Selling is a great job for women. Your numbers, not your gender, determine your success. Still, women in sales face different situations than men. Often the situations, like gender stereotypes, are trying. It’s good to be aware of those situations that stereotype based on gender so you can be prepared or even better, avoid them. Gender Stereotypes: Get ready to deal with … [Read more...]
Make Your Own Sales Luck in 2023
How do you want to close out 2022? Forgetting it is probably high on your list if you didn't make your sales goals. Here’s something else you can do. My suggestion is for you to make your own sales luck in 2023. Do you think that’s not possible? I think it is. Here’s how. Go with your gut. Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire in England has been … [Read more...]
Fix Your Sales Problem: Why Your Sales Team Isn’t Selling
Recognizing you have a problem is the first step to fix it. The sales problem you may have is your sales team not making its sales goals. Start with examining these areas to fix your sales problem. A sales problem starts when you haven’t provided a sales process. I just heard about a salesperson who is finally selling. Why? Management just observed that she … [Read more...]
Stop Wasting Your Selling Time
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...]