Woody Allen is quoted as saying “80% of success is showing up”. I get it; we are all busy and time is a precious resource. Nonetheless, we must remember to stay connected with customers and friends. The past two weeks have been crazy busy. Apparently, all those who lost my phone number found it again…. Read more »
Good grief, can you just shut up?
Have you ever encountered a salesperson who didn’t know when to stop talking? It happened to me again recently. I wanted to buy a new small laptop. You know, one of those super lightweight models. I stopped by a kiosk in a mall and engaged a young salesman in conversation. I began by saying “I’m… Read more »
“I don’t have time” is a lame excuse.
When we’re coaching salespeople, they often tell us “I just never seem to have enough time.” Sales managers complain that their sales team members don’t spend enough time selling; they spend too much time in the office. Salespeople complain about being asked to do so many administrative duties that they don’t have time to sell…. Read more »
“Check In” Calls Make You Sound Dumb
My most hated phrase: “Hi Mark, this is Sam from XYZ Company. I just wanted to check in…yada, yada, yada”. Or, the equally dumb variation “I just wanted to touch base…” The translation should be “I really have no good reason to call you, I’m hoping you’re going to tell me you want to buy… Read more »
Score and Rank Your Sales Leads
There’s a pile of sales leads from your last trade show or marketing event sitting on your desk. Your sales manager continues to ask you for a progress report and you try to avoid telling him you haven’t done anything with the leads. Any of this sound familiar? This can be a relatively simple process… Read more »
Do You Really Know Your Customer?
I recently read about a Gallup study claiming 71% of your B2B customers are NOT committed to staying with you and your company. More disturbing is that they are actively looking at your competitors. This may well be due to how we treat our customers (email blasts, one size fits all selling techniques, etc.). In… Read more »
Engage the Gatekeeper
I’ve always wondered why some salespeople unintentionally, or intentionally choose to ignore or dismiss the receptionist, entry guard, administrative assistant, or whatever the current terminology is for those charged with monitoring the flow of traffic to those we want to meet. It’s just stupid. On just a human level it’s rude. I can hear some… Read more »
Say You Are Sorry: Quickly and Effectively
Too many salespeople avoid having to say they’re sorry. They fail to see it as an opportunity to “turn lemons into lemonade”. Your customer service manager just came into your office with hair on fire to tell you that a customer’s angry. It could be a pricing issue, a delayed shipment, a quality problem or… Read more »
Is Networking a Waste of Time?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked to attend networking events. Almost every conference I attend is preceded by “registration and networking”. By and large I have avoided these sessions. Recently, I read an HBR.org article by Derek Coburn titled Don’t Waste Your Time on Networking Events that prompted me to reflect;… Read more »
How do you differentiate yourself?
Who cares about your Experience and Qualifications? I read and listen to hundreds sales presentations each year. I am continually surprised at how ineffective salespeople are at differentiating themselves and their company from the rest of the herd. My favorite is some variation of “we’ve been in business for 25 years.” Does anyone really care?… Read more »
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