Putting the Right Team in Place to Close
Having the right team in place for your sales process can formulate your next win, or loss. Which will it be for you? Do you have the right people in the right roles to secure your next win? Is this scenario familiar? You’ve finally landed a follow-up meeting with that elusive prospect. Your PowerPoint presentation […]
Sit and Wait is not a Sales Strategy. It's an excuse.
Patience may be a virtue but adopting a wait-and-see attitude in the sales process can cost you the deal. Allowing the prospect to control your sales cadence — the series of activities and contacts that take a lead to a customer — is a surefire way to delay, or even prevent, the close. Those not […]
Changing the Money Mindset
Does talking about money make you anxious or uncomfortable? If so, you are in good company. Whether in personal or professional settings, discussing money can make even the most confident of us distressed. What is it about money that causes such discomfort? Many financial taboos are rooted in history and culture. In the early 1900’s […]
Email is (almost) Everything
In the world of sales, a face-to-face meeting reigns supreme as the preferred method of interaction. However, getting in front of a potential customer can be a challenge if not approached properly. While phone calls are effective, more and more people in business are opting for email over telephone conversations. The Radicati Group, which collects […]
How to Uncover Your Prospect's Budget
MONEY. What, exactly, is it that makes many people uncomfortable talking about money? After all, it’s said that “money makes the world go ‘round.” Yet even given its pervasiveness, discussing finances can be emotionally charged or seen as taboo. Social conditioning plays a large role in the reluctance to have conversations about money. In her […]
Trade Shows: More than just a fancy booth
You have a pull-up banner, logoed apparel, and snazzy promotional products. Business cards and brochures are printed, and your booth backdrop is packed and ready to be shipped to the convention center. You’re all set for the trade show, right? Not quite yet! None of these items will guarantee a successful outcome — customers! — […]
Silence is a Sales Strength
In comedy, well-placed silence is crucial to evoking an audience reaction. These breaks – referred to as “pregnant pauses” — give the crowd time to absorb the joke and react with laughter. But comedians aren’t the only group that benefit from exaggerated gaps in conversation. Pregnant pauses are also useful to employ in the sales […]
Chemistry is great (but it’s not a sales strategy!)
We’ve all heard stories — and experienced it ourselves — of two people immediately hitting it off, perhaps even falling in love at first sight. This instant attraction, often referred to as “chemistry”, is a mutual feeling of connection that transcends the spoken word. Chemistry doesn’t have to be romantic. It can happen anytime we […]
Breaking Up with a Client
Happy 2018! January offers a fresh start, a time when we make resolutions to do better, to be better. It’s also an opportunity to take stock of your business by asking three “W” questions: WHAT: Are we doing the work we want to/should be doing? WHO: Are we working for the right customer? WHY: Is […]
How to Derail "Send me the presentation."
“Send me the presentation.” As a salesperson, these four words are equivalent to the kiss of death for a burgeoning business relationship. In my experience, this request is (polite) code for, “I am remotely interested, but not wowed enough to take this relationship further.” Or perhaps, “There are some good things here, so I’m going […]
