Why ‘Point Solutions’ ruin sales operations

By / / Education in Sales, Sales Consulting, Sales Culture, Sales Results

What is a Point Solution? A point solution solves one particular problem without regard to related issues. Point solutions are usually called for when there is a need to fix a specific problem or fast-track the implementation of a new service. Unfortunately, point solutions often don’t deliver meaningful or sustainable results. The sales training/consulting industry is littered with point solution providers, all promising ‘sales excellence in a box’ ranging from the latest selling style [1] you must adopt to a New York best seller book promising the golden nugget that will turn your sales around. When it comes to …

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Tips for using email and web leads effectively in sales

By / / Customer Service, Education in Sales, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Skills, Social Sales

Sales can be made in several ways: face-to-face, over the phone, web-based, direct mail or via e-mail.  With the plethora of internet businesses now transacting sales online you’d be forgiven for thinking that you could dispense with sales people all together but in many instances you would be incorrect.  There are very few businesses that can run purely on the internet with no sales people interaction required.  At the very least these online businesses need customer service or ‘live chat’ enquiry centres where customers …

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Sales Psychology – The Theory of Mind

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Life Skills, Mindful selling, Sales Psychology, Sales Relationships

When we interact and work with people (customers, colleagues, managers, friends, family, etc.) it is important to be able to interpret and understand where the other person is coming from – their perspective, especially if we want to continue interacting and working with them in a manner that is beneficial to both parties. Interpreting and understanding where another person is coming from does not automatically imply that we agree with their perspective.

We may not agree. However, we at least know where they stand, what their perspective is, how they see the world. Ideally, the other person would respond in kind …

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Is anyone listening to me?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Sales Meetings, Sales Skills

We’ve talked long and hard about how sales people need to listen, listen, listen to the client.  Not just hear but really listen to what is being said, how it is being said and so forth.  Seeking to understand your clients and prospects is critical to any effective sales relationship. However, we talk very little about how sales people get others listening – meaningfully – to them.  Let’s face it, you need to have something to say once you have worked out how you are going to help your prospect or client. How you present …

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Never forget Selling is a Doing job – a quality Doing job

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Coaching, Sales Coaching, Self Development

Every week we can learn something new about ourselves, our business, our clients and markets even if we have been in sales for many years.  However, we can only learn something new if we take the risk and put ourselves out into the market place on a regular and consistent basis and we pay attention to the details.  And the amount of details salespeople need to pay attention to is extraordinary.  Paying attention to what we do and how we do it is how we continue to evolve in an ever changing world – it is how we create success. …

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The University of Selling

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Education in Sales, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Skills, Sales Training, Self Development

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” overlay_strength=”0.3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]Until now, there has been no officially recognised benchmark for Selling at tertiary level nor salespeople who can claim a university qualification as their own. On the other hand Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Production, Engineering, Business Administration, IT, Research & Design, Human Resources, Logistics, Procurement and even Entrepreneurship all have recognised tertiary qualifications in the business stream with many proud graduates. The nature of the sales role is one that demands practical implementation, so many salespeople have …

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Why managing sales inputs leads to sales disaster

By / / CRM, Education in Sales, Performance Management, Sales Forecasting, Sales Management, Sales Measures - Inputs & Outputs, Sales Motivation & Rewards, Sales Pipeline, Sales Results

‘Selling is a numbers game’ has been said more times than any of us care to remember.  And yes, numbers are critical to sales, however some organisations place far too much emphasis on the managing the numbers, especially their obsession with their salespeople’s input activities – i.e. number for prospecting (cold) calls, client meetings, numbers in the pipeline etc. This “management by numbers” approach is flawed and leads to confusion, distress and worst, poor sales results over both the short and longer term.  The approach fails to grasp that up to 80% of the activities of a sale are outside …

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Corporate social responsibility at the sales coal face – no more only ‘what’s in it for me’

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Ethics & Values, Sustainability & Environment

Imagine our organisations making people feel good because they bought from us; imagine people changing their behaviours for the better because  our organisations showed them how; imagine the kinds of conversations and messages that will happen in our businesses when our people see what their contribution is making to the lives of their customers and their teams.

This is not the stuff of fantasy this is now happening in real time with real people. In late 2012 we published the detailed 49 page 12 Sales Trends Report for 2013 and released …

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