sales_coach

You Don’t Have To Like Them

Sales Stories

There’s no rule saying you have to like the people you sell to, but it helps a lot if they think you do. This sales story from the front line illustrates the point. A major oil company wanted to move from mainframe based accounting software to a package which could run on the cheaper, Unix [...]

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Is There Stratagem in Your Sales Strategy

Sales Strategies and Tactics

Is there a role for stratagem in your sales strategy?  There is, but probably not the one you might automatically consider.  The objective of stratagem in this concept isn’t laying a trap for your prospect.  It’s laying a trap for your competition. One of the Principles of Professional Selling is Never Mislead a Customer.  Fooling [...]

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The Salesman and His Magic Pen

Sales Stories

This story about the salesman’s magic pen illustrates how the smallest detail, or idea, can make a big difference in any sale. It’s another in our Sales stories from the front line series – tales sales professionals tell in order to get their point across. Stories from the front line are counter intuitive and funny, [...]

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Selling More for Less

Sales Coach

You can sell more deals for less effort with the right strategy for handling price objections, focusing on scope (or value) and letting price take care of itself. Rather than push up the price by including stuff for free, agree whatever the customer wants to pay, and negotiate down the product or service you’ll provide [...]

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Questions to Qualify the Sale

Sales Qualification

Qualification is the fundamental step in the sales process. At some point every sales guy has to decide whether the deal can be won, and whether the winning will be worth the cost. This isn’t personal – it’s business. Expert sales guys don’t chase every deal. They’ll only go after sales they can win. They [...]

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CRM Should Be About Personal Productivity

CRM

This blog includes a number of articles about how CRM fails because it doesn’t do anything to help sales guys do a better job.  It just gets in their way. Today I came across an infinitely superior article written by Dave Brock which anybody who thinks they know, or wants to know about CRM should [...]

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Sales Qualification – Why and How to Qualify Sales Opportunities

Sales Qualification

Sales Qualification – why do we need it and how do we qualify sales properly? Proper qualification not only tells us our chances of winning. It also tells us how to win. It helps us plan the ground we’ll compete on, and move the prospect in our direction. It helps us choose contingency plans for [...]

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Checklist for the First Sales Call

Sales Coach

The first call is the most important in any sale. This is when we set the prospects expectations. After the first call we’re either there to win the order, or we’re cannon fodder – only in the deal to keep the preferred vendor honest. We need to plan the first sales call carefully, with this [...]

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Selling By Keeping My Mouth Shut

Sales Stories

‘Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.’ Abraham Lincoln It’s as true in selling as in any other walk of life, if not more so. Recently I read a post by one of those annoying “sellerazi” (so named by my good friend @canvasman). We come [...]

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