A Sales Compass – A Blog by B2B Sales Connections

Robert J. Weese of B2B Sales Connections recently accepted an award from the Mayor of the Town of Ajax in recognition for our generous support of the Towns business initiatives for 2012. This is the second year B2B Sales Connections has received the award.

Robert was also recently nominated for the 2012 Education Award for his volunteer work within the community “enhancing learning opportunities for Ajax residents through education support programs and training”. This award is presented by the Town of Ajax Recreation & Culture Department.

Susan A. Enns of B2B Sales Connections was recently nominated for the Erin McBride Leadership Award – New Run Director for her volunteer work for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure. This award is presented by the CBCF’s Ontario Region.

Did you know that business people who read at least 7 business books a year earn over 2.3 times more than people who read only one book per year?  Think you don’t have time to spend on your own ongoing personal development? Did you know that if you spend just 10 minutes a day reading, that adds up to over 60 hours a year?

Investing in yourself is always a safe bet!

People Love You – The Real Secret to Delivering Legendary Customer Experiences by Jeb Blount (more…)

It may seem a little early to talk about the summer months, but as a sales manager you have to look that far ahead. Business can really slow down in the summer, and if your sales team does not have enough prospects in their funnel today, it can be a very difficult to make your sales goals once July and August rolls around.

First and foremost, to be successful in the summer months, each sales rep on your team has to have a packed prospect list. In fact, they should probably have double or even triple the number of prospects on the go to reach the same sales goals during the summer than they normally would during the busier months in the fall. Your team can still sell during the summer, you just need to make sure that they have enough hot prospects on the go that when one is going on vacation, another one that they can sell to is returning. (more…)

Should you include your volunteer experience on your resume? Absolutely! Since a recent LinkedIn Poll showed that 41% of hiring managers consider volunteer experience equally valuable as paid work, the question really becomes why not! (more…)

When you are introduced to someone, do you shorten their name? Do you say Tom when meeting Thomas? Dave when introduced to David? Sue to Susan?

Stop! (more…)

How do you tell your prospect your price? If you add adjectives like “our usual price”, ” the suggested list price” or “our regular price”, you are actually inviting the prospect to negotiate and ask for a lower price. Instead, try “the price is” and simply state the fact.

Having said that, some will ask just because it’s habit. If your prospects still asks for a discount, don’t automatically say yes. Justify your value first. Before you drop your price, ask the customer what they would like to remove from the package. Psychology proves that people would rather pay more than lose something they see as valuable to them.

Remember as Alen Weiss once said, “When was the last time you heard the demand: “Get me the cheapest brain surgeon you can find!” More motivational quotes here.

For more effective communication and presentation sales skills, join me on my webinar, Closing More Sales by Making a Better Sales Presentation – How to present your product so the customer actually buys.

Or check out my book Action Plan For Sales Success. It includes many best practices and tools used by today’s top sales performers that you can use to impact your sales immediately.

Or, if you would like to discuss proven sales techniques as they relate directly to your product or service, subscribe to my Coaching Services.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, The B2B Sales Coach, B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

We’re celebrating a milestone.  The B2B Sales Connections LinkedIn Group just passed the 8,000 member mark and we are growing fast!  We hit 7,000 just two months ago.  This really shows the power of social media when people are engaged with relevant and topical discussions about sales and sales management.

Here is a quick recap of the groups growth curve:

• March 2010 – Group launched (two members: my business partner, Bob Weese & I)
• March 2011 – 660 members
• March 2012 – 3500 members
• April 15 2013 – 8,010 members

We would encourage all our dedicated social media followers, blog subscribers and LinkedIn Group members to invite a friend in the sales and marketing field to check out our group or pass along the link and invite them to see what is happening.  There are lots of great discussions and communication between business professionals which is what make this forum so successful.

Everyone here at B2B Sales Connections are always looking for ways to help you reach your sales potential.  Check us out and see what all the fuss is about!

A heartfelt thank you from both Bob and I to everyone for participating in our Group.  We both hope we hit 10,000 members before year end.  Hey, we’re in sales, there’s always a new goal!

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, The B2B Sales Coach, B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

Here is another question and answer from my interiew with business.com.

Business.com: How can your interviewing, hiring, and training practices help reduce “churn” in your sales team?.

Susan: Turnover in your sales team happens when there is no longer a fit between the employer and employee. The relationship is no longer a win-win, and therefore must end because both parties are not achieving their goals. The better you are in your recruiting and hiring practices, the better able you are to assess fit before the relationship starts.

Once hired, training maximizes the chance of success as it puts everyone on the same road, further securing the fit between the employee and the organization. The better the fit, the more likely the relationship can be successful in the long term, therefore reducing “churn” in your sales force overall.

I go into great detail on how to assess a candidates fit for your organization in my book, Action Plan For Sales Management Success. By popular demand, it is now available in a print version as well as in every eReader format at these fine retailers: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon Internation, Barnes & Noble, Apple iStore, Kobo, Diesel, Sony, salesgravy.com, and Smashwords.com

For more detail on what kind of training works best, join me on my webinar, Your 90 Day Sales Rep Success Plan – How to create an On Boarding Process that puts your sales reps on the right road to success! Click here for more information and to register.

To help get you started download a free copy of our white paper How To Recruit The Best Sales Professionals which includes “11 Telephone Interview Questions to Find Top Performers“, from our Sales Download Centre.

Remember as the old saying goes, “It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you are working with turkeys!” More motivational quote here.

Aim Higher!

Susan A. Enns, The B2B Sales Coach, B2B Sales Connections

www.b2bsalesconnections.com, www.linkedin.com/in/susanenns, or www.twitter.com/SusanEnns

If you are the owner of a small to midsized business (SMB) and you don’t have time each and every week to coach, train and manage a salesperson or a sales team, then you should have someone with the right experience and training do it for you. You don’t need to hire a high cost in house sales manager. You can outsource this function and reap the same rewards as if you had your own manager on staff. (more…)

Is it me, or have some people forgotten the telephone exists? It just seems lately that everyone would rather email back and forth several times when picking up the phone would be much easier and more effective. This is not another “should you use the telephone to cold call” debate. Rather, this is about communication among people you already know; associates, peers, employees, friends, current customers, social media connections, etc. (more…)