Writing a LinkedIn summary is incredibly difficult – for everyone, but especially for salespeople. You’re not targeting recruiters and hiring managers; you’re appealing to buyers. That means on top of finding an interesting and genuine way to describe your professional... Read more »
Have you ever swallowed a question or backed off from a certain topic for fear of offending your buyer? This happens on sales floors around the world every day. Reps let their qualification questions slide so as not to flare... Read more »
Cultivation through social prospecting makes sense, but it has a drawback. It can take a long time to get results. The solution is to have many prospects. Some will come around sooner, others later and some never. But what if... Read more »
Your parents might have taught you about the value of a well-written thank you note when you were younger. Mine did. After every holiday or birthday when I received gifts, my mom made me diligently write out and mail thank... Read more »
Many times you hear a salesperson say, “We service the heck out of our customers. They’ll never leave us.” But then a competitor walks away with an account. No one saw it coming or what went wrong. You work hard... Read more »
Is cold calling dead? Let’s be honest. That answer is “No.” Cold calling used to be one of the best – and only – prospecting strategies salespeople could use. But in the past 40 years, a variety of more effective... Read more »
Every time I think I’ve gotten a grip on the weird, wonderful world of sales, I learn something new that forces me to change my perspective and question my beliefs. Like just 17% of salespeople think they’re pushy — compared... Read more »
When you’ve been in sales a while, it’s easy to develop bad habits. You pick them up from other reps or take a shortcut during an especially busy week and, all of the sudden, you’ve added some skills to your... Read more »
Probing questions ask for more detail on a particular matter. They’re often follow-up questions like, “Could you tell me more about that?” or “Please explain what you mean.” Probing questions are meant to clarify a point or help you understand... Read more »
If you asked most people what activity they associated most with sales, I’d guess that many of them would respond the same way: Closing. And it’d be no surprise. For one thing, it’s the most visible part of the sales... Read more »