Practice makes perfect, right? Wrong. You know if you’re an athlete that perfect practice makes perfect. Nothing good happens if you do the wrong things again and again. It is the same if you’re in sales. You must do the right things and avoid doing the wrong things if you want to get better and sell more now. Here are 2 sales mistakes to avoid. It's a mistake when … [Read more...]
Difficult Conversations in Sales
Are you ready for your next price increase discussion with your most important customer? How about a conversation with your manager over a disputed expense item? Difficult conversations are part of sales. Here are some pointers to make your next difficult conversation both easier and more successful, especially when these conversations are high stakes and high … [Read more...]
What It Takes for Women to Succeed in Sales
This column is only for women. Really? Of course it’s not just for women! In fact, men might just be curious about what I think women need to do to be successful in sales. Stop looking to put people into categories. You have prospects and customers in sales. Do you really think a woman buyer will buy from you just because you are female? It’s like the old … [Read more...]
Political Savvy and Your Sales Career Success
Do you think politics only applies to elected officials? It also applies to sales and your sales career success. You may not realize how your political savvy in sales will determine whether or not you are successful in sales. 1. It’s better to treat everyone with dignity and respect. I went to university with a very nice student whose father was in politics. His father … [Read more...]
Different Ideas to Sell More in 2024
You probably know that doing the same things again and again while expecting different results is nuts. So why not this year try some different ideas to sell more? Here’s what I’m planning for 2024. What are you planning? Learn something new that’s interesting. I had a customer, a plant manager, who told me one day to be sure to stop in his office over lunch hour. I … [Read more...]
Lost Business! Why and How to Prevent It
There are lots of ways you can lose business once you have it. Imagine telling a customer he could afford a price increase as a way to raise your prices. Sounds dumb? Yup, lost business! What if you never get the chance to sell to a customer? That’s more lost business. There are some useful strategies you can use to prevent lost … [Read more...]
Starting a Sales Career? Where do I begin?
Have you ever said, “I would have liked to know that!” before you made a mistake? You’ve probably said that to yourself if you’re starting a sales career. It’s most important at the beginning of your sales journey to be aware of the ideas that will help you sell. Getting frustrated from failure is more likely if you don’t know where to start. Here’s where you can start selling … [Read more...]
Make the Most of Your Time to Sell
You and your competition have one thing exactly the same. You have the same amount of time each day. How you choose to spend it to sell (or not) is a predictor of your sales success. Here are some ideas to make the most of your time to sell so you can sell more. Make the most of your time to sell with good choices. One of the things I like about sales is that I get to … [Read more...]
Career Success: Managing Up As a Sales Strategy
Your most important customer for career success is your manager. Sadly, not all managers are easy to work with. You can develop a sales strategy and make it easier to work with any manager. Your strategy can help guide you to your career success. Learn your manager’s expectations and then deliver the way they want them for your career success. Your job is to work the way … [Read more...]
3 Tips for Sales Career Success
I recently facilitated a presentation for a group of engineers. One of the questions was, “What advice would you give new engineers to be successful their career?” My tips apply to sales career success. Here’s what you can do to be even more successful in your sales career. Do it now rather than later. Nike is only partly right. ‘Just do it’ doesn’t really give you … [Read more...]