I always tell sales reps that your client or prospect has all the answers as to why they will or why they won’t buy, and that it’s your job to find that information out. You do this by asking the right qualifying questions, by layering those questions, by qualifying any red flags you get and […]
How To Overcome the Smokescreen Objection
Have you ever answered an objection from a prospect only to be given another one that was completely unrelated to the first one? And then after you battled your way through that one, you got another, then another? If you’ve been in sales any length of time then I’m sure you have. And if you […]
Don’t Answer Objections, Isolate Them!
Most sales reps hate getting objections. Their hearts sink into their stomachs, their palms start to sweat, and they start wondering how they’re going to pay the rent. Sound familiar? When sales reps ask me how they should handle objections, they are often surprised by my answer. I tell them they should never answer objections. […]
Don’t Qualify Leads, Disqualify Them!
People ask me all the time what separates the Top 20% producers from the other 80%, and I tell them it starts in the qualification stage. The bottom line is that 80% of your competition is trying to create a qualified lead from prospects who will never buy, while the Top 20% producers are more […]
Change Your Self Talk – Change Your Results
First of all, did you know that you are talking to yourself all day long? (You’re thinking, “Do I talk to myself? What does he mean, talk to myself? I don’t talk to myself!”) Psychologists estimate that you are talking to yourself at a rate of 1,200 to 1,500 words a minute (in contrast, when […]
A Simple Lesson From the NFL to Close More Business
Ahhhhh….. The NFL. The start of the season is looming near. I read a piece by Peter King from SI.com about his conversation with Ellis Hobbs – former cornerback with the New England Patriots. He was talking about how much respect he had for head coach Bill Belichick. He said, “Early in my career, Bill […]
How to Set SMART Goals
I don’t know about you, but now that’s it May, it’s time for me to identify my top priorities for the rest of the year, and then set some specific goals for their accomplishment. I know the value of having specific goals in each area of my life, and by becoming clear on exactly where […]
Insurance Sales – How to Overcome the Top Three Objections
The good news about insurance sales – like all other sales – is that the set of objections and put offs you face is essentially the same. In other words, day after day, in presenting your products and services, your prospects probably come up the same old objections they’ve been using for years. Things like, […]
How To Motivate Sales Teams In a Tough Economy
Sales reps have it tough today – not only are their clients and prospects harder to sell, but even their companies have pulled back a lot of the incentives they used to reward and motivate their performance. It started back in December when many companies canceled their holiday parties and annual bonuses. Then it continued […]
How To Use Layering Questions
First, for those of you who have seen me live, you know that I am big on questioning your prospects during the qualification stage. As I’ve said – your prospects have all the answers as to why they will buy or not buy, and it is your job to get them to reveal this to […]