Some people, including salespeople are clueless. They have no idea they’re making mistakes. Here are a few situations where salespeople have made my eyes roll. Price increases without value increases. Just imagine you were selling a product and you wanted to increase its value. You might think, more valuable products cost more, so I’ll raise my price. So you decide to raise … [Read more...]
Sales Questions to Ask Yourself for a More Successful Sales Call
Those of you who work with me (or read my columns) know that I am a big proponent of questioning strategy for successful sales. Your questions drive your customer to understand there’s a need, it’s an important one and why he has to buy now. There are other questions that are just as important for your selling. These are the questions you have to ask and answer yourself. How … [Read more...]
How Buying Helps Your Selling
Do you think about how your customers buy when you sell? Your selling will improve when you consider their buying process. Learn what your prospect doesn’t know. There’s often a learning process involved when you buy something new. Think of a television today. There are all kinds of variables to consider when you buy a TV. Your might consider the size of the viewing room. … [Read more...]
Really Good Idea for Time Crunched Salespeople
Do you ever wonder how some people look well-rested and relaxed? They seem to have more time for their work. It's not that they have other people do their work for them either. It's that they avoid the distractions and needless work that keeps them from being productive. I just read a book review of Deep Work by Cal Newport. Newport is a computer science professor at … [Read more...]
Student Protesters Would Make Lousy Salespeople
You might have noticed that college today isn’t what it used to be. It used to be that students went off to university to learn about themselves and others. They experienced new things. They might have been exposed to another point of view and changed their minds. That no longer seems to be the case. Here’s why these student protesters would make terrible salespeople. They’re … [Read more...]
Why Targeting Your Prospects Is a Good Idea
Targeting is the selection from all possible potential customers those who are most likely to need and want to buy what you’re selling. It’s not enough to go after an attractive market or one that is large, profitable, growing rapidly or is prestigious. Targeting allows you to exploit your competitive advantage. Targeting works because if you offer a little of everything to … [Read more...]
New Year’s Not to Do Sales Resolutions
Have you made any new year’s resolutions? Why not start the new year off with some sales resolutions of what you’re not going to do? You just might have a better chance of keeping them if you do. Here are a few ideas to consider. I am not going to present a solution without a quantified problem. Do you want to avoid losing a sale? Now is the time to think about what you can … [Read more...]
A Holiday Gift for You
It's the holidays. You may be frantically shopping to find the perfect gift for family and friends. That's what most people are doing this time of year. But what gift are you going to give yourself? You must give yourself a gift. Let me help you choose one. Why me? You may be thinking I don't need a gift. But of course you do. Sales is a unique and challenging profession. … [Read more...]
Reach Your Sales Goals: Year End Sales Planning
Congratulations if you’re on track to meet or exceed your sales goals this year. Even if this year didn’t turn out the way you wanted, now is the perfect time to do sales planning so that next year you get better results. Conduct a planning meeting. Your customers are also planning their budgets for next year while you are developing your sales goals for next year. You can … [Read more...]
Getting Referrals: Are you ruining potential business opportunities?
Your new business comes either from your work in prospecting or the referrals from others who know you. Think about your last Chamber of Commerce event or Rotary meeting when you met new people who could refer business to you. People do try to do business with people they like. Did you leave them with a positive or negative impression? Who does the talking? No one likes to … [Read more...]