A very important customer once deceived me. This customer was my most important distributor. I had worked with this gentleman for years and trusted him. You can imagine my shock and disappointment. Business that was promised to me went to a competitor. The lost deal cost my company over $1 Million. I did not handle the situation as best as I could … [Read more...]
Knowledge is Power in Sales
You might have heard someone say knowledge is power. Knowledge is most certainly power in sales. Here’s the knowledge you need to acquire to get your power in sales. What do you know about yourself and your work in sales? One of the questions I ask when I work with salespeople on their selling strategy is “Tell me about your competition.” It’s a big red flag when they … [Read more...]
Sports and Selling are Similar: Coco Gauff Can Help You Sell
Were you one of the 3.4 million viewers of the Coco Gauff/ Aryna Sabalenka US Open Tennis Finals? (That was 1 million more than the men’s finals.) It was an incredible match after Gauff lost the first set 6-2. It appeared that Sabalenka would make a quick finish of Gauff or “one way traffic” as Brad Gilbert would say. Instead the match became a thrilling match up of skill, … [Read more...]
Make the Most of Your Time to Sell
You and your competition have one thing exactly the same. You have the same amount of time each day. How you choose to spend it to sell (or not) is a predictor of your sales success. Here are some ideas to make the most of your time to sell so you can sell more. Make the most of your time to sell with good choices. One of the things I like about sales is that I get to … [Read more...]
Prevent Losing Sales: 3 More Strategies
One thing you want to do is prevent losing sales. After all, think about how hard you’ve worked to get your business. The challenge of selling is that you’re always at risk of losing sales. Here are 3 more strategies to implement now so you prevent losing sales. Demonstrate what you’re worth. It seems to some salespeople that a quick and easy way to gain new business … [Read more...]
What do you see when you sell?
Seeing is believing. That’s what people say and think. But, what are you seeing when you sell? What you see—or more importantly what you don’t see can impact how successful you are in sales. Here are some ideas to see when you sell so you can sell more. Are you even looking so you can see when you sell? Too many salespeople go into each sales call with their prepared … [Read more...]
Career Success: Managing Up As a Sales Strategy
Your most important customer for career success is your manager. Sadly, not all managers are easy to work with. You can develop a sales strategy and make it easier to work with any manager. Your strategy can help guide you to your career success. Learn your manager’s expectations and then deliver the way they want them for your career success. Your job is to work the way … [Read more...]
Negotiating Mistakes to Avoid
You would think that a city government would avoid negotiating mistakes. Think again. I recently witnessed a $21 million negotiating mistake that you would be shocked to learn. What did they do wrong? Lots of things. Just be sure you don’t make the same amateur mistakes. What does your contract mean? What do you think someone would mean if they used words like “best … [Read more...]
3 Tips for Sales Career Success
I recently facilitated a presentation for a group of engineers. One of the questions was, “What advice would you give new engineers to be successful their career?” My tips apply to sales career success. Here’s what you can do to be even more successful in your sales career. Do it now rather than later. Nike is only partly right. ‘Just do it’ doesn’t really give you … [Read more...]
Mid-Year Course Correction: Work to Make Year- End Sales Goals
Can you believe the year is almost half over? Now is the time to look at your business and be sure you’re on track to meet your year-end sales goals. It’s time for a mid-year course correction if you’re off track. Identify what’s not working in your mid-year course correction. This may be hard if you’re too close to the problem. You might not see what’s not working. … [Read more...]