Best Practices

Give Me a Relevant Point of View – Or Please Don’t Waste My Time!

Much like the days of starting with the “product pitch” are long gone, so are the days of starting client conversations with a firing line of questions. Yet, it happens every day. Well-intentioned salespeople use a myriad of questions to uncover needs designed so they...

Are Relationships Dead? Results of Our Client Survey

Has relationship building changed to the point that “being a friend” does not apply any longer? What is really important to customers in terms of relationships?...

Consider an “Un-Conference” for Your Next Sales Conference, Meeting or Event

Imagine a national sales meeting where there is no pre-conference agenda, no planned speakers or breakouts, yet there are several pertinent presentations and everyone's needs are met. Does this sound like a riddle? It's not. It's an "Un-Conference", a forum where every participant has an...

Why Does It Feel So Good To Throw Stuff Out? What to Keep in Sales Contact Records and What to Pitch.

The bottom line about customer information is that it’s only valuable to keep if you will use it in the future to either build sales or relationships. If you decide that information is worthwhile keeping, the next question to ask yourself is,...

Sales Skills Development – Quick Ideas For Sales Meetings

Question:  I am running out of ideas for sales meetings.  Do you have any tips for developing skills?

Conducting concise skill-building activities at sales meetings (Whether online or face to face) is a terrific way to enhance abilities and share best practices.  Consider assigning responsibility to a different salesperson for each meeting.   Concentrated segments are key!  Focusing on one skill set at a time gives salespeople the opportunity to reflect on and integrate skills into the upcoming week.   Then, make sure that you review and coach their experiences at the next meeting.

Selling Up

Because of downsizing, rightsizing and a number of other factors within my accounts, many of my traditional contacts have been eliminated. I feel the need to sell higher in the organization, even to CEO and president level. However, this hasn’t been my usual...