Being different seems to be really important to some people in sales. From their buyers, to product, to the way the sell, people want to cling to being different. It is like “Difference” is some sort of badge of honour, a reason to pay a premium, or worse, a rationale for results. You often hear… Read More
So Listen
There are certain universal concepts and sayings in sales that everybody just nods to, “sure, of course, that’s hockey, motherhood and apple pie, of course.” And then they go in about selling like they always have whether they implement the concept or not. One of these concepts is around listening. “Come on Tibor, everyone knows… Read More
Sorry But Your New Is Not That New
There is an old saying that goes: There is no such things as an old joke, just old people. Meaning no matter how old you are the first time you hear a joke it is new to you, no matter how long it has been out there. Which explains why I am going to sound… Read More
Starting On-line – Closing it Off-line
I had the opportunity to do a Google Hangout with Stewart Rogers, of Salesformics (affiliate link). We touched on a range of topics relating to sales, sales tools, automation, social selling and more. This clip is a highlight, we talk about the upside of marketing automation for sales people, and an example of a sales that… Read More
The Best Day To Prospect Is Not Someday!
I was talking to a rep the other day, he was telling me about his approach to structuring his week to help him succeed. He set certain activities to specific days, and filled in the rest of the time with things that were dependent on the buyers’ calendars. He had time set for writing account… Read More
The best time to cold call
Buyer beware! It seems over the last few months there is more and more advice coming from many sources on the merits of cold calling, (ya I know), and some so called “Rules and Best Practices”. But consider the source of expertise before you jump in. As with many things in sales, especially cold calling,… Read More
The Best Working E-Mail Subject Lines
One of the critical elements to success in prospecting is getting the person to open you note. If they do not recognize the sender, the next most important factor is the subject line, and if you like many prospect using e-mail, the subject line becomes the key difference between being opened and potentially starting a… Read More
The Sales Process
Process: Sequence of interdependent and linked procedures which, at every stage, consume one or more resources (employee time, energy, machines, money) to convert inputs (data, material, parts, etc.) into outputs. These outputs then serve as inputs for the next stage until a known goal or end result is reached. Sales Process: A series of stages… Read More
The Value Deficit
Sales is very much a balancing exercise, somewhat like a scale, to keep balanced, you need to ensure that there is as much weight on one side as there is on the other. When there isn’t it could lead to problems for the parties involved. The most common example of this in B2B selling is… Read More
Time for A Prospecting Manager
Sales as industry and profession continues to evolve and grow. More formal education, greater role-based focus and specialized leadership for support. For example, as technology grows to play a larger role in a rep’s success, Sales Enablement was introduced. In fact there is a whole society of them, we would not want to confuse them… Read More
What’s In Your Pipeline?
If you cannot answer this question with confidence, you will not be in a position to execute your sales process. And as we all know sales is about EXECUTION – Everything Else Is Just Talk! No matter where or what you sell, in tough times or up times, the reality is that CUSTOMERS AND COMPANIES… Read More
What’s Your Recovery Period?
No one likes rejection, and I would argue few professions have to put up with as much rejection as sales people do. We face rejection throughout the sale, from the time we try to prospect and engage with a potential buyer, right to the end when they finally agree to deal with us. We face… Read More
Why Are You Trying To Kill Me?
Recent headlines about AC/DC’s drummer brush with the law, got me thinking why would someone want to kill someone? Such a passionate act must be a result of some big or egregious cause, or at the very least a means of avoiding harm. Then I remembered that in sales we see this all the time,… Read More
Why is it easier for when you do it for others?
No secret I am a big proponent of cold calling being an element of prospecting success, along with any other viable means of engaging with potential buyers. I also understand that one of the big reason people do not like cold calling is the whole objection – fear of rejection thing. But over the years… Read More
You Know How It Is!?!
No I don’t! I find when I am working with sales people resistant to change, which in itself funny because they are paid to help prospects to change, yet when it comes to their reality, they try persuade me why the status quo is right for them. If you work with sales people, don’t you… Read More