Posts from — April 2010

Successful negotiating requires you have a strategy. The clearer your strategy before negotiating, the more successful you will be.

At the core of the strategy is what I refer to as the “3 Ts of Negotiating: Trust, Time, and Tactics.”

Trust – The more trust you and the other party have in each other, the less need there will be to negotiate. The risk is in knowing whether the trust is real or perceived.

* Trust only comes through time and the quality of interactions you have had with the customer.  Read more...

What would happen if we eliminated all the drama out of a sales organization?

Let’s fantasize for a moment…that happy place in corporate la-la land.

What if a sale’s manager’s job was not managing people? What if his or her sole focus was just on improving sales.

No damage control on who hurt who’s feelings, no fragile egos running to the managers office to complain about stuff, an entire office of people 100% accountable for their actions and results.

Instead of managing people, the sales manager would entirely concentrate on improve sales.  Read more...

We will address The Sole Source Strategy. The Sole Source strategy is appropriate when your company is the only game in town and there are no other contenders in your customer’s view.

As sales reps we fight for this opportunity but rarely encounter it. It is generally reserved for the true superstar who has achieved the status of trusted advisor and is considered a genuine inside sales consultant.

As you have ‘heard’ me say before, there are three types of sales reps: the product peddler, the visitor, and the consultative rep, who is either a problem solver or a problem avoider.  Read more...