Sales is a dynamic industry that changes day to day, week to week, year to year. The best sales professionals work to own those changes!
Basketball, like sales, is full of individual statistics that are used to determine the value of each player on the team. We all know and covet the flashy stats: Points, Assists, Rebounds, Steals. And for the most part, those are statistics we can train to improve. Want better free throw Read more…
Three years ago, I wrote an article dismissing the idea of a “Retail Apocalypse.” That was before we ran into the COVID-19 economic buzz saw. It is sobering how many retail giants didn’t survive 2020, and the sheer number of retail jobs lost is staggering. I stand firm in my basic premise that Read more…
Dear Customers, Normally, sales professionals and sales leaders look for my articles for information and insights. Today I want talk across the counter, directly to you: The Retail Consumer! From supermarkets to restaurants, companies are employing more and more technology to remove “friction” from the sales process. There is no Read more…
Let’s talk about Sam. Sam is a great saleswoman. Sam has one product to sell, Green eggs and ham! In his critically acclaimed, 1960 business development case-study, “Green Eggs and Ham”, Theodore [Dr.] Seuss Geisel introduced one of the most challenging, real time, sales training scenarios; one which every sales Read more…
Prospecting is the soil in which sales careers grow. Like farmers planting this season’s crops, sales professionals do amazing amounts of research, leg work, and phone calling to turn prospects into paying customers. While no specific prospecting activity is guaranteed, we know that consistent, high quality prospecting always results in Read more…
In the mid 1940s, a groundbreaking experiment was conducted at the University of Minnesota to study the effects of starvation on humans. In a controlled environment, volunteers ate a severely reduced diet – similar to those in concentration camps – for 6 months. All the while, physical and psychological testing Read more…
Projection has always been blind spot for sales professionals. We all have been told some version of the “millionaire dressed like a bum” retail sales parable! At its core, this is a warning not to allow your personal bias interfere with your job as a sales professional. This parable has Read more…
How many more times do we need to read about the end of Retail Sales? Each week there are more articles touting the rise of AI in the retail sales environment. Every month there is a news report of a major brick and mortar store closing its doors and moving Read more…
Everyone in sales wants to get a referral. We have all heard stories of that special sales professional who has a completely referral-based practice. We all want referrals because we know their power. The question at hand is “Why don’t you receive more referrals?” Defensively, many sales professionals will react Read more…
Earlier in the year we wrote a blog post that encouraged sales professionals to look at themselves and ask hard questions about their sales process. As the fourth quarter winds down, we encourage sales professionals to take a critical look at their sales practice. Just as before, this challenge will Read more…