Someone once told me she was great at sales. Why? She said, “You know how I love to talk!” Was she ever wrong! Yes, she could talk a blue streak. No, that doesn’t make a great salesperson. Managers sometimes make hiring mistakes in sales. You may wonder if you’re up to the task in sales. Here are 3 reasons you won’t make it in sales. 1. You won’t make it in sales if you … [Read more...]
Sales Problem? Solve it The Right Way and Keep Your Customer
It’s only a matter of time when you have a sales problem. There is a right way and a wrong way to solve a sales problem. Do it the right way and you keep your customer. Do it the wrong way and you can not only lose a customer, but you might lose other business as well. Here’s how to solve your sales problem and keep your customer. Here’s the wrong way to solve a sales … [Read more...]
Incorporate Gratitude Into Your Selling
Want to be more successful? Learn to incorporate gratitude in your life and selling. It’s not my idea that gratitude is a good idea for sales and business. There are many studies and they support an association between gratitude and an individual's well-being. So how can you incorporate gratitude into your selling? Here are a few ideas. Say thank you. This is something that … [Read more...]
Sales Mistakes to Become an Expert in Sales
The physicist Niels Bohr once defined an expert as “a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” Here are some of the sales mistakes I’ve made over the years. You can either make them yourself, or learn from me and try to avoid them so you can start to become an expert in sales. I worked with multiple distributors and commission … [Read more...]
Work from Home: Etiquette to Follow and Expect
There will be many people who work from home even after Covid’s ravages are reduced to a manageable threshold. It shouldn’t surprise you that some people are clueless when they disrupt those who work from home. Don’t you be one of them! Here are some etiquette rules I recommend you follow with those who work from home. Etiquette Rule 1. Don’t ring anyone’s doorbell without … [Read more...]
Sales Decisions: How Do You Decide?
In sales there are lots to decisions to make. Should you raise prices or keep them the same? Which product would be best for this customer’s operation? What’s the best way I can afford to serve a customer? How can I promote and get support for a new idea? When should I stop selling to a customer? Who should I call on? Sometimes you just can’t decide. You have multiple … [Read more...]
3 Rules to Win Bids
Wouldn’t it be nice to be free of competition when you sell? You would not have to submit bids and compete with competitors to win bids in an ideal sales world. That world unfortunately doesn’t exist. There will be times you will have to submit a bid. It's the only way for you to get business. There are strategies to work on bids that make it more likely for you to win … [Read more...]
3 Dumb Sales Mistakes
I often say you learn something from everyone. Sometimes it’s what to do. Other times it is what not to do. Selling is a tough enough business that it’s always better to stay away from the wrong things to do. Here are some of the dumbest things I’ve heard (or done) in sales just so you can save yourself from making these same mistakes. 1. Tell them John referred … [Read more...]
Solve Your Sales Problems
3 Ways To Avoid Frustration and Failure Not making your sales? Working with a difficult customer? Facing a challenge that’s immobilizing you? These are all problems that you might face in sales. What can you do about them? You need to have a process to solve them. Here’s how to get started. First realize you have a problem. Ignorance is not bliss when it … [Read more...]
3 Selling Rules
1. Never touch base. Your credibility is a key part of your sales success. That credibility comes from your expertise, your authority and your availability. You must avoid everything that detracts from your credibility. When you touch base you are detracting from your credibility. Expertise means you have knowledge that’s useful to your customers and … [Read more...]