Getting Personal Or Time To Get Personal

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Customer Service, Sales Relationships

‘Getting Personal’ was voted as the Number 12 Sales Trends for 2011. Despite the advances in technology and the rise of the Internet, customers still want personal and single contact satisfaction. Contrary to some pundits who believe the role of salespeople is becoming obsolete with the proliferation of Internet and mobile technology, effective sales professionals and a personal approach to selling remains important to successful business this year and in the years to come. Smart salespeople are offloading functional and transactional activities to better concentrate …

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Collaboration Software – The New Sharing

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication

‘The New Sharing’ was voted as the Number 11 Sales Trends for 2011. Just think, it was a milestone to have a shared calendar! Well, think again. We’ve come a long way. Look out for new collaboration software tools; people within companies are better sharing information, connecting, communicating and collaborating in secure online environments. Because of this, people can connect about projects, sales pitches, client accounts and daily work flow in real time across geographic locations and time zones.

Like Facebook, Twitter,

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Why B2B Buying Decisions Are Taking Longer Than Ever

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Mindful selling, Sales Coaching, Sales Forecasting, Sales Leadership, Sales Management, Sales Measures - Inputs & Outputs, Sales Pipeline, Sales Planning, Sales Relationships, Sales Training

Are companies taking longer to make buying decisions or does it come down to impatience on the part of the B2B sales person, in a hurry to reach their sales targets? It seems nowadays buying decisions are taking longer to make than in previous years. This slow purchasing process isn’t just happening at the enterprise level in large scale businesses, it’s extended right across the board.

Protracted buying is dramatically slowing the sales process. The flow-on effects of such time delays are causing blow-outs in the cost of sale for many

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5 top tips on how to produce a winning sales proposal

By / / Communication, Prospecting, Sales Tips, Success

A good sales proposal demonstrates real value; a quote just offers a price. Many sales people are required to produce a proposal or quote after an initial meeting with a client or prospect. This is a critical part of the sales process. Many sales people however, loathe producing proposals and consider it a chore believing they don’t get maximum value or return from their efforts. Often reduced to quoting prices or at worst just a ‘find and replace’ to change the client company name, sales people can do a lot better for themselves as well …

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Let’s not assume

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Sales Skills, Sales Tips, Uncategorized

There is an old saying “assume makes an ASS out of U and ME” and for good reason. Too often sales people find themselves jumping in too soon, offering premature solutions when it comes to dealing with a prospective client’s needs or priorities.

Often they begin with the best of intentions by asking some preliminary questions of the prospective client. But many sales people report finding it hard to continue asking questions when opportunities present themselves during the course of the conversation. Instead, they want to begin talking about possible options …

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CRM as a business strategy

By / / Communication, CRM, Procurement

‘CRM as a business strategy’ was voted as the Number 6 Sales Trends for 2011. Looking at your Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM’s) as a piece of software? Think again. While CRM’s are getting better, easier and cheaper to use, this year more companies are positioning their CRM’s as a marketing channel to map the true value of their clients to aid their competitive edge.

For those unfamiliar with CRMs, it’s time to familiarise yourselves or be left behind. A CRM is a strategy to manage your company’s interactions with your customers, clients and …

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Why we should coach, manage & measure Sales Inputs rather than Sales Results

By / / Coaching, Communication, CRM, Performance Management, Prospecting, Sales Forecasting, Sales Measures - Inputs & Outputs, Sales Pipeline, Sales Training, Success

Do you leave your sales results to chance? Well you might be if you are like most businesses that are too fixated on Sales Results – the Outcomes. Managing by numbers, sales managers can get blinded by measuring the number of sales made and revenue and profit margins achieved rather than focusing on the vital activities that produce these outcomes in the first place- The Sales Inputs.

Every outcome is the result of its inputs. Every effect has its corresponding cause(s).

Consider the following questions:

  • Do you know how your sales people actually achieved their …

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What can women and men learn from each other about selling?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Sales Culture, Success

The world of selling is transforming before our eyes and there are many lessons for the taking. The latest focus is on the emergence of social media and the internet and its impact on customers’ purchase decisions. However, to date little light has been shone on lessons learnt by men and women about gender differences and selling.

I recently had the opportunity to present my latest project focusing on women in sales at an AMCHAM event which, to my delight, was sold out. Attended by men and women, although the weighting was in favour of the women, the 2.5 hour interactive …

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Do you miss out on growing sales because your clients’ pigeon hole you?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Coaching, Communication, Sales Assessments, Sales Tips, Sales Training

Do you have trouble introducing your clients to new products and services? Does their memory seem to spring back to what you used to do or your initial offering to them? Do they seem to pigeon hole you in a certain category, unable to see or acknowledge that you offer other products or services?

This is a common problem for many businesses especially when they start out as one thing and evolve into something more than a ‘one trick pony’. For instance, one of our client companies has recently merged their new product business with their service and spare parts business …

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Exceptional Prospecting and Social Media

By / / Call Reluctance, Communication, Prospecting, Sales Tips, Self Promotion, Social Media, Social Sales

With social networking sites and the plethora of online data available, 2011 presents us with better quality prospecting and more qualified prospects. ‘Prospecting and Social Media’ was voted as the Number 4 Sales Trends for 2011. Business networking sites such as LinkedIn and Plaxo, and the emergence of Facebook and Twitter as business destinations, give the discerning business or sales person access to quality data where they can research key contacts with an organisation, as well as business activity. Then, when appropriate, they can use this data to make professional connections.

Smart business leaders and sales people are using social networking …

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