. 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...]
Group Sales Presentation? Make the Sale.
Are you prepared to deliver a group sales presentation? What’s your plan when you are part of a group making a sales presentation? You do have a plan, don’t you? Your first mistake is thinking that your presentation is just like any other individual presentation. It’s not. Here’s how you can make a successful group presentation the next … [Read more...]
3 Sales Pointers from Successful Salespeople for Negotiating, Price increases and Sales presentations
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...]