Category — Sales Techniques

The phone rings and the sales manager hears on the other end the all-too-familiar plea of a salesperson. The salesperson tries to convince the sales manager that it makes so much sense to offer the prospect a discount to get them to finally become a customer.

Of course, the salesperson has the expectation that this new customer will quickly become a high-profit customer. The sales manager has heard the same plea hundreds of times before, and yet for some reason, the salesperson and the lack of current sales suddenly make offering a discount very attractive.  Read more...

Too many salespeople view their buyers as anything but smart, especially those salespeople who deal with purchasing departments.

In far too many sales communities, there exists an attitude that buyers and purchasing departments are nothing more than barriers that need to be broken down.

Well, yes there are barriers. Ironically, though, they are barriers that more often than not are there due to the very actions of the sales community.

One simple thing salespeople need to keep in mind is the fact the professional buyer sees far more salespeople in the course of a week or month than most salespeople realize.  Read more...

There are over 9 million results in a “secrets to closing” google web search. And, no, this article isn’t about the top 4 hidden secrets to closing more sales. That is because we don’t believe that there is some special magical mystery to being effective at closing more sales. The challenge (not secret) lies in having the perseverance or following through to use a system that works.  Read more...

If you are not following a sales process, you are probably not in control. Consider this for a unique sales process – a “Buyer Focused” Velocity Selling System that is as simple as ABC.

A. You cannot build anything without a solid foundation and the same applies to the sales process. The A in the ABC of the Velocity Selling System is for Attitude – the foundation of all successful sales people. Without a positive attitude and belief in you, there is no foundation upon which to build a successful organization, or winning products and services or benefit from market growth.

Whether you are conducting a one-on-one interview, motivating your sales team or delivering a keynote address, your success as a leader is defined by your ability to persuade with clarity and passion.

In fact, you might say that leadership is synonymous with effective communication. According to Harvey MacKay, author of the book Swim With the Sharks, “The No. 1 skill most lacking in business today is public speaking – the ability to present oneself.”

If you want to stand out from the crowd, get promoted or develop an award winning sales team you need to polish your communication and persuasion skills.

One day while I was out on my early-morning oceanside run in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, I passed a large group of city workers picking up trash from the waterfront.

This is a daily routine in this well-populated area and their work is finished before anyone—well, anyone except the most die-hard running enthusiasts—hits the beach for a dose of sunshine, relaxation and fun.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary online defines rapport as relation marked by harmony, conformity, accord, or affinity.

According to Wikipedia, Rapport is one of the most important features or characteristics of unconscious human interaction. It is commonality of perspective: being “in sync” with, or being “on the same wavelength” as the person with whom you are talking.

There are a number of techniques that are supposed to be beneficial in building rapport such as: matching your body language (i.e., posture, gesture, and so forth); maintaining eye contact; and matching breathing rhythm. Some of these techniques are explored in neuro-linguistic programming.

Sales expert and bestselling author Jeffrey Gitomer teaches a simple philosophy, “People love to buy but they hate to be sold.”

In other words, most people prefer to buy on their terms. They do not want or appreciate a hard pitch or a features dump. Yet millions of salespeople daily, either on the phone or in person, sell to their customers by dumping data, pushing their position, or simply trying to talk their way into a sale.

Most of us, at one time or another in our careers, have heard some wise trainer or manager exclaim,  Read more...

According to a Rain Today survey of over 200 businesses that hire service providers, referrals from trusted sources were the most important factor in a hiring decision. Ironically, handling referrals correctly is an often overlooked portion of business etiquette.

Always Remember This…
A referral is a vote of confidence. You have impressed someone (e.g. friend, colleague, client) enough with your services to the point where they feel compelled to recommend you to someone else. They are giving up their time to pass your name along in order to help you. This is an act of kindness and should always be thanked. Furthermore, the way you handle the referral will reflect on their reputation and yours.  Read more...

Keeping your pipeline of prospects full is no easy task. I’m not going to suggest it is. I talk to salespeople all the time and most say that prospecting is their number one source of new business.

So if you are like most salespeople, one of your hardest tasks is simultaneously one of your most necessary – keeping your sales pipeline full. There’s no way to slide into loads of profit without some effort – serious effort – on the front end.  Read more...