7 Keys To Fine-Tuning Your Pitch
Because these quick tips primarily focus on style and personality, they fall into an "easier said than done" category.
17 Best Practices Of Top Performing Sales People
Many people wonder what separates a top performing sales person from the rest of the pack. In most cases, it's because they apply a number of best practices in their daily routine.
I'm Not A Sales Person But I Have To Sell. What Do I Do?
After thousands of hours of study and many years honing technical skills to be a competent professional in your chosen field, it can come as a rude shock that you now need to sell your services and capabilities as well.
Sales Training Tips From The Trenches
If recruiting is considered the lifeblood of an organization, then training must certainly be its pulse.
One Sentence To Establish Immediate Rapport
If you have to make cold calls as part of your sales process – either to set appointments or to find potential clients to sell your products and services to - then you know how hard it is to overcome initial resistance and establish rapport.
Don't Overdo It! Avoid The Trap Of Overselling
It’s every salesperson’s nightmare: the sale that unravels just before the deal has been closed. It happens more often than it should, and overselling is quite often the cause.
How To Deal With The Red Flags
One of the biggest mistakes 80% of salespeople make when qualifying a buyer is to overlook or not react to obvious "red flags" prospects give during the initial call.
Only Losers Cut Their Prices
Cutting prices actually reveals the lack of selling skills by the salespeople who are using it. It also indicates a management team failing to provide necessary strategic planning and direction for the company.
Stop The Busywork And Sell
Studies indicate that the average salesperson only spends two hours a day, on average, doing the things that generate money for them - prospecting, making sales, and handling serious client issues. The remainder of their time is spent doing busywork, work that needs to be done but that doesn't generate income.
The Two Most Powerful Words That Will Make You Sell More
These two words are not ones that you can ever say to a prospect, but they are guaranteed to drive your revenue and income. The two most powerful sales words are 'synergy' and 'priority'.
Five Closing Questions You Must Be Asking
The five closing questions all vary from taking a prospect's pulse to see if they are with you, to finding out if a benefit you just listed would work for them, all the way to a trial close.
Help, My Sales People Can't Close Sales
The biggest cause for people not being able to close sales is not the close itself. It often starts at the beginning of the sales call.
5 Ways To Sound More Natural On The Phone
If what you sell for a living means you have to pick up the phone – either to set appointments, call prospects back, return calls to clients, etc., then you have to learn how to sound natural and how to avoid putting your prospects, gatekeepers, assistants, etc., on notice that you’re trying to sell something.
How To Build Trust And Rapport Quickly
If you're working hard, but aren't consistently generating enough sales and getting referrals ... chances are it's a matter of trust!
Be Honest With Yourself
Lying to yourself is one of the worst lies we can tell. When we lie to ourselves it affects our attitude and our ability to communicate with others, and acting like ourselves is more powerful than trying to act like someone else. There are four lies that sales people always tell themselves.
What To Do When Your Regular Buyer Leaves
Learn what to say to a new buyer on your all-important first call. A simple, yet memorable gesture ensures you make a great first impression - and know what you should never say.
Refresh Your Pitch And Close More Sales
There are dozens of elements that go into a winning sales presentation. Some are obvious - such as creating rapport, establishing value and asking for the sale - while others are much more subtle.
Get Stuck Sales Moving Again!
How can you sort out the real opportunities from the dead-enders? Try the following three-step approach to get the sales process moving - or figure out whether it's time for you to move on.
7 Little Tips That Can Make A BIG Difference In Your Sales
This little grab bag of power tips is on target and can make a big difference in your sales. Ranging from commonsense advice to counterintuitive ideas, these gems can be put to work for you right away.
Ask The Right Questions To Close More Business
Asking a prospect the right sales questions is vital when their boss is part of the decision-making process. Becoming skillful at asking these questions will save time and streamline the sales prospecting process. The end result - more closed sales.
Don't "Follow Up" On Your Leads - Close The Sale Instead
Ask yourself this question - when you call a prospect or client back to close a sale, do you open your call with, "I'm just calling to follow up..."? If you're like most sales reps (80% or more), then I'll bet you do, and if so, you're making a big mistake, because you are setting yourself up for rejection and allowing your prospect to put you off.
Meeting Sales Goals In A Tough Economy
Meeting your sales goals in a good year is one thing, but attaining them in a difficult year is an entirely different challenge. The good news is that you can be successful - if you're willing to take the time to work through the following steps, despite the current state of the economy.
Measuring And Boosting Your Sales Productivity
Sure, we all want improved productivity, but if you don't know how productive you were last year, how will you know what to improve? To reinvent your sales, you must know your last year's benchmark. Once that's established, you can choose the right activities to improve. You must measure results at every step, and make decision based on the numbers - not your gut feeling.
5 Ways To Sell Smarter AND Harder
Don't waste your time grumbling about economic conditions. The top 20% will continue to be successful - regardless of the economy - and here's how they do it.
Sales Negotiation - Don't Let Them Grind You Down
Here's a simple negotiation technique to help you give up less and get more of what you want.
What Customers Hate About Salespeople
Sales is an honorable profession. Stand out from your competition by avoiding these behaviours.Recent research uncovered almost eighty reasons why customers dislike salespeople. Here are the top seven.
Learning To Speak “Executive”
Cold calling high-level decision-makers takes a shift in thinking, a rewiring of your brain. Why? According to thousands of sellers, more than 87% of sales professionals still hold onto, and take action based on, three beliefs that actually sabotage cold calls made to executive levels.
Customer Engagement And Honest Selling Equals Customer Loyalty
The idea that customer satisfaction equals customer loyalty is a myth. Customer loyalty in selling relies on customer engagement and honest selling.
How To Build Trust With Clients And Employees
If you want your customers to remain loyal, you must earn and keep their trust. If you want a stronger team at work, you have to build a foundation of trust.
How To Overcome Knee-Jerk Objections
Are you frustrated with prospects that brush you off or shut you down when you've barely finished your opening statement? Don't endure these disappointments anymore.
Selling In A Weak Economy
There are companies and salespeople who thrive in weak economies. There are those who view a weak economy as an opportunity to grow their business while their competitors are hunkering down with a bunker mentality, hoping merely to survive.
Using Email To Rev Up Your Sales
How many emails drop into your Inbox each day? 25 - 50 - 100 - 200? How do you choose which ones to read, which ones to delete, and which ones to park - to be read whenever you get a free moment? You can be sure that your prospects go through a similar process when checking their email. So what can you do to increase the likelihood that your emails will fall into the first category - the ones they'll read, and maybe even look forward to?
15 Tips For Voicemail Survival
A voicemail message can make or break a sale. Here are 15 tips to ensure your voicemail message inspires your prospect to call you back.
5 Ways To Improve Your Phone Skills
Whether you only prospect and set appointments, or if your entire sales cycle is conducted by phone, learning to use the phone more effectively is going to be crucial to your success in today's economic environment.
Customer Profiles - It's A Jungle Out There
Some days you'll encounter more difficult customers than there are animals in the jungle. When hacking your way through the dense underbrush to get to the sale, the trick is to stay cool, calm and in control. See if you recognise some of the creatures you must deal with from time to time. Then follow the simple instructions for a successful sales safari.
5 Sublimely Simple Sales Tips
Use these 5 simple sales tactics to help seal the deal.
Top Retail Sales Tips That Work!
Improve retail business performance through focusing on conversion rate, average dollar sale and frequency of transaction. Here's how:
Selling To The 'New Millenials'
Try a few of these ideas out on the next 20 'New Millenial' customers you meet. You'll be pleasantly surprised when you hit the mark when selling to them and steal the advantage over your competition.
Leverage Your Stories To Resonate With Prospects And Customers
Have you ever heard a story that could have been about you? Ever heard a story that reminded you of another one? What about a story that sounded vaguely familiar? Welcome to the power of story.
Cracking The Pareto Code For Sales Success
Ever heard of the "80/20 Rule"? That's the well-known principle that says that in every sales organisation 20 percent of the salespeople win 80 percent of the sales (and money!) while the remaining 80 percent are all splitting up 20 percent of the revenue.
A Time To Reflect
Research reveals that self-reflection and self-appraisal are the top key attributes demonstrated on a regular basis by top performing salespeople.
The Truth About Lying
As a salesperson, your ability to quickly and accurately discern the truth greatly enhances your effectiveness. Can you tell when someone is pulling the wool over your eyes?
How To Use Sales Psychology To Create More Lifetime Clients Now
You can double or even triple your sales by getting a grasp on your customer's behavioural style. It will make a difference in your sales figures and will turn one-time customers into lifetime customers.
Time Management Tips
Everyone is given exactly the same amount of time each day. It is up to us to manage this time as we would any other precious, non-renewable asset. In the world of commission sales, time is indeed money!
A Radical New Approach For Setting Goals And Achieving Outrageous Results!
When you focus on going for "No" you will achieve higher results. The "Yes's" will come. They always do!
Being Authentic In Sales
Knowing how to modulate and adapt your approach is vital in any sales situation but knowing how to remain as "you" is equally as important.
Overcoming Rejection
Five secrets for turning failure into success in 6 months guaranteed!
Influencing Versus Negotiating
It has often been said that very strong negotiation skills are critical to being a high performing sales person. Before you invest your training dollars into Negotiating Skills training for your sales team though, you might like to think about investing it into Influencing Skills training instead.
Selling In A Flattened World
Selling from the buyer's point of view is nothing new. But thanks to the forces reshaping the global business landscape, adopting that mindset is more critical today than ever before.
Seven Myths And Misconceptions About Top Performing Salespeople
If there's one profession that's plagued with myths and half-truths, it's sales. And no group is more subject to misunderstanding than your organisation's top performers. Let's examine seven of the most common misconceptions about world-class salespeople.
The Power Of One
One is a very tiny number. However, it can have a tremendous impact on your revenues.
The Huge Cost Of Hesitation
I knew that being hesitant in the sales arena was a no-no, but I didn't know just how much business it could cost.
What Is Good Selling?
Like many people, I have always been curious about what makes "great sales performance". This is a perplexing question that has been asked and attempted to be answered by many people over the years.
The Five Types Of Shoppers
In the retail industry, it seems as though we are constantly faced with the issue of trying to find new customers. This focus on pursuing new customers is certainly prudent and necessary, but, at the same time, it can wind up hurting us.
The Psychology Of Persuasion
Why do people behave the way they do? An understanding of the psychology of persuasion not only gives us a fascinating insight into people in general, it can also help us to develop marketing principles and have empathy with potential buyers.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words!
How good are you at reading body language? Are you able to tell when a person is lying to you? Do you know how to use body language gestures to build trust and rapport? Read this article and begin using the power of nonverbal communication to help you close more sales in less time... I guarantee it!
Principles Of Persuasion: The Science Of Selling
Throughout history, our most admired leaders are remembered primarily for their ability to instill courage and inspire confidence.
People Skills Quiz
Are you aware that your body language reveals your deepest feelings and hidden thoughts to total strangers? As a professional salesperson you must continuously monitor your customer's body language and adjust your presentation style accordingly.
Selling To The Four Temperament Styles
Have you ever wondered why you seem to hit it off right away with some customers, while with others it's more like oil and water? That's because we respond intuitively to the natural chemistry, or lack thereof, between temperament styles.
How To Read Your Prospect Like A Book!
Top salespeople, and the most successful managers, recognise the importance of nonverbal communication in the selling process and have learned to "listen with their eyes". They understand that one of the easiest and most effective ways to close sales is to be aware of their prospect's "buy signals".
Sales Through Storytelling: Story Tell, Story Sell!
Leverage the power of storytelling to showcase skills, values and experience with short, powerful success stories.
How To Build Trust And Rapport Quickly
If you're working hard, but aren't consistently generating enough sales and getting referrals, chances are it's a matter of trust. One of the most critically important and yet frequently overlooked aspects of selling is creating a solid foundation of trust and rapport.
Handling Objections In The Business Development Process
Objections are a daunting aspect of the selling process, mainly because many people misunderstand, or take them personally.
If Only Customers And Prospects Went To ‘Buying School’
During sales training sessions I have often asked why it is that customers and prospects rarely if ever complain to companies about the unprofessional, unbusinesslike, unproductive behaviour of their sales people. After all, if they did then the chances of improvement taking place would rise considerably.
The High Value Sales Cycle Unraveled
Sales or selling is a rewarding career path for those who have mastered some basic skills. Probably the most important attribute any sales person (or potential) can possess is the ability to show empathy.
Are You On The Same Wavelength As They Are?
How to sell and negotiate with different styles of prospects.
Closing The Sale
It's highly over rated!
A Winning Formula
In the business of sales, and all business owners want higher sales, this article describes a formula for success which draws on courage, creativity, and persistence.
How To Sell More By Telling Them What NOT To Buy
How to persuade with proven psychological strategies in your selling.
Million Dollar Moments!
Recently, a friend of mine went shopping for a four wheel drive. He chose the dealership where he wanted to finalise the deal. It was close to home. He then went shopping to other dealers and got the best price to offer "his" dealership. Things started well at his chosen dealership and he asked for a test drive. The salesman scurried off telling him to wait out the front...
Top Down Selling
Are you selling bottom up or top down?