I think it’s safe to say, whether you are new to sales or a road warrior, that selling during coronavirus quarantines is one of the biggest challenges you are facing in your selling career. The challenge now isn’t about a new and stronger competitor. You aren’t facing a problem of your own creation. You and almost everyone else are faced with a dangerous health issue while … [Read more...]
Work with a Snake (The Human Kind)
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
Use LinkedIn for Sales
Are you using LinkedIn to sell? LinkedIn is a valuable selling tool for salespeople when you know how to use it. Here’s how one sales leader uses LinkedIn for selling and recruiting Target your prospects. Georgine Muntz,is a fintech company leader that has held sales and other leadership roles at fast growing SaaS companies. She is currently a board member and angel investor. … [Read more...]
Your Sales Brand: Put More You Into Your Sales
What do you sell? You probably think it’s your product or service. While that’s correct, it’s not all you sell. Your prospects and customers are also buying you. Think of it as your sales brand. How are you including yourself in your sales? What’s your sales brand? Everyone knows Mercedes, Starbucks and Nike. They each have a brand personality. They are more than their … [Read more...]
Bogleheads Can Help You Sell: What Don’t You Know in Sales?
Attention Bogleheads! You know if you’re a follower of the founder of Vanguard Group, John C. Bogle, that he and his followers believe (and have shown) that investing can be simple and cheap. Bogle founded Vanguard in 1974 and introduced the first index mutual fund in 1975. Vanguard says that index funds have saved U.S. investors approximately $150 billion in fees since the … [Read more...]
Everything Old Is New Again in Sales: Apply Ad Principles to Sales
You may have heard people say, “Everything old is new again.” Claude Hopkins was the highest-paid copywriter of his day back in the early 20th century. What he said then about advertising also applies to sales today. Consider how you can apply his last century ad principles to your sales today. 1. Some ads are planned and written with a totally wrong conception. They are … [Read more...]