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 …

Is anyone listening to me? Read Post »

Breaking the Chain of Ignorance – upping the pace of transformation

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Forecasting, Sales Measures - Inputs & Outputs, Success, Vision, Mission & Purpose

In December 2012, we published the 12 Sales Trends Report for 2013 and released a brief summary of each trend. This month we are focusing on the Sales Trend “Breaking the Chain of Ignorance – upping the pace of transformation”.

It is not enough to adapt to change, we need to keep ahead of the curve and continue to transform ourselves before the change arrives – opting to stay conservative will be a riskier strategy than taking risks to transform.  But the risks don’t need to come from the unknown.  The key to …

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Ego is a dirty word in sales & sales management

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Coaching, Communication, Competition, Complex Selling & Transactional Selling, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, Sales Management, Sales Talent, Wellbeing

Having a big ego is often associated with the sales profession.   For many years the supercharged Alpha male, 600 lb sales gorilla has been the poster person for successful salespeople.   And then there is the larger than life sales manager who charges in to save the day by taking over the sales call, making the sale and demonstrating to everyone present just how much better he is than the salesperson.  With stories like these swirling in the ether, it is often assumed that a …

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First, people buy the salesperson

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Complex Selling & Transactional Selling, Customer Service, Education in Sales, Sales Skills

Here’s a simple reality… Prospects and customers buy the salesperson first during every sales call – or they don’t buy at all.

In any major sale, especially Business-to-Business (B2B) or complex Business-to-Consumer sales, the prospect or customer makes a predictable series of buying decisions that lead to a final purchasing decision. The first and perhaps the most important of these is:

                ‘Do I buy what this salesperson is saying?’

This decision is always made before the prospect or customer will seriously consider factors such as your product or service offering and price.  Yet many

First, people buy the salesperson Read Post »

Sales Lessons out of the mouths of babes

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Business Acumen, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Life Skills

‘Out of the mouths of babes’ is one of those expressions you hear adults utter occasionally. Often amazed at the remarkable or insightful things children say, I think we do children an injustice by thinking this is an infrequent or rare occurrence. The many children I have met over the years are very perceptive, smart and able to see through weak arguments and call people on them, even if the children, themselves, have not acquired the worldly experiences we accumulate as adults.

You may recall that I wrote an article a couple of years ago titled, ‘ Sales Lessons out of the mouths of babes Read Post »

How do your clients really perceive you?

By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Business Acumen, Communication, Education in Sales, Mindful selling, Prospecting, Role Clarity, Sales Coaching, Sales Culture, Sales Leadership, Sales Relationships

Perception is reality. So what do your clients really think of you? Would you be happy with how they perceive you? Are they thinking any of the following when they think about you and your company?:

  • ‘I’m so glad I’ve met you; my life/business is better off for knowing you.’
    or
  • ‘Oh that guy (gal), yeh they’re pretty good’
    or
  • ‘They’re nice but I don’t always have the time to chat with them’
    or
  • ‘That arrogant so and so’
    or
  • ‘Aghhh, I don’t trust them, get them out of my office now’
    or
  • ‘Who?’

    • Good relationships take time and effort to build and create something really valuable …

    How do your clients really perceive you? Read Post »

    Just shut up and close the sale

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Sales Skills

    Sun Tzu, the an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher, said ‘Move swiftly to overcome resistance…’. In selling that is interpreted as closing when you get a buying signal.

    Yet how many times have we heard the story about the sales person who is so excited about their products they get caught up in convincing the client of their buying decision by continuing to list the associated benefits thus missing the client’s buying signal only to lose the sale?

    The buyer gives the sales person a clear buying signal like: ‘Where do I sign? When do we start? How many can …

    Just shut up and close the sale Read Post »

    Solution Selling Isn’t as Dead as Some People Thought!

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Business Acumen, Communication, Customer Service, Education in Sales, Mindful selling, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Skills, Sales Tips

    Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, salespeople had a clearly defined role. They called on prospective customers, asked a lot of questions in an attempt to understand their customer’s needs, and in many instances they inadvertently helped their customers crystalise their thinking and clarify their needs. At that time salespeople controlled the sales process and comfortably directed their buyers. And buyers were happy to be led because they didn’t know any better.

    Back in the 1970’s salespeople had an important role to play in providing …

    Solution Selling Isn’t as Dead as Some People Thought! Read Post »

    B2B Field sales force to halve

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Communication, Customer Service, Education in Sales, Sales Culture, Sales Driven Organisations, Sales Pioneer, Sales Tips, Sales Training

    What will sales teams look like over the next 5-10 years? How will we sell to and service our clients? Will our businesses actually require field sales representatives as all?

    With ‘Field Sales Force Numbers To Halve’ voted the sixth most important sales trend for 2012 from The 12 Sales Trends of 2012 by our readers, these are critical questions business and sales leaders need to ask themselves if they want to have an effective sales effort.

    WHY? With access to so much information available and a plethora of …

    B2B Field sales force to halve Read Post »

    Would You Listen to You?

    By / / Attitudes & Behaviours, Business Acumen, Call Reluctance, Communication, Education in Sales, Sales Culture, Sales Results, Sales Skills, Sales Tips

    Many sales people, especially those new to sales, often take it personally when a prospect says ‘NO’ and fail to persist with their prospecting efforts while others turn prospecting into stalking not knowing how to engage a prospect effectively. Either way, these people are failing to favourably and persistently position themselves with prospects thus limiting their sales opportunities even further. In sales there is a fine line between persistence and stalking a prospect. Did you know:

    Would You Listen to You? Read Post »

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