Archive for Selling

The 12 Universal Sales Management Truths

There are many books out there on the topic of sales management.  However, you can boil much of their content down to 12 universal sales management truths.  These truths will prove to be effective for any sales organization, anywhere, because they are exactly what we are calling them – universal truths.  These truths were articulated [...]

Common Myths and Misconceptions About Salespeople – Part 2

Last week, I introduced you to the first four of eight myths and misconceptions as to what it takes to be successful in sales.  These myths were drawn from the research conducted by the Gallup Organization and explained in the book by Benson Smith & Tony Rutigliano of the Gallup Organization entitled “Discover Your Sales [...]

Common Myths and Misconceptions About Salespeople – Part 1

In their outstanding book on what it takes to be successful in sales entitled “Discovering Your Sales Strengths”, Benson Smith & Tony Rutigliano of the Gallup Organization found that “much of what has been written and taught about sales excellence has little to do with what really matters.  All too many managers, authors, and so-called [...]

Overcoming Our Self-Limiting Beliefs

As we approach the start of the New Year, I have heard from several sales managers in the organizations I am working with about getting their salespeople to accept their sales goals for 2011 and develop a plan for attaining them.  One of the recurring problems is that several of their salespeople don’t really believe [...]

Three Simple Rules for Following a Sales Process

There are three simple rules for following our client development process:

Never skip a step to get to any other step.
Make sure you and your prospect are in the same step at the same time.
Don’t leave a step until you are sure that you have completed [...]

The Importance of a Consistent Sales Process

What would you think of a surgeon who told you after he had just performed surgery on you that he didn’t have a process or system for the operation; that he just improvised?  How would you feel?  The first thing I would do is check to see if he fixed the right organ, joint or [...]

Changing Your Selling Paradigm

Selling is a set of skills that can be mastered by anyone.  This doesn’t mean that everyone is cut out to be a salesperson.  However, it does mean that, when necessary, anybody can employ the skill of selling to influence the outcome they desire.
In cultivating this skill, it helps if you begin to adopt a [...]

When Selling, Give Yourself Permission To Fail

Many of the things you read in the pages that follow or learn from our training program will be new to you.  Because they are new, you are bound to fail the first few times you try to apply them.  Don’t give up.  It takes time for you to become comfortable and proficient at these [...]

When Selling, Give Your Prospect The Freedom To Say “No”

It may sound simplistic, but the secret to winning more sales rests in getting your prospects to tell you “no”.  Great salespeople get their share of “yes’s”.  But they also hear an awful lot of “no’s”.  What they don’t get are “maybe’s” or “think–it-overs.”
“Maybe’s” and “think-it-overs” waste your time.  They cause you to follow-up on [...]

Selling Is A Process Of Disqualification

Not everybody is a prospect.  If a prospect doesn’t have a problem that you can help them solve or an opportunity that you can help them capture, it’s over; they are disqualified from becoming your customer. They are not a good fit. There is no point in pursuing this prospect any further for now.  Even [...]

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