Here’s a bit of insight I stumbled upon about credibility while doing a half day training with one of our regional sports franchise sales teams.
During the the session, I realized these guys were intently focused on their service. And I needed them to move away from using that as a sales crutch to try something new. So, I started asking a series of questions regarding how salespeople open calls. Continue reading
You’ve heard me say it before. We’ve written about it on multiple occasions.
Selling is an away game. It takes place in the mind of your prospect.
During my time training salespeople, I’ve run into a few who’ve had a little trouble embracing this concept. They see selling as something that you do to someone. They start by getting their foot in the door, and they end with closing the sale. Invariably, these salespeople have the hardest time getting out of their head and leaving their “mental stuff” behind. Continue reading
Yes, we’ve said preparation and rehearsal are necessary in your sales presentation. But you want to pay particular attention to your opening and your close. Continue reading
Here’s something I overheard one of my inside salespeople say when we ran a call center:
“My prospect won’t even give me the time of day. If he knew more about me and my offering, I’m sure he would be willing to talk.”
The internet gives us an unprecedented opportunity to get out in front of our prospects in a big way.
But as sales reps, you have to show up before someone can ask you to dance.
Try this experiment on Google. Run a search of the name your customers know you by. For example, if your name is Robert Jones, but all of your customers call you Bob, search for Bob Jones. Continue reading
In a previous post, we reviewed the importance of knowing your audience before designing and delivering your sales presentation.
Here’s another quick tip on preparing and delivering your sales presentation. 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
As a sales leader, you can’t afford to play checkers. You need to play chess. Start planning your next moves now!
As a leader of a sales team, you’re in a position to keep your team functioning at peak performance. That means you have to sometimes give a presentation to motivate the whole team. It also means you’ll have times when you’ll need to coach individuals according to their strengths and weaknesses. As a result, you need to be aware of how your team is performing overall as well as how each individual is performing within the team.
That can take a lot of time. Continue reading
In past posts, we reviewed how to identify sales objections and separate out true concerns from the trivial pursuits. We reviewed how to classify the real objections that do come up. And we reviewed the best time to address these objections.
The final task remaining is how to respond to these real sales objections when we find them. Continue reading
In one of our training sessions, a participant said that they needed some tips on handling objections. Objections are a natural part of the sales negotiation process. However, many sales reps try to actively avoid encountering objections. However, once you realize that real objections signify interest in your offer, you become more skilled at addressing the concerns of the customer. Continue reading