Sales and business development often depend as much on confidence and consistency as on technical skills. One way to become more confident and consistent is to build on strengths when developing or refining our skills. Consider the following: Magic Ingredients?Confidence plays a major role when interacting with others. It can serve as a critical multiplier […]
Tag: selling skills
Harder Questions?
Gretchen Gordon, founder of Braveheart Sales Performance once wrote, “The harder the questions, the easier the sale.” So true! Gordon also cited an Objective Management Group study indicating only 11% of salespeople ask the most important question when necessary. So disappointing! Gordon attributes a “loss of emotional discipline” or too much concern over being likable as root causes […]
Key Accounts & Long-term Sales Growth
Many business owners, managers and salespeople tell us that eighty percent of their business comes from twenty percent of their customers. The Pareto principle… Whether this perspective accurately describes your business situation or not, it is still likely that some concentrated percentage of your customer base generates the majority of your sales revenue. Similarly, some […]
The Truth About Habits & Sales Success
Habits play a significant role in shaping our lives. Whether it’s maintaining a healthy lifestyle, achieving professional or sales success, or nurturing positive relationships, the power of habits cannot be underestimated. In fact, Aristotle claimed that ninety-five percent of everything we do is a result of habit! But forming good habits is a challenging process […]
Call a Lot of People?
Arthur “Red” Motley was known for his conciseness and, true to form, each section of his famous definition of the sales process says a great deal in only a few words: “Know your customer, know your product; call a lot of people, ask all to buy.” Today’s focus is on the third component of the […]
Why Football Teams Practice
Football season is in full swing, so we thought we’d align this post by taking some advice about getting back to basics from the National Football League. We all know that football teams practice a lot – according to the NFL, six days per week. Activities include reviewing game tapes, playbooks, and on-field six-plus hour […]
How to Differentiate
Not long ago, a survey done by Boston’s Rain Group indicated that most buyers found it highly influential when a seller could differentiate themselves and their organization from others. Unfortunately, only about 1 out of 5 sellers polled in the same survey rated that skill as one at which they were highly proficient! Granted, it […]