Creating the right environment

By / / Ethics & Values, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Leadership, Sales Management

I was running a ‘train the sales trainer’ session with some experienced, professional Sales Managers the other day. The session I ran is designed to equip these managers to run mini sales training modules of as part of our sales fitness programs. Many manages are not trained facilitators and so we make sure we give them the information they need to set up an effective learning environment. All was going well until we came across the content entitled “Creating the right learning environment” which is a practical guide about what you need to prepare and take into account when setting …

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Exceptional Prospectors

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brain Science, Call Reluctance, Competition, Networking, Prospecting, Resilience, Sales Pioneer, Sales Psychology, Sales Relationships, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Sales Talent, Sales Tips, Self Promotion, Social Media, Social Sales, Success
  • “My most important appointment is prospecting and I do it first up every day.”
  • “I qualify all leads I generate and have an approach to handle those that aren’t ready yet.”
  • “People appreciate a professional sales approach and are able to make an informed decision to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ because I clearly explain, up front, my reason for contacting them using a customer centred approach. They need only say ‘no’ if they’re not interested.”
  • “I have a list of categorised prospects or influencers and a set approach for each category.”

    • Is this what you say, and how you feel and act about prospecting?

    These …

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    An ideal sales week

    By / / Prospecting, Role Clarity, Sales Motivation & Rewards, Sales Pioneer, Sales Planning, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Sales Tips, Self Development, Time Management
    • Are you finding that you are over servicing your existing clients and not bringing in new business?
    • Are you running out of time each week to do the important sales jobs such as prospecting?
    • Are you at risk of not meeting your sales budget?

    In my many interactions with sales people I have found that many find they have problems prioritising their week. They often get caught up in activities that do not produce revenue, leaving them vulnerable.

    Let’s look at the key activities that should feature as priorities in most sales people jobs:

    Revenue Generating Activities
    Direct

    • Prospecting (phone calls, etc.)
    • New business client meetings (with …

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    Leading a healthy sales career

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brain Science, Emotional Intelligence, Neuroscience, Neuroscience in Sales, Sales Culture, Sales Psychology, Sales Talent, Sales Tips, Self Development, Time Management, Wellbeing

    It is well documented that being healthy (physically, emotionally, and mentally) is vital to leading an effective and productive life.

    In sales your health is a critical factor to your success. Many highly successful sales people I meet are self disciplined in all aspects of their life ensuring they are fit, healthy and well trained in their profession.

    Having a healthy sales career is underpinned by the individuals healthy life style, and a well managed business which includes good sales support, clear goals and leadership.

    I have written before in a previous post Healthy salespeople, healthy …

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    The Hard Sell

    By / / Ethics & Values, Negotiation, Sales Culture, Sales Relationships

    I declare right up front that I am not, and never have been a fan of the Hard Sell. You have probably guessed that from all my previous posts.

    And if you ask most people about what they think about the profession of selling they will often describe something akin to the ‘Hard Sell’. Of late I have also noticed a rise in ‘hard sell’ stories where people are being unnecessarily pressured to buy or sales people being pressured to sell at almost any cost.

    The hard times may be pushing some people to do things they wouldn’t normally do like the …

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    Who’s in charge of your sales recruitment?

    By / / Recruitment & Sales Recruitment, Sales Assessments, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Management, Sales Talent

    1. How much is a good sales person worth to you?
    2. How much is a good hiring manager worth to you?

    Speaking about recruitment in these current economic times may seem foolish, however in the area of selling, this is where you could make great strides by picking up highly effective sales people who have found themselves on the job market or are looking for a better business to work in. I know of a few highly competent sales people and sales managers who have been let go along with other staff as part of large staff reduction strategies.

    In …

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    Professional Services firms are feeling the pinch

    By / / Brand & Reputation, Complex Selling & Transactional Selling, Marketing, Prospecting, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Motivation & Rewards, Strategy, Success

    Take note: Lawyers, Accountants, Engineers, Marketing Consultants et al

    Professional Services Firms are struggling when it comes to keeping and finding business. This on top of the fact that many have to come to grips with the fact they need to sell. The market has definitely changed. You cannot sit there aggressively waiting for the phone to ring anymore.

    In speaking with one partner from a well respected law firm, he vented his frustration at the lack of action being taken in his firm by partners and their teams in terms of driving the push to find new business in current and …

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    Think you can get away with it. Think again

    By / / Brand & Reputation, Ethics & Values, Mindful selling, Sales Relationships, Value Proposition & Value Add, Vision, Mission & Purpose

    In the world of sales there has always been the following advice for customers and for good reason:

    • Buyer beware
    • Read the fine print
    • If it’s too good to be true then it is

    And so on.

    As much as I advocate for and encourage healthy, trust based, open transparent customer relationships I am fully aware of the ‘dark side’ in the profession of sales.

    In my travels, sadly I hear of many stories about people being ripped off and taken advantage of often with no idea about what is happening to them until it’s too late. All under the guise of selling.

    There will always be …

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    Some Good News Sales Stories

    By / / Negotiation, Sales Relationships, Sales Skills, Success

    You don’t have to discount price to win good business and good customer relationships even in tough markets.

    I mentioned earlier this year my team and I are working on a large sales fitness training assignment in the finance sector around Australia. These guys are hard up against it when it come to ‘price’ being a key target at the moment. A number of their competitors are trying to buy market share with discounted prices. The market is being hammered with ‘discounting’ of all sorts – some clear, some not so clear and some very dubious.

    Many people have commented ‘Is this …

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    Count your chickens

    By / / Communication, Customer Service, Prospecting, Sales Planning, Sales Relationships, Sales Tips

    Everyone I am speaking to, at least, are aware they are working in a softening market. Some businesses of course are counter cyclical, meaning they can make money in these tougher times i.e. outplacement firms for all the obvious reasons, but they are more the exception. If you market is softer or heading or a down turn it doesn’t have to be all gloom and doom. It’s true now you have to earn your real money through proactive sales practices.

    So with on the agenda, one of my clients in regional Australia kindly sent me a great article on “The three …

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