate as a sales leader. Your use of “I”s and “we” is something to consider. Here’s what you should consider: Some leaders mistakenly act as if big public communications are all about themselves, while their teams think that communications should be about them. They will be sensitive to the number of “I’s” versus “we’s” that the leader uses. Yet teams also want … [Read more...]