Educating is Closing...Relationships are Revenue!

All Blog Posts (46)

How to Answer the Toughest Sales Question.

You could rehash your elevator pitch--but maybe you should try the truth. It was a moment most salespeople could appreciate. On April 13, 2004, President George W. Bush held a press conference at which he was asked, "What would you say your biggest mistakes have been and what have you learned from them?" The question left the President a bit tongue-tied and he finally left the question up to historians to decide. I'm confident Bush knew the features and benefits, so to speak, of his presidenc… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on December 9, 2009 at 7:30am — No Comments

Is Your Focus losing You Sales?

If you can master this concept, I can with 100% certainty guarantee your close ratio will skyrocket, your clients will sell themselves, you'll build relationships, your customer retention rate will grow effortlessly, and your quota will seem insignificant. HERE'S WHERE YOUR FOCUS NEEDS TO BE: When cold calling, prospecting, presenting, and selling Focus exclusively on the business issue that needs to be solved. Embrace the "pain." We hear that term all the time but rarely is the meaning of the… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on November 30, 2009 at 1:30am — No Comments

How to make price negotiation- Simple.

Pricing: I deliver the same message- EVERY TIME; the sooner the better and if a prospect calls you-I deliver this message in the first call. Bob/Mary- let me get this on the table, because I think it's important information for you to have before we get into this process. I really want to do business with you and I appreciate your considerating "your companies name." I'm going to assume your speaking with or will speak with my competitors if you haven't already. The thing is, I am going to be t… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on November 29, 2009 at 12:00pm — 3 Comments

Go In Stupid - Come Out With A Sale

I sat down with Justin to conduct the sales interview. This was the moment of truth - would I be willing to be “stupid” long enough to make the sale? It was 1996 and I was selling a car called a Saturn. In those days, Saturn didn’t have much to offer: 4-cylinders, 100 hp (if you splurged you could get the dual-overhead-camshaft version with an extra 24 hp), and a plastic body. To say the least, it was your basic automobile. What Saturn lacked in a glitzy product it made up in a rock-solid sale… Continue

Added by Mike Wagner on November 20, 2009 at 11:16am — 1 Comment

The Power of Silence

If you're like most sellers, silence drives you crazy. When you're talking with a prospective customer and there's a brief lull in the discussion, I bet you jump right in to fill it. Am I right? Research shows that the average salesperson, after asking a question, waits no more than 2-3 seconds before rephrasing the question, answering it themselves or moving on to another topic. And my experience shows that normal sellers have NO idea that they're doing this. Let me ask you a question: What… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on November 20, 2009 at 5:06am — 2 Comments

Eight Essential Attributes for Top Sales Performance

There's a lot riding on the effectiveness of your sales team. Every employee in your organization, and indeed the organization itself, is dependent on how well the sales team performs. You can be sure you have a top performing team if each of your salespeople has these eight attributes. 1. Achievement Drive The best salespeople love good competition and thrive on besting themselves and others. They are never complacent or satisfied with the status quo. They celebrate every win, but only… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on November 20, 2009 at 4:00am — 1 Comment

Strategic Questions Will Uncover Strategic Opportunities

The late Peter Drucker said “true marketing starts out with the customer, his demographics, his realities, his needs, his values. It does not ask ‘what do we want to sell?’ It asks ‘what does the customer want to buy?’ So, why have so few people figured out how to routinely and systematically uncover this fundamental insight? And why do few senior managers pay more than lip service to encouraging or requiring their s… Continue

Added by Andrew on November 16, 2009 at 11:01am — No Comments

How to revive a client who disappeared into the black hole

We have all had that (for sure sale) prospect who just suddenly disappears from your radar. They were so interested. He told me he saw so much value. Just days ago he was all over this product. In the beginning it's like a relationship with a high school girlfriend. Let me explain. You first think this sudden disconnect must be an isolated incident and you don;t worry much expecting it to fix itself. But then another day goes by and she hasn't called you back yet. You're getting worried now. Yo… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on November 7, 2009 at 12:45am — No Comments

Down With the “Chick Shake”

Either shake hands properly or don’t do it at all As a female in business, I have shaken a lot of hands. I’ve used a handshake greet someone new, to say goodbye after a long meeting, to congratulate someone on a job well done and to tell someone to ‘piss-off’ in a polite way. At any rate, a handshake means business. What I have noticed is that many men do not know how to shake a woman’s hand properly or perhaps feel weird doing it. They do instead what I refer to as the “Chick Shake”.… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on October 12, 2009 at 1:00am — No Comments

Guy Kawasaki's AllTop Sales

Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. Guy is the author of nine books including Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way http://www.guykawasaki.com/ One of Guys new ventures is Alltop. Alltop is an “online magazine rack” of the web… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on October 8, 2009 at 3:39am — 1 Comment

Time to Start Planning for 2010

This is a post from late 2008 but I think you will agree that it is at least equally relevant today as it was back then. PLANNING FOR 2009 As I write this on the eve of the 2008 Presidential Election, I must consider the possibility that the economy will take time to recover. Nobody suddenly wakes up fat one morning. And our economy WILL recover, but it didn't fall to poor health overnight and it will not recover in a day. Some of our customers may go out of business. Some will change their b… Continue

Added by Brad Roderick on October 6, 2009 at 10:34pm — No Comments

Human Behavior - Why type As implode, go nuts and do stupid things! by Kay Cannon

Lexington, KY - “All I can ask is that you trust me with this decision and know that it is no more politics as usual.” - Sarah Palin, former vice presidential nominee, abruptly resigning as governor of Alaska. For thousands of people — myself included — their first reaction to Palin’s announcement was a shocked and bewildered, “What just happened?” It’s a natural response when an otherwise accomplished individual does something that, at best, seems to make no sense and, at worst, sends their c… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on October 2, 2009 at 3:15pm — No Comments

The Importance of Being Likable

Likability matters. In your career, most of the opportunities will come through other people, and people give opportunities to the people they like. In relationships, someone has to like you before they can love you. Anywhere in life, if people like you, they are more willing to help. Unfortunately, likability has picked up a bad reputation. I read advice that says: make people either love you or hate you, popularity is an unhealthy vanity, the best minds were criticized by everyone around them… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on October 2, 2009 at 2:36pm — 1 Comment

From Auto Sales to B to B?

I am currently a sales manager in the automotive industry looking to break into business to business sales. I have been looking at everything from IT sales to Medical device sales. I have a teaching degree and 7 years experience in sales. I have applied for several positions with no prevail. Any advice on breaking into one of these high income sales careers? Continue

Added by Adam Gaedke on September 25, 2009 at 7:24pm — 6 Comments

They speak with the eyes of truth believing what they see is the truth.

They speak with the eyes of truth believing what they see is the truth. When adults want the brutal truth they should speak to a child. A small child is fascinating to listen to and to watch, they react with action. They do not take what is stated and dissect it trying to discover a motive. They react to what is seen and heard and tie that to either understanding or not understanding. Children project innocence and visualize actions as being above suspicion. It is impossible for them to conce… Continue

Added by Richard Alan Hilliard on September 5, 2009 at 4:37pm — No Comments

A Sales Executive’s Story

A Sales Executive’s Story By Joe Harris, Special to LTW Editor’s note: Joe Harris is a successful technology salesman and sales manager. RALEIGH, N.C. - "I know when Joe Harris walks into my office I can trust what he tells me." These were the words of the Chief Informa… Continue

Added by Joe Harris on August 23, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

9 Tips for Effective Networking.

One of the most useful things you can do for personal and professional success is to network effectively. And as with most activities, there is a right way to network and a wrong way to network. If you have the time, I recommend reading ‘Never Eat Alone’, which is the seminal work on networking and Ferrazzi has a talent for describing the most effective techniques of Networking in an easily understood and accessible way. If you don’t have the time or the inclination for the big volume then her… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on July 22, 2009 at 12:36pm — 1 Comment

8 Sales Questions You Can't Live (and Sell) Without!

Questions help you uncover what you need to know to sell. Without good ones, you're just stumbling in the dark. Make no mistake about it; questions are the key to good selling. Good questions will get you good information. Good information helps you sell and sell more. Here are eight great questions that you simply can't sell without. These are not the only questions you could ask, but they'll serve you well in every selling situation. 1. The Who Question Never, ever assume that the per… Continue

Added by Deborah Johnson on July 21, 2009 at 10:30pm — 4 Comments

TRAINING AND PRESENTATION TIPS

There are several things I keep in mind when training and presenting. Always know your audience; what is their skill level/ability. Always have an objective in mind; what is it that you would like your audience to walk away with once they’ve completed your training. One of my main objectives is to always make sure my audience can leave doing at least two or three new skills that will help them make more money. My style is to be bold, dynamic and to try to connect with the audience. I never te… Continue

Added by Michael Finnan on July 16, 2009 at 6:30am — 1 Comment

Better than swallowing pills – The solution is in our proven thin strip!

Better than swallowing pills – The solution is in our proven thin strip! Believe it or not, over 40% of the population cannot swallow a pill! DYNA-TABS® - vitamin and herbal dietary supplements in fast-dissolving, great tasting, fun to take convenient strips are the ideal products for the 40% of the population who cannot swallow pills . The line features varieties of innovative products including GINSENG WITH VITAMINS B6 & B12 ENERGY SUPPORT, GREEN TEA ANTIOXIDANT SUPPORT, HOODIA GO… Continue

Added by Harold Baum on July 15, 2009 at 1:45pm — No Comments

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