Sales Training
Not long ago I was speaking at a national sales meeting for a large regional distributor. The regional vice president for the company’s primary manufacturer was at the meeting, supporting the efforts of his big distributor. At the coffee break, we struck up a conversation. “Three years ago, I was the regional vice-president of sales for my company,” he told…
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On a fairly regular basis, I run into a belief that limits a salesperson’s behavior. These often sound reasonable and are embraced without question. Looking a bit closer at them, however, uncovers how they limit a salesperson’s performance. One of the most common of these negative and limiting beliefs is this: I have my own style of selling. This is one…
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Q. We’re faced with many of our customers being very slow about paying their bills. What would you suggest? A. This is one of those times where the saying, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” is very appropriate. Have face-to-face conversations with your slow-pay customers and require your salespeople to do the same. At those meetings, lay out the issue…
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Question: Our business has been struggling for the last year or so. Several of my salespeople are just not producing. I’m not sure I can continue to work with them. When do I decide to terminate their employment? Answer: Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to ask this question? In an ideal world, everyone would succeed, and our…
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It seems like more and more business people have lost the ability to say no. See if this experience doesn’t sound familiar. I had met with an individual, talked with him personally, and invited him to a small group meeting. He came, interacted positively, and indicated he would commit to being a part of the ongoing meeting. Then, he…
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Change We’re living in incredibly turbulent times. Despite newspaper headlines proclaiming growing employment and an expanding economy, many business people admit to a pervasive feeling of uncertainty and confusion about their businesses. The well-spring of this uncertainty lies in one of the unique characteristics of the times in which we live – rapid change. The pace of change in our…
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We are all familiar with the Pareto principle, which, when applied to the world of sales, says that 80% of the business comes from 20% of the customers. As a general rule, that 80/20 rule is accurate in lots of different situations. Whenever there is a large group producing something, 20% of the people produce 80% of the results. The “Five Percent Principle” states that five percent of the people produce 50% of the outcome. Podcast: PWSM-100
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Your business is made by your product, team, and service, but without a high-functioning sales team, you will find yourselves without a single customer or client to enjoy what you offer. Getting the most out of your sales rep performance is crucial towards the success of your business, which is why it is important to make sure your sales team…
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Sales tracking can be a menial and confusing process, but when done right, you will be rewarded with better techniques and improved insights on your process. There are different ways to keep track of potential buyers, and choosing the method that works best for your organization depends on your individual needs. So, how do you keep track of sales leads?…
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We’ve all done it. Promoted a good sales person, often our best, to sales manager. My files are full of cases where the results were below expectations for everyone involved. Principals and CSOs are often disappointed in the lack of results, and the sales managers are confused and frustrated with the lack of achievement of their teams. A variation on…
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