You are in trouble if you hire a salesperson and his first day is his best day. You have been sold. Don’t be surprised. Selling is what salespeople are supposed to do! Here’s how to avoid being sold a low performing salesperson when what you want to buy is a successful sales professional. Learn from the references. The best indication of … [Read more...]
Red Flags in Selling
You know what red flags do. They give you advance warning of a dangerous situation. It’s at your peril if you ignore the danger. You may be missing a few red flags for customers and other people you work with. Here are some red flags that I advise my clients to pay attention to so they can get better sales results. Too much “I” and not enough “We.” Listen … [Read more...]
Failure Is Not An Option. Until It Is In Sales
You’ve probably heard some leaders say, “Failure is not an option” thinking they are motivating others. They’re wrong. Failure is an option and it certainly is a possibility in sales. Sales professionals know that customers sometimes have other purchasing ideas even if failure is not the option sales professionals would choose. What can sales professionals … [Read more...]
Don’t Miss a Clue When You Sell
Hindsight is 20/20 may be true. It sure won’t help you make the sale you lost because you missed a clue as you were selling. Here are some clues that I’ve pulled in over the years that I don’t want you to miss when you sell. There’s a right way and a wrong way to handle problems. No one likes complainers. I never consider it a complaint when the person comes … [Read more...]
There’s Still Time to Increase Your Sales and Make Your Sales goals
It’s summer time and the living is easy. Maybe it is if you are on track to make your sales goals this year. What if you’re not? Here are some actions to take to get more sales and make your sales goals this year. Focus on smaller accounts. I don’t normally recommend focusing on smaller accounts. Why? Because you work … [Read more...]
Don’t Make Yourself Crazy When You Sell
You may have noticed that sales can be a stressful occupation. You don’t know what mood a customer might be in before you present. You might have to deal with an unfair situation. It’s unfair when the brother-in-law of the buyer sells what you sell. Yet salespeople often make their own stressful situations. Here’s what you can do to avoid making yourself crazy when you … [Read more...]
Are you making presentations, but not making sales?
What can you do when you are making presentations, but not making sales? I recently worked with a financial advisor who was making far too many presentations and making far too few sales. We looked at a few areas to determine what was not working. Here are the areas that you can examine if you are not making sales. Do they believe … [Read more...]
Do you work for a great sales manager?
Business scorecards are useful to improve performance. These scorecards set the criteria that are important to determine success in business. You may intuitively know that you work for a great sales manager. Here’s what you can evaluate if you want to be sure that you do. You’re paid fairly. Your manager has a big role in determining … [Read more...]
What Not to Do In Sales
You might have seen some magazines for both men and women where editors select fashions and put some in a category of do and others in a category of don’t. When you want to be fashion forward you have to be sure that you stay far away from any styles that appear in the don’t column. What about salespeople? There may not be a fashion magazine to … [Read more...]
Millennials? Avoid Misconceptions at Work.
Twenty somethings and thirty somethings, welcome to the world of work! Let me correct some misconceptions you might have about work before they have any negative consequences for your career and your selling. You are there to work. Some offices look more like an entertainment playground than they do a place that’s designed for people to conduct business and … [Read more...]