Posted by Susan A. Enns under Sales Management Skills, Sales Skills, Small & Medium Business Management
Have you ever been in an internal meeting and asked “why do we do that?”, only to receive the response “because we have always done it that way”? Have you ever heard a prospect say the same thing in response to one of your fact find questions? In my opinion, this is a very dangerous response. More importantly, it often presents a great opportunity for improvement and could result in an excellent sales opportunity. Here’s is a story to illustrate why: (more…)
Posted by Robert J. Weese under Sales Skills
‘I hate cold calling”. Have you heard that line a thousand times or more in your sales career? Or how about the promise to “never make another cold call again”. Let’s not forget the ever popular “cold calling is dead”. Of course there are tons of books, articles, blogs and tirades about the death of the cold call but there are still lots of industries where they work and lots of sales people who are very successful because they pick up the phone and dial.
Posted by Robert J. Weese under Sales Skills
Look for Unrecognized Problems & Unanticipated Solutions
One of the best sales questioning techniques I ever learned was from a former boss & mentor. He delivered a training session that taught us when a customer gave a key requirement statement we had to take a moment and ask ourselves “which means”? The key was to never assume you know what the customer actually meant; you had to pose further questions which would dig deeper to find the unrecognized problem. This would help the customer fully explain the reason for the need and the implication for their operation if they did not meet the requirement.
Posted by Robert J. Weese under Sales Skills
It was recently announced that the most annoying saying in the English language is “whatever”. At first I dismissed the trivial nature of the finding with my own thoughts of “who cares” and then I realized the reason this has become so prevalent can be seen as a warning to sales people & marketing departments everywhere.
Posted by marshallnorthcott under Sales Skills
In sales there are positive financial consequences associated with your ability to listen attentively and effectively. Here are some excellent questions to ask yourself in order to assess and rate your listening skills followed by some thoughts and suggestions that will help you take appropriate corrective actions. (more…)
Studies show 25% of sales reps produce 90 to 95% of all sales. Clearly, most sales people are not selling up to their potential and not making the incomes they could. B2B Sales Connections wants to change that.
A Sales Compass is a blog where business to business sales professionals can network. Here you will find motivation, share sales tips, and improve your sales and sales management skills. Together, we can all unlock our sales potential.
