Here are a couple of meeting management tips I used in some of my past coaching sessions for leadership teams. Unusual… Unorthodox… Crazy… Call them what you will. They get the job done, especially when you use them as coaching opportunities
In this session with a client in the Ohio area, I was reviewing sales leadership practices with the organization’s management team. Continue reading
In one of my training sessions, someone asked how to follow-up after sending an introductory email. If we group the email with the phone call, then we can create a solid strategy that works well in opening a sales call. Incidentally, this strategy also works with direct mail campaigns or as a follow-up to a white paper download. Continue reading
As a sales leader, you’ll want to spend some time reviewing how you delegate tasks. If you want to make your team as effective as possible and free yourself up to address the problems only you can address, then you want your delegation process to empower your sales people. Continue reading
In our programs, when we talk about building rapport, most people think of the NLP process that involves mimicking a person’s behaviors and speech. They think that somehow, doing this will magically give them the upper hand in talking with people.
Don’t get me wrong. That stuff enhances the communication process. However, when we talk about building rapport in the sales process, I want you to focus on one thing. Continue reading
In a previous post, we reviewed some guidelines for conducting an effective meeting. Now, when you consider that most executives spend an average of 23 hours a week in meetings, you want these events to be as efficient as possible. You want to get the most out of your meeting while expending a minimum of resources.
Also, consider the cost of holding a meeting. In order to conduct your meeting, you need a room with presentation resources. So you have the cost of the room and the cost of your time to set it all up and break it down. Continue reading
When opening a sales call over the phone, using a script will give you direction, provide your call with structure, and ultimately open more doors for you.
However, most sales reps use the script as a crutch, reading it like a nervous speaker reading their PowerPoint slides while delivering a presentation.
A script gives you an outline of your opening process when making a sales call . But to make it your own, you need to maintain flexibility and awareness so you can respond appropriately to your prospects and earn their trust. Continue reading
As a sales rep, you encounter sales objections throughout your process. In fact, some days it seems like that’s all you get from your client base. Naturally, sales reps must be fast on their feet and think creatively when their prospects are reticent to move forward. However, they must also be professional and knowledgeable when responding to their prospect’s reactions.
When your prospect expresses an objection, having a method to categorize them will help you immensely. That way, you can have a better understanding how to respond to the objection, or even if you should respond. Continue reading
Here is a tool that we recommend our clients use early in the sales process to get a prospect’s attention and to establish credibility.
While we recommend that you establish credibility by talking with your prospect or customer about things that of interest to them, you won’t establish credibility with your prospect by talking about items you find in their office. While commenting on pictures or artifacts found in a prospect’s office was a popular tactic back in the 50’s and 60’s, they won’t give you much traction in today’s business environment. Continue reading
When I had my call center, I remember fielding a question from a member of my inside sales team after she finished a call. She said, “I just got off the phone with a guy who said he didn’t have time to talk because he was in a meeting. That just doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, why would you pick up the phone if you were in a meeting?” Continue reading
When I work with freshman sales reps, I usually have to untrain them from an odd, but consistent habit.
In coaching new reps on their phone style, I’ve found that they have a misconception about sales. They will invariably use some kind of price reduction as their solution’s main feature. Continue reading