Quick – Who makes the best sales person – an extrovert or an introvert? Quicker answer – Neither….. If you are like most people we asked you said extroverts make the best sales people. They make great sales people for a few reasons. First, since they have to interact with a wide range of individuals [...]
Economy 2.0 is more than just formulating a “solution” from a specific product and/or service then presenting it to the prospective client. This may have worked in the old economy, but does not work in today’s marketplace. Economy 1.0 was driven by “solution sales” techniques which dictated that with a series of scripted questions [...]
The sales call is a critical element of any sales process. When done well, opportunities are closed, revenue is generated and new customers are added. The opposite applies when they don’t go well. So what constitutes a good sales call? First, it depends on your business. For the transactional sale the “sales call” is [...]
We are all busy but consider the following activities: Define assigned quota Increase margins Increase market penetration Develop target account list Conduct daily, weekly, monthly calls on target accounts Develop business plan Conduct product demonstrations Communicate product features and benefits Identify customer needs Identify competitive threats Provide solutions Coordinate internal resources (pre and post [...]
As we work to tune client sales teams to become high performance forces in the market, we introduce the principles of influence which are the strongest when we are attempting to move (a.k.a. persuade) others. Constant in our conversations is the distinct and clear boundary between manipulation and persuasion. To persuade is to move [...]
The benefits of this understanding are reflected throughout the sales process but exhibit particular influence during the final phases of the sales cycle, specifically the price negotiation phase. In their research, “Precise Offers are Potent Anchors: Conciliatory Counteroffers and Attributions of Knowledge in Negotiations”, authors Malia Mason, Alice Lee, Jill Willey, and Daniel Ames [...]
It is the end of the period and you must motivate your sales team to close opportunities to meet your revenue goals. What do you do? If you know and understand the behavioral science that drives our human actions. Pursuit of short term goals is full of unintended consequences. As William H. Murphy, Associate [...]
"We are in the business of influence. One format that is synonymous with sales execution is the customer presentation/demonstration” Typically presentations go something like this: The presentation is derived from the “master slide deck” (aka not created for the specific prospective customer or their needs; this is not about the prospective customer – this [...]
Strategy execution for some is a challenge. Navigating the gap between the “strategist” on the hill and those tasked with strategy execution is full of potholes. In their ground breaking research with over 1000 companies, government agencies and non-profits in 50 countries, Gary L. Neilson, Karla L. Martin, and Elizabeth Powers discovered that “employees [...]
How many times have you heard the phrase “feed your eagles” (a phrase coined by Professor Derek Newton of the Darden School of Business and Management at the University of Virginia)? Eagles are the élite sales people, those who hit their targets, no matter how difficult. While many sales leaders want to think that their [...]
