You can learn something from everyone to improve your sales results. Sometimes it’s what works and other times it’s what doesn’t. I believe that you can learn some important sales pointers from successful salespeople. Here are some sales pointers that have worked well for other successful people. They might work for you, too. 1. Sales Pointer: Close the sale instead of … [Read more...]
What situations advance your sales career?
During your sales calls you probably pay special attention to what your prospects say and do. You don’t want to miss something important that might show how to make the sale. There are other situations that you might find yourself in where you should also pay attention. What you do in these situations might help you advance your sales career. It’s important to know what … [Read more...]
Do You Want to Be a Sales Superstar?
I’ve noticed a few things about those people who are the best of the best in sales after all my years of working with salespeople. These top performers aren’t necessarily any smarter than other salespeople. They are different in other ways. Why not see how you compare with these very successful salespeople to see if what you’re doing will lead you to sales success? They are … [Read more...]
Getting Value Right
One of the best ways to keep your prices high and still keep your customers is to offer more value than the cost of your products. But value is one of those grey areas that means different things to different people. How do you know what value to offer? How do you know what your value is? Here are some ways to find out. It’s only value if your customer thinks it’s value. You … [Read more...]
Why Not Take a Sales Holiday?
You’ve worked hard all year. Are you thinking about sales this holiday season? It’s really too late to think about making this year’s sales goals unless you are in the midst of negotiating a deal that is likely to close. Instead of working on selling, why don’t you take a little time for a sales holiday? During your sales holiday you will think about your selling. Here’s what … [Read more...]
Some Wrong Ideas About Selling
I had a recent conversation with a CEO about sales. He was commenting on some of the materials he was reading about selling. Imagine my surprise when he said that one of the articles instructed salespeople to make more sales calls to close business so that they were lengthening their sales cycle. Don’t try to close business in the first sales call. Instead, focus on building … [Read more...]
What is Your Sales Call Score?
The formidable, former mayor of New York, Ed Koch, was famous for asking his constituents a question. As he walked the streets of New York, he would ask, "Hey! How'm I doing?" Being typical New Yorkers they would tell him quite directly. What about your sales? You know how you are doing when you make a sale. What about when you don’t make a sale? How are you doing then? Here’s … [Read more...]
Do You Know The Myths of Selling?
What Scott Berkun wrote about in The Myths of Innovation also applies to sales. Don’t believe the myths in innovation or the ones in sales. Innovation is not likely to be promoted by management and you might be selling on your own. You may think that an innovative idea will be promoted by management. That’s not what Berkun found. Few managers recognize that their training and … [Read more...]
What Do Successful Salespeople Do?
Would you think you could have a gold medal career in swimming like Michael Phelps? Probably not. Yet being successful in sales is a real possibility. I suggest you do what other successful salespeople do if you want to be successful, too. 1. They know how to listen. Successful salespeople don’t assume anything. When a customer says something that’s open to interpretation … [Read more...]
3 Questions Before You Sell a New Product
At some point you will sell a new product. You will have different challenges than selling an existing product. Instead of making it more challenging, here's what you can do to make your selling a lot easier. Why should prospects buy your product? You must know why a customer would want or need your product. One would hope that the people who developed your new product … [Read more...]