At the beginning of class I usually ask the question, “What is the goal of your sales call; whether it is on the phone or in person?” I always hear someone say, “I need to educate my prospect.” I replied with “Educate them on what?” They say, “On my products, our services, the company, my experience.” “Is that where you want the focus during the rest of the meeting – on you?” I response. “Well, they need to know what I offer in order for them to buy from me.” They say. “And that’s your goal of the sales call?” “Yes,” they reply. [Read more…]
The One Word to Stop Using
January 4, 2016 By Leave a Comment
One of the services I offer clients is selecting and hiring superstar salespeople. I work with them on weeding through resumes and asking questions during interviews. During one of the interviews, last week, I asked a candidate to describe a superstar salesperson, and they replied with, “someone that is helping customers solve problems.” Is this how you describe a superstar salesperson? [Read more…]
Leaders Never Stop Learning
September 7, 2015 By 3 Comments
This time of year there is a buzz with back to school and back to business, like the beginning of a new year. As you probably know the school year was established around the harvest season, yet it has not changed as our country has evolved into a more industrial age.
Watching successful sales leaders, one of the first questions I ask is “What books have you read recently?” There is never a hesitation to share a title or author. Every day delivers an opportunity to learn something new if we have the Wonder. The Wonder is the first step of change.
We have to ask ourselves, [Read more…]
Self-forgiveness Begins with Others
August 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Jack was playing center outfield during the third game of the season. He’ll be 10 this year and is starting to refine his baseball talents. It’s his favorite sport with football a close second.
In the fifth inning a pop fly was hit in his direction. He got under it, adjusted his stance, focused on the falling ball but couldn’t hold on to it and dropped it. He grabbed the ball and threw it to second base. The batter was safe.
He had a tough time letting that error go. Jack is one of the better players on the team. He commits to keeping his skills sharp with additional practices in the off season and learning by watching professional MLB players on television.
During the ride home, Jack was silent, though his team won. His father asked him what’s wrong. He just kept repeating he should have caught that pop up in the fifth. He couldn’t forgive himself.
His father reminded him of a last game they played when one of Jack’s teammates, Taylor, missed a pop up, causing the team to lose the game. Jack criticized Taylor all the way home and blamed him for losing the game. “Perhaps the withheld forgiveness that Jack held towards Taylor is the same withheld forgiveness Jack feels towards himself,” his father thought. He shared that thought with his son. Then he thought about it in his own life. [Read more…]
When They Say NO!
April 22, 2015 By 3 Comments
Most salespeople will admit they don’t like hearing a “No” from prospects during the sales process. There is a small sting of rejection that is hard to accept with a lingering sense of discouragement. This is not uncommon and if you feel this way, you are not alone. [Read more…]
Disappointment and Forgiveness
February 17, 2015 By 2 Comments
Last week someone I have a great deal of respect for let me down. Their actions disappointed me. If the feeling had a flavor, it tasted like the color gray. This was hurtful. But the real disappointment came with my belief in this person.
The unfortunate fact is people will disappoint us throughout our life. Our strength will come when we forgive them. And I will grow to forgive them, too. [Read more…]
Who Defines the Marketplace?
January 22, 2015 By 2 Comments
Remember your first day at a new company? Maybe you started the company and were so excited you can hardly sleep. There was an unstoppable ambition fueled by a desire to succeed. Do you still have that desire? What changed?
A successful life is built on a daily commitment to optimism. Optimism has two parts. The first is maintaining a hopeful outlook before a decision is made; the other is dwelling on the most positive aspects of a decision afterwards. With all the life changes we experience, voluntary and involuntary, we must be optimistic. [Read more…]
The Most Important Question You Could Ask a Prospect
December 1, 2014 By 1 Comment
Seems like the greatest competition we face is not another company targeting our prospects in a shared marketplace, rather prospects deciding to do nothing or to take on doing the task themselves. Unfortunately, untrained salespeople that love to talk and demonstrate how much they know originate the option of doing it yourself (DIY) in the prospects mind. This does a strong disservice to them, because the salesperson is suppose to know more than them, so they get hired. Or the salesperson makes the buying process (i.e. making the prospect chose from too many different options) so difficult to understand, the prospect’s frustration cause them to stall in moving forward with the project. [Read more…]
Three Questions Begin with One Answer
July 15, 2014 By 6 Comments
Starting a journey begins with a desire of wanting and believing you deserve more or you decide to no longer accept the current status of your life. Some steps will not be easy and you will often be tested and challenged. Growing takes a strong commitment; enough to overcome all adversity. A determined focus will prevent distractions from your goal. As you begin this quest, ask yourself the following three questions. [Read more…]
Start or Wait…What should I do?
July 8, 2014 By 6 Comments
The summer of 2010 I took the StrengthFinders™ test and found my top strength was Learner. This means I feel strong when I’m learning (I also have Responsibility, Intellection, Empathy and Connectedness). As a Learner, I enjoy reading business and self-development books and have found a conflict in the advice from two positions. The conflict is in the mixed message of “Taking Action” and “Delaying Gratification.”
One position is taking action and getting started. This has always been my axiom from Og Mandino as he stresses it in Scroll IX, “I will act now” from his book the “Greatest Salesman in the World.” Supporting this position is David J. Schwartz in his book, “The Magic of Thinking Big” as he writes in chapter 10; “The way to combat any kind of fear is action.” [Read more…]
