Don’t be shocked the next time someone you work with says something nasty about you. You might hear it in front of other people who are important to you. You might learn about what was said behind your back. Don’t be surprised. Why shouldn’t you be? You missed some very important signals that the person was giving you about his … [Read more...]
Edward De Bono: Sales Questions for Better Sales Results
You may not know Dr. Edward De Bono and how he relates to sales questions. He’s the designer of the 6 Thinking Hats process. This process helps groups and individuals create better solutions for problem solving. Sounds like something that would be helpful for sales? It is. Use it to ask better sales questions. Here’s how I used 6 Hats Thinking to move a customer through a … [Read more...]
Think Like a Customer
Many salespeople think they know why a customer should buy. After all, they know their products and services and can tell you any number of reasons why a customer should buy. So why does a prospect not buy? It’s because salespeople don't think like a customer. They have their own agenda. Salespeople too often walk into a sales … [Read more...]
The Efficient Salesperson: Smart Selling
Have you thought about how you can work less? Some might think that’s being lazy. I prefer to think of it as being efficient. My goal is for all salespeople to do the least and get the most. That’s what I call smart selling and being an efficient salesperson. Here’s what you can do to sell smart. What should I do? Have you noticed that some tasks really don’t … [Read more...]
New Year’s Sales Considerations
According to U.S. News & World Report, 80 percent of New Year's resolutions fail by February. I think I know why. People set some unrealistic, overly drastic goals that have little chance of being kept. You might be leaning to making some dramatically different, challenging new Year’s resolutions. Instead, how about I challenge you … [Read more...]
Strategic Selling: Protect Yourself As You Sell
You may think your product is what you sell and what customers pay for. You would be only partially correct. You are part of your product. Your strategic selling covers not only how you sell your product, but all that you do to protect yourself as you sell. Be protective of your selling time. Athletes don’t let anything get in the way of their practice to improve … [Read more...]
Holiday Party: Sales Opportunity or Disaster
Thanksgiving is over. What’s next for many salespeople? Holiday parties. You have a sales opportunity whether you attend your company’s party or another hosted holiday event. Think of the event as another sales call and this time, you are the product. Whether you realize it or not, you had better pay attention to what happens at your holiday … [Read more...]
A Sales Manager’s Guide to Hold Productive Sales Meetings
I’ve been consulting at many sales meetings where sales professionals report the status of their prospects. What I hear too many times is, “This deal is going to close. Soon.” Instead of a discussion of what “soon” means and why, the sales manager accepts this report as an indication of future success. Nothing could be further from … [Read more...]
Listen With Your Eyes & Ears to Sell More
Which of the sales professional’s skills do you think is the most important? I think it’s the skill of listening. This underrated skill often gets overlooked since too many people, salespeople included, think that talking is far more important. What you say is important in sales. You can do a much better job of saying something … [Read more...]
How to Raise Prices and Keep Your Customers
It will happen at some point in your selling career that you will have to raise prices. Your customers are not looking forward to this conversation. Most likely neither are you. You are vulnerable to competition when you raise your prices. After all, who doesn’t think that when prices go up, and especially if too much, it might be time to find another supplier? You … [Read more...]