19th October 2009
Every time a potential customer has contact with you or your company, an expectation has been set as to how the business relationship is going to work. If a website promises 24/7 technical support, it creates an expectation. Or if you promise installati...
08th October 2009
I participated in a few charity golf tournaments this summer. At each one, I kept hearing the same comments from some of the participants. “I never hit the ball well off the first tee.” and “I won’t make the putt because I am not a good putter....
03rd September 2009
Ever since we were young, we have been taught to watch our language. “Mind your p’s and q’s, and if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” A sales person knocked on my door the other day. The experience served as ...
16th July 2009
Whether it’s a prospecting approach, a fact find, or a presentation, there has always been plenty of disagreement among sales professionals as to whether what will be said should be scripted ahead of time. Those that say that every sales call should be...
26th June 2009
This is a true story. Over the course of a year, a local branch manager had 7 separate photocopier sales people conduct face to face prospecting calls on her business. However, since the current equipment was on a lease with an expiry date far into the ...
29th May 2009
Have you ever been told, “Here’s your business cards, there’s a street. Now go and bang on some doors.”? Or how about, “Here is the phone book, start dialing!” Although these shotgun methods of prospecting may produce results, it really is ...
07th May 2009
When people read the newspaper, it is very rare they read every line of every article. There are just too many articles and too little time! In reality, people only have enough time to scan the paper, reading only the articles where the headline has cau...
20th March 2009
Many sales representatives absolutely dread their monthly sales forecasting meetings with their sales manager. Why? Often, it is because they really don’t know what is the next step to close the sale. More importantly, they also don’t know when tha...
20th March 2009
Chances are, as a job requirement, you must submit a weekly sales report to your sales manager. Some sales representatives, normally those not at quota, perceive these sales reports as a policing action. “The boss is only checking up on me to ensure t...
20th March 2009
Happy New Year! At this time of year, we tend to look forward and set both personal and professional goals for the year. Take a moment and think back to 2008. Did you reach the goals you set for yourself last year? If not, it’s probably because you ...
20th March 2009
Are you always asked to lower your price? Does every prospect start to negotiate with you? Most sales people would answer with a very definitive yes!
Of course we all face this! The reason is that consumers and buyers are trained to ask for a lower ...
17th November 2008
The purpose of your resume is to move you to the next step in the hiring process. Whether that is the initial interview, or to complete personality, compatibility or skills testing, if your resume moves you forward, it was effective. Over the years, I h...
17th November 2008
In today’s competitive environment, a properly designed Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program is simply a must have in order for your business to survive and grow. It doesn’t matter whether you are a small make-your-own wine store, a chiropr...
