Where Sales Trainers and Selling Experts share advice, tips, and techniques on how to become a sales champion!

I refuse to go down the path that you have heard a million times before: “Sales is a numbers game.” Okay I have to go down the path – but just a little!

Because it’s true that the more you get out and tell your story, the greater your chances to sell more. However, there is a deeper more psychological issue under lying all of this.

We all have been taught and trained over the years to do everything within our power to avoid failure, rejection, and having people say ‘no’ to us. We have been trained to operate in a world where ‘yes’ is the only acceptable answer and ‘no’ is well… not yes, that is for sure.  Read more...

Whether you are a selling professional or the head of a team of sales reps, if you want to consistently meet and exceed sales targets in your organization, there are fundamental business habits that you need to emulate every day. As a seasoned sales trainer and coach, I would like to share with you today one of those key habits, and show you how you can implement it right away in your work.

Get inside the head of your buyer…  Read more...

When a sales lead comes to you regarding your company’s products and services, it’s natural to look at such an event as good news – and in many cases, it is.

Too often, however, the reality is that a number of these inquiries – especially those that begin by saying “I need for you to give me a price on _____” – may not be what they appear to be. In fact, in quite a few cases, they may be nothing more than a waste of your time.  Read more...

Selling to C-level decision makers is challenging even at the best of times. You can facilitate the process and increase your sales with these individuals, however, if you understand a few business principles. Here’s a look at 10 things you must know if you want to have any chance of selling to them.

1. C-level decision makers are paid to improve their business results. Regardless of how the media portrays these executives, their primary concern is to improve their business. This includes increasing sales, market share, customer loyalty; reducing costs, errors, or employee turnover; and improving productivity, employee engagement, and customer service.  Read more...

You are not always selling, but you are always prospecting.

The definition of prospecting is identifying the organizations and individuals who have a potential need for your products/service/solutions.

Let’s get serious about prospecting.  Let me be candid: we make it more difficult than it is.

Here’s the simplified version of prospecting:

You understand your products and services.  You believe you have something to offer the prospect.  You have a firm conviction your solution is better than what is being used at the present time.  You believe your advantages are valuable to the prospect.  You want to share these advantages with your prospect.  Read more...

Although your business card may identify you as a sales person, in the Selling Revolution your job is not so much to “sell” as it is to provide consistent, ongoing value to your customers. You already know that the reason any business exists is to fill needs and solve the problems of its market.

In your traditional role as a sales person, you have accomplished this goal by providing goods and services to your customer based on their needs for what you sell. This is also how customers have traditionally defined the value proposition of a sales person.  Read more...

People love to be heard. Everyone has a soap box stashed away, waiting for their moment. That’s why one of the greatest compliments you can give a person is to listen to them. It validates them as a person. So work at giving it to them. It sounds easy, but it’s one of the hardest things we can get people to learn, because all people have their soapbox, including you. Your job is to keep your soapbox stashed away.  Read more...

You’ve heard it all before: Sales experts talk and talk about creating value. If we just create enough value for our clients, they will buy-whatever the price and whatever the economy. What’s new about that?

Yes, the economy is lagging and budgets are cut. Yes, we have competition. Yes, clients are postponing decisions. So now what?

Offer New Ideas to Woo New Clients …

Sales experts have always talked value. Now we need to put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and become creative. We must get in and get started. Think smart, not big.  Read more...

Sales Performance is achieved by implementing certain strategies, procedures, and techniques.

In a client-focused approach to selling (i.e., a relationship selling environment) we believe there are certain elements that contribute to your sales success. Listed below is an overview of these elements.

1. Prospecting — identifying the individuals and organizations that have a need for your products and services.

2. Preparation — gathering information to assist you in contacting the prospect. Remember: preparation compensates for a lack of talent.

3. Process — understanding the prospect’s needs, issues and concerns via a step by step sales process.  Read more...

Building great relationships with clients is a cornerstone of a successful career in sales. Achieving this means more than just a benefit for your customers in knowing that they can count on you for the very best in product knowledge and advice, plus after-sales support.

You stand to gain as well when those satisfied customers tell their friends and colleagues about you. Referrals have a unique capability in that they have the potential to generate new clients for you without you having to seek out those clients first.  Read more...