Taking the time to brainstorm and let ideas simmer can result in creative approaches with clients. Remember back in college when you knew you had finals lurking just a couple of weeks away and you committed to studying a little bit each night? You promised to be disciplined and not wait to cram everything in at the last minute. And what […]
Sales is Not Linear
Sales training has always emphasized what I would call the typical “Sales Cycle” – discovery, needs, qualification, solution, presentation and commitment. Many follow this methodology, but it’s missing a vital piece – timing! Where is the business in the pipeline and when will we get the commitment – that’s what we want to know. Yet […]
Features Don’t Sell
Facts tell, stories sell. If you want to influence your clients to act, tell them a story or give them an analogy. It’s a powerful way to paint a picture of what the client can have. It opens them to understanding how your solution can be of benefit. Years ago, one of the most popular […]
3 “Musts” for Customers to Buy
It’s three in the afternoon and you get a LinkedIn message from someone who wants to increase your revenues by 20%. You look at the person’s name, think back if you’ve met them and realize it’s someone you’ve never heard of. What do you do? Respond back interested? Say no thanks? Or just ignore? If […]
Three Traits of Top Sales Performers
One of the best sales people that I ever worked with displayed three traits that still hold true to this day. Let’s call him Frank. Frank was a professional seller long before the internet existed, before the onset of social media and yet he was skilled at selling a complex solution for a company that […]
Selling Outcomes
The eighties were a time of warring factions in the computer industry, especially in the PC category. I worked for Digital Equipment Corporation who was challenged as we went up against the powerhouse IBM. Both companies were focused on features: specs for main memory, size of the hard drive and the ancient “floppy disk.” Both […]
Selling the Intangible
Would a customer actually buy a product or a service that’s more expensive than what you’re proposing? You bet. I’m sure you’ve experienced it before. Your prospect is looking at several options. You think, “How can they pick anyone other than us? Not only are we the low price, but our product exceeds the specifications they […]
What Does Success Look Like?
The sales call was not going well. The customer was listening, but I could tell from her body language that she wasn’t too impressed. I needed a jolt but wasn’t sure what would make the difference. Then opportunity knocked! They asked me if I could give an example of a success story with similar size […]
The Customer Decision Process
“I’ve seen it happen many times where the best solution was not selected because the right people with the right power weren’t engaged in your …”
Solving Customer Problems
“Knowledge is power and if you better understand just how extensive a customer problem might be, you can maximize the…”
