Posts from — October 2009

A friend of mine is a very successful sales manager. After he had carefully interviewed and then selected a new salesman, he would take the salesman to a Cadillac dealership and insist that he trade in his old car for a new Cadillac.

The salesman would usually balk at the idea. He would be frightened of the cost of the car and huge monthly payments involved. But the sales manager would insist that he buy the Cadillac as a condition of employment.  Read more...

If I gave you a pencil and asked you to sell it, how would you go about it?

This is one of the most basic of interview questions for sales reps, and the answer reveals so much about your previous training, your understanding of the sales process, and ultimately about what kind of sales rep you are.

So, what is the most effective way to sell a pencil? Well, first let’s look at how most sales reps go about doing it. When I’m interviewing sales reps I love using this technique. After letting a rep tell me how good of a closer they are, I pull out a pencil, hand it to them, and tell them to sell it to me. And off they go!  Read more...

If you’re like most sales reps, you hate to get objections. Your stomach aches, your palms start to sweat, and you can literally see your commissions fly out the window.

And, if you’re like most sales reps, when you begin dealing with objections one of two things happen:

1) After you answer them, your prospect gives you another, then another objection and you go on the defensive…or

2) In answering the objection you tend to talk past the close, and you actually introduce more questions or objections! Now that’s a sick feeling, isn’t it?  Read more...

In today’s economy, everyone wants a lower price. I’m getting emails and calls every week from sales reps around the country who want to know what they can do to deal with prospects and clients alike who are looking for discounts and even threatening to take their business elsewhere.

“I can’t go any lower,” they tell me, “And certain clients just keep low balling me and working me for more discounts. What should I do?”

If you are dealing with this sort of thing as well, then I’ve got some specific advice that will not only work for you, but will make you more confident and successful as well. To start with, you have to admit the truth:  Read more...