Posts from — June 2006

I’m pleased to bring you the following interview with Debbie Allen — she has been in sales for more than 30 years. For the past 12 years she has shared her sales and marketing expertise as an international business speaker.

Q. Hi Debbie, it’s an honor to be able to able to spend some time picking your brain. I know that it will be highly rewarding for everyone that reads this.

You’ve got an interesting story, which I see includes your having built and sold six companies — all at a profit I might add. Can you share your background with us, as well as what led you to where you are now?  Read more...

There’s an old saying that goes, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link”. When looking putting together a winning sales team, I think managers would do well to consider the previous quote. In the article that follows John Boe offers some excellent ideas on how to recruit and retain top sales professionals in to your organization.

Recruit Your Way to the Top!
By John Boe

Essentially a sales manager’s primary responsibility is to recruit, train and motivate his or her sales force to achieve peak performance. Of these three vitally important tasks, recruiting is the least understood and by far the most challenging.  Read more...

You’ve heard something like this before: “He’s not a leader, he’s a salesman.” Or: “She was trying to motivate me but gave me a sales pitch instead!”

Being a sales person can provide a poor foundation for leadership. Because leading and selling, though they share certain qualities, are different activities. Most people go along in their jobs and careers without thinking through those differences and thus mix up the two in self-defeating ways.

I’ve seen good sales people fail when moved into leadership positions; and conversely, good leaders fail when they become sales people or use certain sales techniques to lead.  Read more...

Selling is the one game in town that pays the bills, that keeps the doors open, that nobody wants to admit they do.

“I’m not in sales, I’m a supervisor, doctor, lawyer, banker, administrator, accountant.” “Don’t look at me, I’m just the secretary, nurse, receptionist, shipping clerk.” Funny – if nobody sells … how do you get new students, new patients, new clients, new customers?

Selling is everyone’s business and when it’s not, you’re in trouble …  Read more...

How many salespeople reading this article allow the Paretto Principle to determine how you allocate your selling time? If you’re not sure, perhaps you know the Paretto Principle by another name — the 80/20 rule.

All customers deserve to be treated fairly and ethically, but all customers don’t merit the same amount of your time. So by categorizing them, it’s a lot easier to determine how and where to concentrate your selling time.  Read more...

Step #1: Be persistent.
Persistence and goal setting play a big role in achieving sales success. But before you focus on your goals, determine what your purpose is first. Salespeople need to be clear about the purpose of achieving goals.

Your purpose is what you feel compelled to do or to accomplish, and it’s what keeps you on course. It’s what gives meaning and direction to your career. So the first step is not to come up with a string of goals, it is to clarify your purpose and then get more specific. Your goals need to be consistent with that purpose. Otherwise, you’re not going to have the passion and enthusiasm you need to go out and exceed the goals you set for yourself.  Read more...