“Why Didn’t They Buy? We Had Such a Great Conversation!”(1/25/2014)-"Why didn't they buy?" After meeting with President Kennedy to request support for some legislation, a visitor was disappointed when JFK later did not approve of it. The visitor asked the person who had been the referral to meeting with… Continue Reading →
“Who’s In Charge Around Here?!”: Why Presentations Fail(1/26/2014)-How many times have you gotten in front of an excited prospect and delivered your presentation? Sales managers typically insist that you whip out your presentation or demonstration as soon as possible. After all, it's your chance to show someone… Continue Reading →
Starting a Sales Conversation Is Like Baking Bread(1/28/2014)-Starting a sales conversation can be tough. You'll hear people say, "Selling is part art, part science." My experience has made me believe it's far more science. And the very beginning of selling, starting a conversation, is like the science… Continue Reading →
Be Willing to Begin Badly [And Here’s Why](1/29/2014)-Many people are unwilling to begin badly. "Oh, I could never make calls" they say, "until I get my script down perfectly." They have to know exactly what to say before they pick up the phone. Unfortunately, this means they… Continue Reading →
How to Be a Salesman(1/31/2014)-What does it mean to be a salesman or saleswoman in our new era? The requirements of how to be a salesman have changed. While they may remain the same as 20 years ago in individual companies, what being a… Continue Reading →
How To Sell In the New Economy(2/1/2014)-This is an era of cautiousness, and that has changed how to sell in the new economy. Deals are bigger than before--buyers are packaging things together, sourcing different services they would previously have gotten separately now from one vendor to… Continue Reading →
The Power of Open Ended Sales Questions In Starting Conversations(2/2/2014)-Open ended sales questions are a powerful qualifying tool. However, a typical prospecting conversation begins this way: Salesperson: "Are you in the market for a new CRM?" Suspect: "No." Game Over. This how nearly all initial prospecting conversations are carried… Continue Reading →
The Death of “Closing Techniques”?(2/4/2014)-The Ben Franklin. The Alternate Advance. The Puppy Dog. All closing techniques. All still valid? Let's look at three things of note about these closes. First of all, prospects are "on" to them. These closing techniques have been around a… Continue Reading →
How To Succeed In Sales(2/5/2014)-Ready to unravel the mystery of how to succeed in sales? Unless you are working for yourself, many key factors of your success in sales are out of your control. You should know that up front. For instance, if you're… Continue Reading →
Your Sales Motivation(2/6/2014)-Sales motivation is a key success factor that has several powerful advantages if you clarify it for yourself. For many salespeople, their reason for bringing the product or service they offer in front of their customer is unclear. "We do… Continue Reading →
What Is Inside Sales(2/8/2014)-What is inside sales? This is a common question for people new to the business world, or just joining the workforce. Fortunately, the answer is as straightforward as the name: Inside Sales is a role in which the salesperson stays… Continue Reading →
Selling 101 – Effective Questioning(2/10/2014)-Part of Selling 101 is effective questioning. Salespeople believe because they have a brain and a mouth, they must have good questioning skills. Unfortunately, this is frequently not true. When we look back at the Sales Board's study results, we… Continue Reading →
What Is the Best Sales Approach?(2/11/2014)-Have you thought about your sales approach? What's the best fit for you? We all grew up with the image of selling as a fast-talking, pushy, greedy affair. Many of us never moved beyond that negative mental image. I didn't… Continue Reading →
Selling to Generation Y: Does Your Sales Training Need a Revamp?(2/15/2014)-Selling to Generation Y is a concept almost completely overlooked today. Yet Gen Y has attitudes, beliefs and challenges not present for the generations before it. Eddy Ricci, Jr., founder of The Growth Game and called "the emerging expert in… Continue Reading →
Door to Door Sales: How To?(2/16/2014)-Door to door sales have gotten a bad rap over the years. The reason is simple: because the salesperson is right there in front of you, it's a lot harder for most people to get rid of them than the… Continue Reading →
Don’t Have Time for Sales Training?(2/17/2014)-Do you find yourself saying things like, "We don't have time for sales training"? "We're too busy"? A writer recently recognized just that. Lest you begin to believe the field of sales is dominated entirely by men, Monika D'Agostino is… Continue Reading →
Sales Compensation Plan: Careful With That(2/19/2014)-Itching to change your sales compensation plan? Every so often I get a call or an email from someone who is bursting at the seams with the thought. They believe altering their sales compensation plan is going to solve all… Continue Reading →
The First 90 Days of Selling(2/21/2014)-The first 90 days of selling are critical. I don't know how many people I've encountered who wanted to have their own business, or took on a new sales role, but didn't last. Why not? Their expectations are poor or… Continue Reading →
What If Sales Training Doesn’t Work? And I Asked for It?(2/23/2014)-What if sales training doesn't work? And you advocated it? "Is Advocating Sales Training a Career Risk?" asked sales training program developer Richard Ruff a few days back. His answer--"No!", qualified with an advisement that sales training effectiveness studies are… Continue Reading →
Winning People Over(2/25/2014)-"Winning People Over is a horrible sales strategy," writes sales trainer Bill Caskey. And I agree. "After 22 years in the sales training business, I conclude that strategy is hopeless," he continues. Why? Are we not frequently taught to: *… Continue Reading →
Your Sales Numbers: Do You Know Them?(2/26/2014)-Your sales numbers--do you know them? Let's start with that. Many small business owners I speak with don't have a revenue target at all, and so have no idea how they'd get there. In larger companies we usually have a… Continue Reading →
Most Popular Feb Posts at SalesTactics.org(3/1/2014)-The most popular Feb posts here on SalesTactics.org were all about how to sell today, and what it takes to do so. Why am I reviewing these? I get the impression that many people believe once an article, book or… Continue Reading →
Sales Tips for Tech from PC Retail(3/2/2014)-Sales tips for tech--six of them--come to us from PC Retail (UK) online magazine. Reviewing these is worth it to see the state of sales competency in the industry. I have helped hundreds of tech firms, from web designers to… Continue Reading →
What Is a Buyer Persona(3/3/2014)-What is a buyer persona? The guy who wrote the book on buyer personas, Tony Zambito, has a definition: Buyer personas are research-based archetypal (modeled) representations of who buyers are, what they are trying to accomplish, what goals drive their… Continue Reading →
Buyer Profile VS Buyer Persona: What’s the Difference?(3/4/2014)-Buyer Profile VS Buyer Persona: What's the Difference? Today we're continuing our look at Buyer Personas. They are a valuable tool that helps us understand and predict buying behavior. Buyer Personas aren't just for the big players anymore; now, you… Continue Reading →
Buyer Persona and Sales Call Plan: Surprise!(3/6/2014)-Buyer Persona and Sales Call Plan: there's a surprising connection. We'll round out our look at Buyer Personas with a recent realization expert Tony Zambito had on the topic. He was helping the top sales boss for an Inc. 500… Continue Reading →
Pain Points: Back to the Basics(3/8/2014)-Pain Points are a straightforward yet vital tool to sale success. When a sale has been achieved but the salesperson is unsure why, you can be certain at least one pain point was accidentally hit upon and was responsible. We've… Continue Reading →
Foot In The Door Technique Is Terrible Advice(3/13/2014)-Foot In The Door Technique is one recommended by many so-called "experts". Essentially, the idea is to use a small sale to develop a relationship, trust and experience with a new customer so that you can sell them something larger… Continue Reading →
Buyer Preferences Kill Sales!(3/14/2014)-Buyer preferences are the beliefs you or your prospect have about how you make a purchase. Yesterday we looked at the Foot In The Door technique, and I noted how it shows more about the head trash of the salesperson… Continue Reading →
What Do Objections Show – Evidence from the Car Industry(3/15/2014)-What do objections show us? Joe Verde Sales & Management Training, Inc. released some stats a few days ago about objections. They got responses from 153 auto salespeople about what the most common objections they encountered are. The results are… Continue Reading →
The Real Reason Salespeople Fail to Hit Their Targets(3/16/2014)-The real reason salespeople fail is they don't know what they're doing. And it gets worse. Company leaders are not committed to ongoing sales education and reinforcement. In tough times, the very times the edge is especially needed, education and… Continue Reading →
Sales Manager Skills are Hard to Find(3/17/2014)-Sales Manager candidates are frequently promoted from within. An above-average salesperson is tasked with the role of improving the performance of not just themselves, but the entire team. Just as often, this decision leads to disaster. Consider first: if the… Continue Reading →
How To Make a Good Elevator Pitch(3/21/2014)-How to make a good elevator pitch is one of the basic questions I get. And with a networking event coming up fast, it's on my mind. An elevator pitch is also called a 30-second commercial, or in my lingo,… Continue Reading →
Successful Women In Sales: Characteristics(3/24/2014)-Successful women in sales usually have to fight to get there. I remember the first high-performing saleswoman I met. It was just heading into the later 1990s at the start of my career. She was a rep for a generator… Continue Reading →
What NOT to Do In Sales: Two Terrible Examples(3/31/2014)-What NOT to do in sales is just as valuable to know as what TO do. Yet sales leaders are not always in agreement about the best way to move ahead. Recently I found two articles that share, in my… Continue Reading →
Most Popular Mar Posts at SalesTactics.org(4/1/2014)-The most popular Mar posts here at SalesTactics.org were all about how to start a conversation. Since many people say they can sell, if only they can get the conversation, this isn't surprising. The reality is often a little different,… Continue Reading →
Qualifying Before You Get There: Qualifying 101(4/7/2014)-Qualifying before you get there--before you begin the conversation with the prospect--is an easy but overlooked part of the sales process. Everyone wants to know, "What secret techniques do you use to get them to buy?" when you've got them… Continue Reading →
Your Customer’s Budget: Qualifying 101(4/12/2014)-Your customer's budget creates a banana bunch of big qualification questions. Can they pay? How much should we ask for? What do we do when they come back with, "That's too much!"? Unfortunately for salespeople, these are all the wrong… Continue Reading →
The Problem with Closing(4/18/2014)-The problem with closing is that it's a lousy word for it. Who else agrees with me? Charles Lytle, founder of Sparque, Inc., and author of The Accidental Salesperson & The Accidental Sales Manager. "KILLER WANTED" was the Wanted Ad… Continue Reading →
How To Sell More Girl Scout Cookies(4/21/2014)-You should see the relentless marketing machine behind how to sell more Girl Scout Cookies. I read a recent article that mentioned how well the Girl Scouts have mapped out their sales process. All those litte salespeople need training and… Continue Reading →
Negotiating Is Bad And Here’s Why(4/28/2014)-Negotiating is bad. And here's why. In selling, if you have to negotiate, it means you screwed up. Somewhere in the process, you lost your prospect. They don't see you as different. They don't see how you could be different.… Continue Reading →
How To Stop Struggling In Business: Free Report(5/5/2014)-How To Stop Struggling In Business Do people ask to "pick your brain" for an hour, tell you you're a great person, and then disappear and never buy? Do prospects demand your quotation and then come back to fight for… Continue Reading →
Most Popular Apr Posts at SalesTactics.org(5/16/2014)-The most popular Apr posts here at SalesTactics.org begin with a bit of an anomaly. A post on the potential price of success that had been fairly popular since its publication in February was listed on Reddit. This lead to… Continue Reading →
Where Is Sales Training Headed?(5/22/2014)-Where IS sales training headed? Articles from trainers in the UK, North America and Australia demonstrate underlying trends that they're all agreed upon. The idea that sales is about convincing, persuading, pushing and even features and benefits is outmoded. Most… Continue Reading →
Do Classic Sales Methods Still Work?(6/2/2014)-Do classic sales methods still work? I have to admit, I was all ready to get uppity about this article because of its title. Turned out, though, author Gregg Schwartz of lead generation firm Strategic Sales & Marketing, Inc., had… Continue Reading →
SREDIM and Selling(6/6/2014)-SREDIM and Selling: What's the Connection? Like most people in the field of selling, I am trained in another specialization. From 1994 to 1996 I took 10 and 11 courses a term, double the maximum recommended university courseload, in the… Continue Reading →
Most Popular May Posts(6/18/2014)-Most Popular May Posts at SalesTactics.org The most popular May posts lead with the copywriting case study of a $400,000 target project that generated $600,000 in the one week the offer was open. So far, almost a thousand people have… Continue Reading →
Sales Expert Interviews at SalesTactics.org(6/21/2014)-Sales expert interviews are rare. Nobody thinks to interview them. And the reason why? They are usually busy working, and not connected with the online marketing sphere that likes to interview experts. Most people have heard of marketing consultants; few… Continue Reading →
The Dummy Curve In Selling(6/28/2014)-The Dummy Curve is a curious concept most salespeople have never heard of. Yet it is extremely effective in lowering the natural skepticism and other barriers of the prospect. We must accomplish this during the complex sale if we're going… Continue Reading →
Buyers are Liars(7/3/2014)-Buyers are Liars is a common phrase in sales training. Of course, buyers--or prospects, as we should be correctly terming them--have their own point of view: that salespeople are also liars who will say anything to get the order. Sherlock… Continue Reading →
Follow Up Messages: Where’s the Problem?(7/4/2014)-Follow Up messages, and how to write them effectively, was recently posed as a question on an expert platform I'm a member of. Here's my reply: I am going to begin my answer to this question not talking about writing… Continue Reading →
Curse of Knowledge: How Is It Hurting Your Sales?(7/10/2014)-Curse of Knowledge is a sales killer. It affects every salesperson who has been in their role for awhile, and learned the "ins and outs" of the business. How does it do that? The Curse of Knowledge means when you… Continue Reading →
Most Popular Jun Posts(7/13/2014)-Most Popular Jun Posts at SalesTactics.org The $600K copywriting case study lead the pack for a second month. People are eager to know how this feat was accomplished. What disappoints me is the constant search by lower-level copywriters for the… Continue Reading →
Sales Transformation: What Does It Mean?(7/19/2014)-Sales Transformation is one of those phrases. The kind that many people bandy about without understanding, like "optimized solution". This leads to "mutual mystification", a common problem in selling, where the two people believe the other person in the conversation… Continue Reading →
SPIN Selling for Online Sales?(7/22/2014)-SPIN Selling for online sales? Does it work? HOW does it work? What are the benefits? And the challenges? This is the topic posed by copywriter Corey Pemberton in his article How to Use the SPIN Selling Approach to Close… Continue Reading →
Docurated Quotes Jason Kanigan on Consultative Selling(9/25/2014)-Docurated quotes Jason Kanigan on the best way to develop a consultative sales approach in this extensive panel discussion. What's different about consultative selling? Docurated quotes Jason Kanigan alongside 25 other sales experts on the core transformational shift you must… Continue Reading →
2014 In Selling(12/31/2014)-2014 In Selling was all about transformation. Most of the people who visited SalesTactics.org, however, were looking for advice on how to sell. Proven methods. Here are the five most popular posts at SalesTactics.org in 2014: Copywriting Case Study: $600K… Continue Reading →
FIT In Selling: Interview with Jason Kanigan(1/27/2015)-Fit In Selling is a word commonly used--"Let's jump on a phone call and find out if we're a fit"--but poorly understood and badly used. Fellow sales pros Hugh Liddle and Jim Hamlin interview Jason Kanigan on Fit in this… Continue Reading →
State of Sales(3/27/2015)-State of Sales: I was recently asked on an expert platform what selling techniques, tools or trends we'll be seeing. State of Sales Trend Number One: Personal Selling Skills are King Personal selling skills, that is: an individual's ability to… Continue Reading →
First Marketing Piece [Business Newbie Guide Part 3](4/9/2015)-First marketing piece: how do you write it? This is a big question for most business creators. And what do they do? Rush out and make a brochure. Whether it is online or on paper, this brochure typically talks about… Continue Reading →
Owner Looking for Commission Sales Rep(5/14/2015)-Owner Looking for Commission Sales Rep: Where do I find one? This is a common question I see from "Doer" business owners. If you see yourself as the Creative of your one-person organization, it can be a challenge to also… Continue Reading →
What Is a Funnel?(6/6/2015)-What is a funnel? In sales and marketing terminology, a funnel is a series of steps to filter and bring your many prospects to becoming a few qualified buyers. That's it, at the funnel's most basic level. We can add… Continue Reading →
How SaaS Vendors Get It Wrong(7/8/2015)-SaaS vendors habitually have a critical problem. And it leads them to do unproductive things in their sales and marketing process. We'll be looking at these timewasters and sales losers over the next few posts. Here's a surprise: the same… Continue Reading →
SaaS Sales Problems(7/26/2015)-SaaS sales problems can quickly kill Software-as-a-Service businesses. Take two of the most common: My prospects aren't Internet savvy My prospects don’t have enough time or interest to talk to my sales staff. These issues have been hanging around for… Continue Reading →
Qualifying Questions Explained(10/21/2015)-Qualifying questions are powerful things. They can let you blow past that beginning dance of "tell me what you want vs tell me what you've got" buyer and seller often do. Qualifying is a step frequently ignored by newbies in… Continue Reading →
Slow Holiday Sales(12/6/2015)-Slow holiday sales is a complaint many businesses have in the Christmas and New Years period. I was asked on an expert platform what to do about the apparent slow-down in interest and sales companies experience at this time of… Continue Reading →
Comparing Yourself to the IM Greats(1/12/2016)-Comparing yourself to the IM greats is an exercise in self-torture. And yet newbie internet marketers do it all the time. It's not entirely their fault--they're encouraged to do it by the greats themselves. "Just buy this program; I walk… Continue Reading →
How Do I Get More Clients?(3/13/2016)-A very nice and well-meaning web designer just asked in an expert platform I'm a member of...how do I get more clients? My response: You have four jobs to do. 1. Attract/identify leads. 2. Qualify those leads. 3. Convert the… Continue Reading →
Hard To Sell To?(5/21/2016)-Hard To Sell To: "Are {Insert Niche Here} hard to sell to?" is a common question I see; it was repeated again on an expert platform I'm a member of this morning. The truth is that no industry is "hard… Continue Reading →
Retail Versus B2B Sales(6/5/2016)-Retail versus B2B sales are animals of a different shade. If you try to use one skill set in a situation calling for the other, you will likely mess up the sale. Earlier this week I bought new glasses. In… Continue Reading →
How To Begin Selling: Your Necessary Mindset Shift(7/28/2016)-How to begin selling is a key question, because people shut themselves down before they begin if they don't understand what's going on. The future you think you see now isn't real. Military planners had this problem: they'd be planning… Continue Reading →
Qualify Not Close: Make Selling Easier On You(8/7/2016)-Qualify Not Close. You see a ton of emphasis on The Close in traditional sales training. Get that prospect in there, and BAM! Hit them over the head with The Close. Kill 'em like a squirrel in a deadfall trap.… Continue Reading →
Reframing: A Lesson In Meaning(10/23/2016)-Reframing is the process of repositioning an idea, often one normally considered a negative, in the prospect's mind. Finding clear examples can be difficult, however. Other than the bog standard Ronald Reagan "I will not make age an issue of… Continue Reading →
Jason Kanigan and Matthew North Sales Interview(1/16/2017)-Jason Kanigan and Matthew North have both been sales pros and trainers for years. Both have Amazon/Kindle books on the topic. And now, they've met for an in-depth discussion of sales approaches, success in sales, sales mindset, and more. Join… Continue Reading →
Are You a Problem Solver?(3/4/2017)-Are you a problem solver? Well? Are you? Let's have a serious chat...one that could change your life. Are You a Problem Solver Or a Victim? If your response to a simple question that you could get the answer to… Continue Reading →
How Getting Fired Saved My Sales Life [Guest Post by Matthew North](7/12/2017)-Matthew North has genuine sales experience to share with us here. It's about the lazy attitude towards training displayed by many companies. That their focus is on making sales by whatever means—and if it grinds the salesperson's soul into dust,… Continue Reading →
Six Essential Sales Skills Not Only Salespeople Should Master(8/7/2017)-Six Essential Sales Skills is a guest post by Michelle Arios of bizdb.co.nz Salespeople need certain skills in order to be masters of their professions. As it turns out, these same skills can help in many other areas of business.… Continue Reading →
Features and Price(6/18/2018)-Features and price have a weird sales connection: When you start talking about features, your prospect starts thinking about price. If all you talk about is features, you sound like every other seller in your marketplace. So if you want… Continue Reading →
Perverse Incentives And Your Business(9/25/2018)-Perverse incentives are everywhere. I guarantee you've got at least one in your business right now. ARE YOUR BUSINESS PROCESSES AS CRAZY AS THIS? I was talking about Cambodia: A Book for People Who Find Television Too Slow (NOT an… Continue Reading →
SalesUnscripted Interview: Jason Kanigan with Jim Padilla(10/23/2018)-SalesUnscripted: Let's interview Jason Kanigan on the culture, values and principles of your business...and how they affect your sales & work you deliver. Jim Padilla of Gain The Edge To Interview Jason Kanigan The founder of one of the largest… Continue Reading →
Three Quick Checks When Hiring Salespeople(12/27/2018)-Hiring Salespeople: this is the last Sales Tactics post of 2018. That means we're about to head into the FIFTH YEAR of this blog—how many people do you know who have stuck with a thing as long as that? I… Continue Reading →
Choosing Your Sponsor Wisely for Sales Success(10/27/2019)-Choosing your sponsor wisely is even more important than I thought. After 20+ years in the field I didn't expect to be surprised by anything in sales and project management. Peter Taylor's The Lazy Project Manager (not an affiliate link)… Continue Reading →
Be Brave and Do Information Interviews(11/30/2019)-Information interviews are one of the true secrets of successfully entering a new market. And fortunately for you, your contemporaries are just too darn afraid to ask for them. Someone who's experienced in the field you want to get into… Continue Reading →
No Obligation To Sell(3/29/2020)-Do you have no obligation to sell...or must you try to make a sale with every prospect who comes along? This event occurred two years ago. Facebook Memories brought it back to my attention. I find it amusing. I guess… Continue Reading →
Insight In Selling: Power To Change(4/27/2020)-Insight in selling is a fascinating and powerful way of effecting change. Have you ever metaphorically held your prospect's hand, walked them along the education pathway, gotten them close to the sale of adopting your product or service, only to… Continue Reading →
Importance of the Low Money Tolerance Limit(5/30/2020)-The low money tolerance limit is one of the two goalposts of your idea of "a lot of money". Spotting the high money tolerance limit is easy. How much is "too much"? (This is a BS story you're telling yourself,… Continue Reading →
Your LinkedIn Outreach Is Terrible (and what you can do about it)(9/30/2020)-Your LinkedIn outreach is terrible. I don’t know exactly where people are getting “advice” for how to do outreach on social media...but what they’re being told is really bad. Every day I receive dozens of LinkedIn connection requests that look… Continue Reading →
The Power of Using Business Fundamentals(10/31/2020)-Business fundamentals sound so boring. What about the magic bullets? Isn’t there One Right Way, a fast step I can take to success? Maybe. But the magic bullet, should it indeed turn out to be the right thing to apply,… Continue Reading →
Why Are CRM Setups A Problem?(1/27/2021)-I ran into something about CRM solutions and CRM setup that is definitely under the "Curse of Knowledge" this morning. That's when you're familiar with a thing, and you can't remember what it's like not to know it. A newbie… Continue Reading →
When Should I Fill Out the CRM Info?(2/24/2021)-When should I fill out the CRM info for a prospect? This common question needs a clear answer—and sales managers, you'll appreciate this post as a place to point your people to for the solid answer. Over the years as… Continue Reading →
Salesperson Success: A Clear Picture of What It Looks Like(3/29/2021)-Salesperson success provided as a clear picture to sales staff is what’s missing in most organizations. What the poor salesperson normally gets is this: No targets No coaching No managerial involvement No feedback loop Just a “Here’s your desk, your… Continue Reading →
You Become Your Customers [As a Salesperson](4/23/2021)-You become your customers, so beware! Most people starting a business have an "I'll take what's available" mindset. They got this from job hunting, and the problem with it is that they're choosing their opportunities from the things they can… Continue Reading →
Sharing New Business Ideas, Trust and NDAs(9/23/2021)-Sharing new business ideas can be a scary proposition for the idea originator. Here are the kinds of worries people typically ask me about when it comes to sharing their 'baby' with someone else for feedback and possible implementation help.… Continue Reading →
Why Now Is the Best Time to Learn How To Sell(2/17/2022)-Should you learn how to sell? And if so, when? Well, let me ask you this: Do you like the idea of being automated out of that job you have? Does the thought of staying at pretty much the same… Continue Reading →
Why Reinforcement Is Necessary for Sales Success(4/27/2022)-Why Reinforcement Is Necessary for Sales Success is a subject discussed by other serious sales trainers as well. It's not just me. You hear me say, "Ongoing reinforcement is needed for getting results in selling." That a one-time seminar or… Continue Reading →
Sales for NPOs and Advocacy Groups(5/11/2022)-Sales for NPOs and advocacy groups works the same way as in business. Many non-profit executives want to shrug this truth off; however, I will demonstrate selling is human interaction, and whether it's in a business or non-profit environment the… Continue Reading →
Buyer and Seller Money Tolerance: What Kills Sales Before They Start(8/6/2022)-Buyer and seller Money Tolerance differences can kill the sale. This is a relatively advanced and powerful concept you're unlikely to hear about from other sales experts. Money Tolerance, as we’ve discussed before, is your personal answer to, “How much… Continue Reading →
The Value of Good Prospecting(9/25/2022)-Good prospecting is a rarity. If you prospect well, you can stand out in a way your competitors won't. You'll shorten your sales cycle. You'll get to the point faster with more prospective customers than you have before, and faster… Continue Reading →
Tangible vs Intangible Selling(10/31/2022)-Tangible vs Intangible selling is a conceptual question. Every offer is primarily either tangible or intangible. But can an individual salesperson sell something of this type? Tangible items for sale already exist. They are sitting there on the shelf, or… Continue Reading →
Getting Real Or Not Playing(3/26/2023)-Getting real involves challenging lazy thinking and penetrating façades, games, defenses, fears, and illusions." ~Let's Get Real Or Let's Not Play by Mahan Khalsa Let's Get Real Or Let's Not Play is one of my favorite sales books: I've been… Continue Reading →
The Danger of the Two Sales(5/26/2023)-The Danger of the Two Sales is a straightforward but not well-known marketing and sales problem that kills many new businesses. Here's what happens to produce it: Someone has a brainwave and makes a new product or service. You see… Continue Reading →
Why Demos Fail to Sell(6/2/2023)-Why Demos Fail to Sell: A Question Why do SaaS (Software as a Service) B2B firms make you go through a demo? This was the question on an expert platform I'm a member of. "What's with all the secrecy?" Why… Continue Reading →
A Word About Collecting Payment and Closing Deals(8/27/2023)-If You Aren't Collecting Payment at the Time of Order, You're More Likely to "Lose the Sale" Inside an agency owners group I saw a sales discussion in which a number of people said they had problems collecting payment and… Continue Reading →
