How not to make a prospecting call

By / / Call Reluctance, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Prospecting, Sales Skills

I was working from home when the phone rang. No sooner had I finished getting the greeting out of my mouth than the distant monologue began.

I somehow worked out that the woman on the other end of the line was calling from a charity. At the 30-second mark I interrupted her and asked her what the purpose of her call was, but she did not respond and just kept going. Sound familiar?

At the one-minute mark I again interrupted, and asked her what the purpose of the call was. Guess what she said? “I’m getting to it love!” She wasn’t rude …

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Professional Visitor or Professional Sales Person?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Call Reluctance, Prospecting, Sales Coaching, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Sales Training

I am seeing a lot of time wasted by sales staff aimlessly chatting with clients.

How often are you left with the feeling that your sales people are seeing clients, but beyond the “hello” and general chat, nothing of substance is happening?

I call it the phenomenon of “professional visitation”.

Often the cause can be isolated to a sales person’s reticence to ask the “hard questions”. Preferring to operate at a more superficial level, there is little chance the sales person will ever become involved in negotiating their way through customer demands and price issues.

Contact time with customers should always be productive. It …

Professional Visitor or Professional Sales Person? Read Post »

Are your self-promotion tactics ethical or not?

By / / Call Reluctance, Prospecting, Sales Skills

Today it’s not uncommon for some people to stretch the truth in order to get a job, get a sale, get ahead or just get noticed, but this behaviour raises some important issues about the good, the bad and the ugly of self-promotion.

We have all had an experience with someone, a sales person, a manager, an acquaintence, who didn’t seem to have our interests at heart. Something was telling you not to trust them but you couldn’t put your finger on it. They seem to be after VICTIMS not a viable prospect or a genuine contact.

Proactive self …

Are your self-promotion tactics ethical or not? Read Post »

It’s all about the relationship – don’t they get it?

By / / Collaboration, Communication, Customer Service, Emotional Intelligence, Sales Relationships, Sales Skills, Sales Strategy

I was out on my daily morning walk yesterday and found myself reflecting on the value of relationships – personal and professional. Due to the growth spurts of my 2 boys I often find my daily walk includes a stop at a well known bakery and our newly adopted local fruit shop. This is where my story about the power of substantial relationships has its anchor point.

For the past year I have been trying to find a new greengrocer. You see my old green grocer, Sam retired last year after 44 years in the same shop much to …

It’s all about the relationship – don’t they get it? Read Post »

You can’t improve salespeople without improving sales management first

By / / Coaching, Sales Coaching, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Results

I am constantly appalled at the lack of effective sales management in companies these days. Not a week goes by in which I don’t see a company make the mistake of focusing exclusively on salespeople in trying to improve sales performance.

Experience has shown that sales managers are even more critical than sales people for creating durable performance change. Really proficient sales supervision can do wonders to improve the skills, strategies and competencies of average salespeople.

Myth: The best sales person makes the best sales manager.

Fact: Selling and managing are two very different positions with different demands and expectations.

Most exceptional sales people …

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The trouble with sales training

By / / Sales Management, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Sales Training

What impact does attending a sales training program have on change?

It all depends on what type of training format your sales people attend. Too many companies look for quick fixes and waste heaps of money in the process.

Firstly forget Event Style training – you know those one day RAH RAH sessions that promise the world and deliver nothing in the long run. They DON’T work! They have the effect of a hot bath – nice whilst you are in it but it soon gets cold.

I am not saying all …

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Who is your brochure written for?

By / / Communication, Marketing, Sales Culture, Sales Relationships, Sales Skills, Social Media, Strategy, Value Proposition & Value Add

Have you ever looked at who most company brochures are written for?

Every sales person or manager I have posed this question to looks at me sheepishly. Their gaze is averted and they appear embarrassed. They know exactly what I am talking about.

What they are embarrassed to admit is that most of the brochures or advertising material that we come across is written for the company glorifying the company and its products, its commitment to customers, its founders or CEOs and so on, rather than speaking directly to the customer about the customers’ issues, concerns or aspirations and how the company …

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Marketing, sales and service silos – why?

By / / Sales Relationships, Value Proposition & Value Add

For people in the communications industry it is appalling that there is a lack of real communication occurring between their marketing and sales departments.

All too often I see departments vying for budgets, leadership, ideas, etc. Some people believe marketing drives the engine and sales are irrelevant, or sales are king and what is marketing anyway?

It’s not just the sales people. Some organisations don’t even know the difference between marketing and sales or don’t see the connection between the two in the first place.

This causes all sorts of problems, the likes of which can include:

Marketing initiating a premature campaign and forgetting …

Marketing, sales and service silos – why? Read Post »

Fix the sales force you have

By / / Sales Management, Sales Skills

Would we expect Melbourne Victory or any other elite sporting team to enter a competition without a clear game plan, talent plan, fitness plan, business plan and action plan?

No, of course not. We expect them to be aware, organised, focused and determined to play their best and aim to win.

Well, more than 90% of sales people do not follow any logical process when selling. They are often left to their own devices and simply fly by the seat of their pants, relying on intuition and hoping for the best.

They often cannot articulate their value proposition or know how they compare …

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The trick: no tricks

By / / Sales Skills

Yet another brochure has landed on my desk inviting me to learn the tricks on how to sell successfully. I wonder how many people will take the bait this time. The motivation circuit in fact is full of sales people who, for a hefty fee, will explain how they hit the big time and offer to share their tricks.

Well, here is some advice for free: this approach never works. Most people don’t want to be tricked and don’t want to trick others. What they do want is an honest and open relationship because good selling is based on delivering what …

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