It might surprise you what I’ve learned after working with salespeople for over 20 years on selling skills and strategies. Some salespeople should have never been hired for sales. I sometimes wondered how they ever got hired in the first place. Obviously, the only sale that ever took place was the sale to the sales manager. That was an unfortunate sale. Here’s how you can avoid … [Read more...]
Where Luck Meets Opportunity: Understand the Buying Process
The Roman philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” I say that you make your own luck. That is a very true statement for sales. When you know where your buyer is in the buying process you will become a lot luckier. You just might make more sales, too. Do more qualifying. I often qualify my prospect when I first meet with him as an … [Read more...]
Google, Misinformation and Sales
Did you read the memo? Yes, that memo. It’s the one that James Damore wrote that got him fired from Google. I did. I seriously disagree with Google’s firing of Mr. Damore. Yet, Damore’s varied statements as reported did seem inflammatory and cause for disciplinary action. The only problem is that once you read what he did write, you come to a very different conclusion. You … [Read more...]
What do you need to know about your customers?
Who knew that a U.S. household of four people opens the refrigerator about 15 to 20 times a day? That’s according to LG research. People also spend 10.4 hours a year just staring into an open refrigerator. That might be useless information for you. It’s not if you are a refrigerator manufacturer and want to develop products that best suit your customers’ needs. These … [Read more...]
Quick Tips for Writing Better Emails for Sales
Email is a sales tool. Are you doing all you can do to get your emails read and useful for selling? Here’s what you can do. Be strategic with subject lines. Make it easier for other people to read your emails when you write them. Here’s what you can do. Write a better subject line so it’s clear what you want. You can take a page out of the military. Here’s what they do. Their … [Read more...]
Marie Kondo for Sales
Have you heard about Marie Kondo? She’s the international expert on organization and leading a simple life. She emphasizes organization to simplify and find more joy in life. Simple rules of sales will give you more joy in business and in life. 1. Plan ahead. You can avoid a lot of wasted time if you plan ahead. Think about the materials you need to take on business trips. … [Read more...]
Generate Value from Selling
Sample Value Generation Letter Date XYZ Transportation Anytown, USA Dear (Maintenance Manager): We have been working with the XYZ Transportation staff in our role as your lubricants supplier. Super Supplier Inc. would like to report the savings and revenue contribution we’ve been able to provide your operation. We discussed extending your oil drain intervals … [Read more...]
Sales is common sense, but common sense sometimes isn’t common.
What would you think about standing too close to a customer to make him uncomfortable? You would never do that, right? It's just common sense that you don't make a customer uncomfortable if you have any hope of him buying again. Well, sometimes salespeople don't realize that what they're doing is wrong. Just imagine you worked with a salesman for several months. You arrive … [Read more...]
Gravity and your selling word of mouth
If you haven't seen Gravity (the movie!) yet, I highly recommend it. I'm not the only one. It defied predictions that it would be an enormous success. "It didn't look like it would go on to be a phenomenon," said Warner's president of world-wide marketing, Sue Kroll. If current trends continue, Gravity is likely to end up grossing more than $500 million world-wide, territory … [Read more...]
Is what you’re saying (or not saying) killing your sales?
I often say that words are the tools of the sales trade. It's really more than that because what you don't say often says more than what you do say. What do I mean? It's the nonverbal that counts. You know, it's everything you communicate without words. I often wonder how some people can be so unaware about what they're saying nonverbally. Here's a great article if you want … [Read more...]