You know that saying, ?Practice makes perfect?" Do you think that’s true? IT?S NOT. Practice only makes permanent. Only practice of perfection makes perfect.
This is why 80% of sales reps struggle so much. They have never learned the proper sales skills, or, if they have, they aren’t using them and so day after a day [...]

At a company I once consulted with there was a manager, Brad, who would never think of taking a full week away from the office. "Much too much to do, and I don’t really need it anyway." He told me.
?When was the last time you did take off on a real vacation?" I once asked [...]

I don?t have to tell you that times are hard for companies these days. And that means hard on you, the sales rep, too. Now when companies tell you that they don?t have the budget, you really believe them, don?t you?
Well not the Top 20%.
Top 20% producers are still making 80% of the sales because [...]

I don?t know about you but I can always tell when a telemarketer is cold calling me. From the moment they begin speaking, ?Hi is that Mr. Brooks?? to the way they fumble through their scripts, I have them pegged before they get past their first sentence. And like I?m sure it is with you, [...]

I’m amazed when I hear sales people and managers tell me how slow summer is for their business.  It’s almost like they’re resigned to the fate of poor summer performance and are already thinking about how to make up their losses in the fall.
Now I understand that many people take vacations in summer – a [...]

I don’t know about you, but 24 hours in a day isn’t enough. And 8 – 9 hours for work just barely covers the paperwork, order follow-up, client calls, e-mails that need answering, voicemail messages, etc. “You mean you want me to prospect and find closing time, too? What, are you kidding?!”
Sound [...]

I once heard an interview with a police detective that directly relates to sales.  The detective was talking about various interrogation techniques, and he said something that I thought was brilliant and totally applies to the importance of listening while selling over the phone.
The detective said that when you ask a question you should never [...]

Job layoffs. Budget cuts. Recession. Welcome to 2010! While 80% of companies and sales reps are expecting the worst, the Top 20%, as always, expect to and will do well this year. Here are the three things they are doing, and that you can do, too, to make sure you are successful in 2010:
1)    Protect [...]

If I told you I had an easy way for you to overcome your fear of cold calling, would you be interested?  If I told you I had a guaranteed way for you to actually enjoy prospecting, be more confident doing so, and be more successful at it, would you be willing to try it?  [...]

In today’s economy, where prospects are quick with the brush off, you’ve got to find a way to instantly establish rapport, differentiate yourself from all the other sales reps who are calling them, and build trust and credibility for yourself and your company.
While this sounds like a tall order, it can be even harder when [...]