10 Game Changers: The Future of Sales
I while back I asked, “Is Sales 2.0 really about sales?” My answer is “NO.” I don’t think Sales 2.0 is about sales at all. Think about how people on the web give everything away for FREE. That’s not selling! Sales 2.0 is all about marketing, branding, credibility, and positioning for the future.
So what does the future of sales look like? Let’s start by painting a picture of what’s happening with sales people today…
Voice Mails, Gatekeepers, and Unresponsive Prospects
I recently had a reader send me some great questions regarding my strategies for leaving effective voice mails, dealing with unresponsive prospects, and working with gatekeepers.
I wasn’t sure if any of our other readers were dealing with these challenges (SMILE)… but I decided to “chance it” and share the Q&A with you!
3 Quick Tips From the Super Bowl Champions
Leadership – It begins with head coach Sean Payton. He is a great decision maker and understands how to rally people around a cause.
Commitment – When you think of the Saints, you think of a team who is committed to something greater than any one individual. It was never just about winning the Super Bowl. It was about a history of struggle and relentless perseverance…
8 Follow-Up Strategies to Keep Your Prospect Engaged
How do you follow-up with your prospects after your first conversation or after your first appointment? Sometimes we get so tired of chasing people down that we lose focus and take the lazy approach of “calling to touch base,” or “calling to check-in,” both of which bring little value.
Here are 8 follow-up strategies you can use to bring constant value and keep your prospect moving forward through the buying cycle. As you work through each of these, keep asking for the business!
Does Feedback in Your Organization Flow Both Ways?
Written by John Hersey
[Contributing Author]
Feedback is vital for learning and improving, as much in business as in life. As one very successful business author once said, “The major difference between the most successful and least successful executives is their level of self-awareness. Successful executives are critical of their own performance. Unsuccessful executives are critical of the performance of others.”
3 Steps to Accurate Sales Projections
Sales projections are among the most common challenges for sales people and their managers.
Why? What causes these forecasts to be so far off the mark?
Here is a list of 3 steps I take to ensure my projections are accurate…
More People Dreaming of Entrepreneurship?
Reader Q&A:
More than ever, I hear people talking about their dreams of entrepreneurship.
Is it just me, or is the number of people wanting to run their own business increasing rapidly? If you are noticing the same entrepreneurial trend, what do you think is the cause?
Using Stall Tactics to Your Advantage!
Don’t you love it when a prospect throws out the same old lame stall, “Can you just send me some information?” For years, we’ve been taught to respond with our own canned reply, “What kind of information would you like me to send you?” …ultimately knowing that we really don’t send any information at all.
You can use this stall tactic to your advantage.
6 Cold Calling Scripts that Win!
If you look at the Lijit search widget on the right side of my blog you’ll see that the most popular topic readers search for is… Cold Calling Scripts. I find it interesting because using scripts is one of those “BIG Debate” topics that sales people and their manager often argue about. In my very first management role I wanted everyone to, “say it just like I say it …word-for-word and you’ll close more deals!” I quickly learned it was the wrong approach. I got a lot of push back, and my sales people would always revert back to saying it their own way… That’s when it hit me.
5 Ways to Turn Managers Into Great Coaches
Written by Steven Rosen
A highly successful vice president of sales recently shared his frustration with the members of his sales management team. He felt the managers were focused only on results, and he worried that they were not spending any time developing their salespeople. His longer-term view is based on the belief that developing people to the best of their potential improves performance and retention, and it also helps develop a pool of succession candidates…
