It’s going to be difficult for me to explain how much I really enjoyed Jody Williamson’s book, “The Contrarian Sales Person.” It’s not often that an author can fire on all cylinders and craft a story as satisfying as this one… at the same time explaining how sales people can Read more…
When I work with people who are new to sales, one of the first ideas that I instill is that the goal is to make each of them the best sales people they can be. I tell them, “Not a new and improved version of me, but an authentic sales Read more…
If you want to be more successful in sales, simply examine how you own your business. Successful sales people own their business in three ways every day: they own the past, the present and the future. Own Your Past It is an established fact that the easiest way to build 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…
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…
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…
In Part 1 of this two-part series, I described the the Rules and Realities of the retail sales environment. In this post I will present the Keys to the Kingdom of retail sales negotiating. Before any Sales Professional (SP) attempts to use these Keys she need to both understand and Read more…
People have so many reasons for not getting into and/or getting out of the Sales Profession: “Economy is bad”, “No security in commission sales”, “Nobody is buying!” When you dig into those superficial excuses, you touch the real reason so many people avoid and leave the sales world – the Read more…
Every sales trainer, manager and sales professional in my age group spent some time studying the works of Tom Hopkins and Zig Ziglar. A few of us dove deeper into the worlds of Frank Luntz, Brian Tracey and others, but Hopkins and Ziglar for a time were the 1-2 punch Read more…
March is a pivotal month for sales professionals because it can determine how the first quarter ends. Its momentum, whether good or bad, will launch the second quarter and can set the tone for the rest of the year! January and February have combined for one of three performance scenarios: Read more…