This heartfelt cry for guidance is fairly typical of the messages turning up in my mailbox, because sales teams everywhere are waking up to the fact that almost 50% of frontline sales professionals are under-achieving – and this is not a new phenomenon, this has been going on for the past few years. Dear Jonathan,… Read More
About Jonathan Farrington
18 Ways to Keep Sales Momentum Going Through the Summer
You can have all the tools and plans in place, but without effort and enthusiasm every day on the part of your sales team you probably won’t reach your revenue goals. https://s3.amazonaws.com/TopSales/SalesHardTalk/July+13/rec_scoremoresaleslori_04_Jul_2013.mp3
2013 -The FIVE Critical Challenges….
At this time of the year, all sales “commentators” are inundated with requests to make predictions for the coming year – certainly I always am, and this year has been no exception: As a consequence, I have been contemplating what I believe will be the most significant challenges most companies will face in 2013, and… Read More
5 Generations of Selling – Are You Still Stuck in the Past?
The reality is… sales has come a long way. If you look at the selling process over the past 60 years, it has really evolved through five generations. We call these the “5 C’s of Selling” but a very high percentage of the sales population is – for a host of reasons – still rooted… Read More
A Definition Of Major Account Management
Major Account management is not a single act, but a series of actions which link together to produce a powerful, professional and profitable result. There are two ways of looking at this process. One is to examine each element of Major Account management; the other is to create a model which can be applied flexibly,… Read More
A New Type Of Sales Approach For A New Type Of Customer
The traditional customer call once seemed indispensable to the selling process – the time and expense involved were just a basic cost of doing business. In recent years, however, the business community has come to regard the sales call as an expenditure for which there are substitutes. For many companies telemarketing, video conferencing and direct… Read More
A Picture of Modern Sales: The New Cold Call
The trend for inside sales is not coming—it has fully arrived at our doorstep. Rising fuel and labor costs have soared, and because of intense competition, the prices of our products and solutions have largely flat-lined—as have sales achievement levels. Companies have been forced to examine the complete cost of outbound sales and what they discovered… Read More
A Picture of Tomorrow’s Leaders – The Next Generation
Leadership was once about hard skills, such as planning, finance and business analysis. When command and control ruled the corporate world, the leaders were heroic rationalists who moved people around like pawns and fought like stags. When they spoke, the company employees jumped. Now, if the gurus and experts are right, leadership is increasingly concerned… Read More
Abraham Maslow and The Pyramid That Beguiled Business
The psychologist Abraham Maslow’s theory of human motivation is now 70 years old but continues to have a strong influence on the world of business, and I have used it in much of my own work. But what is it, and is it right? There is a commonly reproduced symbol, which many believe holds the… Read More
Activity Based Planning Leads to More Consistent Results – Fact!
Although the debate has been raging since someone first sold something to someone else, it is my personal belief that selling is both an art and a science. To put it another way, a salesperson’s skills determine their level of artistry at selling and their strategic planning provides a scientific platform for their sales activities…. Read More
An Abundance of Managers, But Too Few Leaders?
One of the questions I am most frequently asked is what are the key differences between a leader and a manager, and this is the best quote I have ever read because it succinctly answers the question: “There is a difference between leadership and management. Leadership is of the spirit management is of the mind…. Read More
Are You About to be “Commoditized?”
It’s good to be back – but then it was great to be away! The saw is renewed, and I am anxious to fill the next two months with the many tasks, which need to be completed before I head off again. So many exciting new developments coming up over at Top Sales World, which… Read More
Are You Getting the Wrong Customer Reaction?
Before looking outwards at our prospects and customers we need to look at ourselves, because each of us is a unique human being with our own desires, challenges and thoughts. To understand how we can communicate, and therefore sell more effectively, we need to understand the human communication process. Every minute, our unconscious mind absorbs over two… Read More
Are You Really Making The Most Of Your Most Important Accounts?
Are You Really Making The Most Of Your Most Important Accounts? A vitally important sales activity is that of managing existing customer accounts to consolidate and grow the relationship. Yet unfortunately, when compared over time, the customers’ interest levels increase while salespeople’s interest levels tend to decrease – This creates a “relationship gap” and is… Read More
Are You Working Smart – Or Dangerously Hard?
There has been increasing evidence that sales professionals and sales captains are working longer and longer hours, thereby putting health and family relationships at risk. Pressure to complete and meet the ever increasing demands of customers (as well as the need to achieve higher sales quotas) is forcing people to spend more of their time… Read More
Brick Walls – And Customer Focus
One of the most obvious reasons you should be building brick walls around your existing clients is to reduce the impact of aggressive competitor activity: Whilst you are off flirting with seemingly more attractive and exciting new opportunities, your competitors will be targeting your “home base” The motivation to do this should be strong. Whilst… Read More
Brick Walls, Competitor Activity, and Customer Focus
One of the most obvious reasons you should be building brick walls around your existing clients, is to reduce the impact of aggressive competitor activity: Whilst you are off flirting with seemingly more attractive and exciting new opportunities, your competitors will be targeting your “home base” The motivation to do this should be strong. Whilst… Read More
Categories Of Buyer Resistance
It is not enough to know whether people are for or against you and your ideas and proposals. The people you want to influence can be divided into nine categories: Those who Covertly disagree Openly disagree Comply – reluctantly Remain undecided Have insufficient information Are not able to see a need Need to think it… Read More
Customer Service – The Huge Gap Between Intention And Reality
When it comes to looking after our customers, quite often there’s a gap, a huge gap between theory and practice. There are books about customer relations; there are videos about customer relations; there are Gurus (mostly self-appointed) about customer relations. None of them actually have to deliver customer relations. That chore is left to what… Read More
Data Overload
Two Jonathans, one highly topical subject – Jonathan Farrington interviews the new top man at Avention, which is all about personalizing your sales and marketing. https://s3.amazonaws.com/TopSales/SalesHardTalk/2014/march/Jonathan-A-Flatow-2014-03-14.mp3
Dealing With Objections – Into Combat, Strategy Two
In essence, there are two combat strategies regarding objections. The first is pre-empting them – in other words, by anticipating and responding to the objection before the prospect has even had a chance to voice it. The second is by dealing with the objection as it arises. If you are prepared to incorporate both strategies,… Read More
Do We Really Need to Keep Discussing Objection Handling?
The fairly short answer to this question is “Yes and no – it depends” Depends on what? Well, it depends on whether we are discussing a reactive sales opportunity, or a pro-active one. Allow me to explain: A “reactive sales opportunity”is when we are approached by a prospect or existing client, to provide a quotation/proposal/price…. Read More
Do You “Get It?” – I Mean Really “Get It?”
The first time I heard the expression “getting it” was in conversation with learned colleague Jill Konrath about six years ago: We were discussing the selection criteria for the Top Sales Experts team and we both agreed that “getting it” should be a pre-requisite for anyone wishing to join us. Up until that point I… Read More
Does Your Company Excel at all THREE Selling Activities?
One of the most important aspects of selling, that we highlight at JFA, is the fact that there are actually three distinct activities that organizations should be focusing on – and they are all equally important. However, you could be forgiven for thinking that the most critical function is new business identification – or as you… Read More