I recently got a call from a female sales professional. She had been working for her sales manager for 7 weeks. I had a meeting scheduled with her male sales manager. She was calling to reschedule the appointment for him. Why was she calling when my appointment was with her manager? Her manager asked her to. It seemed odd to me that she was asked to do this. I thought it was … [Read more...]
Small talk helps negotiations if you are male
Who knew? What women do so easily (make small talk) will get better results in negotiation. But, only if you're male. If you read the study it says that women don't benefit as much as men do with the small talk. Why? It seems that men are inherently less "communal" so the chit chat helps them be perceived more positively so they get better results with negotations. Here's … [Read more...]
3 Instant Sales Ideas
Here are 3 instant sales ideas for you to sell more now. 1. Live within your means. Don’t buy the foolish thinking that more stuff will make you happy. When you start to acquire stuff that you can’t afford you start down a path that might lead to becoming a desperate salesperson. Nothing causes a sale to fail faster than desperation. How do you avoid participating in the … [Read more...]
Be strategic when you sell with Thumbtack
One of the things you want to do is to be more strategic if you are in sales. Look for tools and apps that will leverage your work to acquire other new business. You want prospects to easily find you. It's almost like you get to have someone working for you while you sleep. Here's a wonderful site, Thumbtack that you can use to help prospects find you. I use it to help … [Read more...]
Keeping Information from Your Customers Hurts Sales
Do you keep information from your customers? I hate to pile on the post office, but they really hurt their sales efforts. I recently needed to purchase a certified letter for a business document I was mailing. I made the purchase at 10AM. I was instructed to go to the U.S. Postal Service website, usps.com, enter my tracking number and I would be able to see the letter’s … [Read more...]
What to include in your sales proposals and RFPs?
You probably don't like it very much if you find yourself having to sell by submitting an RFP or sales proposal. Most salespeople spend a whole lot of time generating their RFPs and miss the opportunity to be strategic about the RFP. You might also wonder what to include in your sales proposals and RFPs. Here's a recent column on how to be strategic when you have to write … [Read more...]
27 Key Sales Performance Drivers
In a recent AchieveGlobal report they identified 27 Key sales performance drivers. How many do you think you have mastered? This is a good topic for your next sales meeting. Your sales team can discuss how to develop more of these sales performance drivers. If successful salespeople master these sales performance drivers, you should be more successful if you do, too. Key … [Read more...]
A Question to Sell More Now
What’s the recipe for a successful sales call? It’s asking the right questions. Here is one question that will lead to more sales and shorten your sales cycle. How much does this problem cost? There’s no need to act or buy anything unless the customer quantifies the problem. Many customers often have not thought about how much the problem costs. Their problem is just a … [Read more...]
Don’t work so hard when you sell
I was asked last night at my presentation to the American Society for Quality what characteristics make a great salesperson. My answer was a surprise to the group. I cited my column, “Why Engineers Can Make the Best Salespeople.” They have the same characteristics of great salespeople They get process. Sales is a process. You have to follow it to get the results you … [Read more...]
Sales training should include what to wear
All people have a physiological, unconscious response to color. They’re responding to it whether they’re thinking about it or not. What are some of these responses? It could be an unconscious thought remembering some of the points in your sales presentation. Why would that happen? Perhaps you were wearing red, the color of blood. Wearing red raises your blood pressure and … [Read more...]