Sales people like to talk; if you don’t believe me, just listen to a recording of one of your reps (or of yourself!). This is a problem. And that’s because when your mouth is open, your ears are closed. And when your ears are closed, you learn nothing about your prospect’s buying motives, their possible […]
Qualifying: Before or After Your Presentation?
I was working with a new client this week, and I listened to a recording of their presentation and it went like this: Hello, how are you doing—brief rapport building Deep dive into their presentation—including features and benefits Qualifying to see what the client was most interested in. How does this sound to you? Is […]
3 Ways to Overcome Call Reluctance
Picking up the phone and making “cold calls” has never been easy, and this has prevented many reps from making the calls that can make them more sales and more income. Instead, reps these days tend to spend more time communicating on social media and sending emails. Top reps still prefer to pick up the […]
Bigger Goals = Bigger Results
What do you expect to accomplish this year? Think carefully, because nothing (in my experience) is more predictive of results than mindset. Mindset determines the actions you take, how you deal with adversity, how much you use good selling skills (and how much you invest in them), and how you adapt to the changing conditions […]
One Great Close You Should Be Using
How do you handle the following two big objections? “Your price is too high.” “I can get a better deal/rate/price using XYZ” Arguably, these may be the two most frustrating objections sales reps get, and interestingly, there is one technique that works amazingly well—but few sales reps use it. Instead, the vast majority of reps […]
Ask for More to Get More
My sales numbers when through the roof when I changed one simple thing: I asked for double or even triple the deal size at the end of each presentation. Before this, I used to give my presentation and automatically default to the lowest deal size and be happy if I got it. In fact, it […]
Master the Fundamentals to Succeed
I was training a group of new reps last week, listening to one of their calls, and we found that the rep was ad-libbing right from the beginning of the call. The best practice script, which we had provided him, was far, far away… This ad-libbing approach led to all the common problems we’ve chronicled […]
“I Need to Think About It.”
If this objection frustrates you, then all that will end after you read this blog post. First, remember: Most objections are smokescreens hiding the real reason a prospect isn’t moving forward. Real objections can include things like: They can get it cheaper somewhere else. Their boss/spouse/purchasing won’t let them buy. They like a different solution. […]
How to Be a Leader
A boss says, “Go!” A leader says, “Let’s Go!” This quote sums up my management philosophy: A leader isn’t afraid of jumping into the trenches and showing their team exactly how to succeed in their job. In sales, this means leading by example. When I became a sales manager, I was already the top producer […]
Would You Spend $10.99 to Double Your Income This Year?
Tricky title, I know, but there is a tool out there (many, in fact) that will enable you to do this. And this particular one is called TapeACall Pro. As the name suggests, this is a phone recording app for your iPhone. This one has the best features, including recording incoming calls—and calls you’re already […]