What would you do with a crystal ball and your selling? You would avoid doing a whole lot of things that waste your selling time this year. You don’t have a crystal ball. Here’s what I think are big time wasters in selling. Try to stop wasting selling time and avoid them this year. No sales process for selling. I see a lot of sales teams whose management says that they only … [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...]
Use Gender Differences to Improve Sales Communication
Have you heard the joke, why is it that a man will pay $2 for a $1 item he wants and a woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't want? Subtle gender differences in behavior, especially in communication, also appear in the selling arena. We should be aware of these differences to adapt our sales communication and understand their impact on our selling. What are the … [Read more...]
Sales Strategy 101: The Basics to Make the Sale
Which is more important-- your selling skills or your selling strategy? I say your strategy is more important. You won’t be effective if you have great skills and a poor strategy. Think of it as doing the wrong things well. If you have a good strategy and poor skills, it might take you longer, but you just might accomplish your objective. Now it’s time improve your sales … [Read more...]
Don’t be Afraid to Use the Telephone to Sell
How is the pandemic impacting your business? Think of how many people are not leaving their office because of the pandemic. Where are they? They’re by their telephone. You may think that email is your best bet to reach prospects. I think the telephone is better even with caller ID. Barriers should not make you afraid to use the telephone to sell. Be prepared when someone does … [Read more...]
No More Cold Calls? Change How You Sell
You may have heard that Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch Wealth Management unit is banning trainee brokers from making cold calls. It seems that cold calling was a rite of passage that was from a bygone era for financial advisors. Times change. Financial advisors had to change how they sell as well. You may have to change how you sell as well. Why change cold … [Read more...]
Don’t Write Another Sales Proposal Unless…
You might gladly write a sales proposal if you were guaranteed a sale. Salespeople, all too often, work very hard prospecting, then writing and presenting proposals. What happens after? They hear crickets (no response from email or phone) from prospects a week or weeks later. How can you avoid crickets? Don’t write another sales proposal unless … [Read more...]
Use the Telephone to Sell
Pandemic or not, you have to make sales. The telephone, especially now, might be your best tool to sell and reach new customers. It’s not so easy to sell on the telephone. Then again, neither is selling face-to-face. Here’s what you can do to make it easier when you use the telephone to sell. It’s all in the execution to use the telephone to sell. How you speak is a … [Read more...]
New Year’s Sales Considerations
According to U.S. News & World Report, 80 percent of New Year's resolutions fail by February. I think I know why. People set some unrealistic, overly drastic goals that have little chance of being kept. You might be leaning to making some dramatically different, challenging new Year’s resolutions. Instead, how about I challenge you … [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...]