What’s in a relationship?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Collaboration, Communication, Ethics & Values, Sales Relationships, Self Development

 

 

The term ‘Relationship Selling’ is often bandied about by sales managers and sales people without properly defining what it really means.I often hear “We are in relationship selling” or “We need relationship sales people” however what I do not hear being asked is:

  • What type of relationship are we talking about?
  • What type of relationship are we looking for?
  • What do we mean by relationship selling anyway?

Relationship selling happens in any place where relationships are important. Thus when a husband and wife are negotiating about something, they will be more successful if they both consider the relationship as well as whatever it is …

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Leadership, Sales and a Clear Message

By / / Brand & Reputation, Communication, Ethics & Values, Marketing, Prospecting, Sales Consulting, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Leadership, Sales Strategy, Sales Training, Strategy, Success, Vision, Mission & Purpose

Welcome to 2009.

Over the summer break I was talking with a number of friends about what 2009 will hold for us, our families, our communities and our businesses. Without exception, we discussed the current and possible effects of the GFC (global financial crisis) on our markets and especially on our thinking and our actions moving forward. We discussed the importance of open, clear and honest communication and decisive leadership, clear goals and defining what we stand for.

We discussed the fact that it would be very hard for people to make ‘easy’ money this year i.e. playing the stock market, etc. …

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Seeing the world from your client’s perspective can make for easier sales

By / / Brand & Reputation, Communication, Customer Service, Marketing, Mindful selling, Sales Strategy, Up-selling & Cross Selling, Value Proposition & Value Add, Vision, Mission & Purpose

Each week we meet and speak with a variety of prospective and/or existing clients who have problems they need solving in our area of expertise. It is more than likely we will deal with a mix of clients: some with little or no understanding about what we really do and those with previous experience, knowledge and opinions in our area of expertise. And then there are those clients who are in between. Whatever their level of sophistication, how well we understand and identify our clients’ key priorities and problems, and what they value about working with a credible business partner …

Seeing the world from your client’s perspective can make for easier sales Read Post »

Practice, Practice, Practice then Play

By / / Brain Science, Coaching, Mindful selling, Sales Management, Sales Skills, Sales Talent, Sales Tips, Sales Training

In the sporting world it is expected that athletes make the time to practice, practice, practice and then go and compete or play the game. Through regular practice they hone their skills, behaviours and attitudes to ensure they are ‘match fit’ and ready to compete at the highest standards.

A sports team needs to make sure that when they are in the thick of the game they can draw upon those skill drills and practice sessions to perform well as a team and perform well under pressure.

When an individual athlete is neck and neck with a competitor racing for the finish …

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A Test of Character

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brain Science, Ethics & Values, Mindful selling, Neuroscience in Sales, Resilience, Sales Psychology, Sales Talent, Self Development, Success

I can honestly say I did not enjoy the early years of my sales career. I initially found it hard, relentless and sometimes really distressing. I was asked to do things I didn’t always understand that significance of. I often felt overly scrutinised by the constant monitoring of activity and performance by my managers. I worked in tough markets in tough times and sometimes wondered if it was worth it. I felt under pressure and sometimes wished I didn’t have to sell at all, however I came to realise that this tough introduction to …

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Common Sales Mistakes Part 3

By / / Sales Tips

As markets tighten I thought we could reflect on some lessons learnt in the past by highly experienced, successful sales people. The following lessons are from some of the participants of my ‘Sell like a woman’ research project and make for interesting reading in ‘what not to do’ in sales. Here is the 3rd part of a 3 part series on common sales mistakes.

1. Thinking small

My worst mistake early in sales was to think small about what we can achieve. If I had realised three years ago what sales we could achieve, we would have …

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Common Sales Mistakes Part 2

By / / Sales Tips

As markets tighten I thought we could reflect on some lessons learnt in the past by highly experienced, successful sales people. The following lessons are from some of the participants of my ‘Sell like a woman’ research project and make for interesting reading in ‘what not to do’ in sales. Here is the 2nd part of a 3 part series on common sales mistakes.

1. Not listening

Going in too fast! Jumping ahead before clarifying the whole picture. I had to learn more about people. Recognising that not everyone moves and thinks as fast …

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Common Sales Mistakes Part 1

By / / Sales Tips

As markets tighten I thought we could reflect on some lessons learnt in the past by highly experienced, successful sales people. The following lessons are from some of the participants of my ‘Sell like a woman’ research project and make for interesting reading in ‘what not to do’ in sales. Here is the 1st part of a 3 part series on common sales mistakes.

1. Arrogance and hubris

Sometimes when you are on a roll with a product or brand (or even with your own success as a sales person), it’s way too easy to …

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Don’t take your frustrations out on your customers

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brand & Reputation, Communication, Customer Service, Emotional Intelligence, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations

As mentioned before, Sales and Service roles are not for the faint hearted and can often take their toll on your good nature, your energy and your ability to deal effectively with frustrating issues, especially when you put in the effort to do the ‘right thing’ by your customers and it is not appreciated, acknowledged or actioned.

At the end of a long day or week dealing with lots of people, pulling together various deals, solving problems and keeping your energy levels up and being on your best behaviour, you could be forgiven for being a bit ‘short’ if things don’t …

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Punished by Rewards

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Brain Science, Emotional Intelligence, Ethics & Values, Neuroscience, Neuroscience in Sales, Performance Management, Sales Leadership, Sales Motivation & Rewards

Punishment and reward proceed from basically the same psychological model, one that conceives of motivation as nothing more than the manipulation of behavior.

As part of my own development and in an attempt to keep my mind as open and fresh as possible, I take to reading all sorts of things. On my current reading list is a very interesting book called “Punished by Rewards” by Alfie Kohn, author, speaker and educator. He writes about the trouble with “gold stars, incentive plans, As, praise and other bribes”.

In light of current discussions and debates about the issues surrounding CEO performance bonuses and …

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