Gerhard Gschwandtner, founder and publisher of Selling Power magazine, interviews Patrick Sweeney, a Senior VP of Caliper Corporation, about strategies to success in sales.
Bestselling business author Barry Farber explains how his CORE principles — confidence, optimism, responsiveness, and energy — can create a solid foundation for sales success.
Since scientific forecasting isn't going to happen inside most firms, what's the best way to turn the forecasting process into something useful? It's not impossible, but it requires some extra work on the part of sales management. Here are the four steps: Redefine your sales process in terms of...
Sales forecasting in most firms is a mess. The alternative -- scientific forecasting with a computerized market model -- is a proven solution. Why then is scientific forecasting so rare? The answer is fear, on the part of everyone involved. Sales reps are worried ...
Let's face it: most sales forecasting is a complete joke. Here's the routine: The sales manager asks for the forecast. The reps make a guess at what will close, then subtract ten percent, just in case. The sales manager takes the forecast and raises it ten percent because he knows the reps...
I recently wrote that "selling is like sex; until you've actually done it, you can't possibly understand what the fuss is all about." On second thought, that's wrong. Selling is not like sex... it's better than sex. Here's why: You usually have a pretty good idea of...
If your sales process involves proposals, your sales crutch on your ability to write a winning executive summary. If it's lame, the proposal goes unread; if it's hot, readers will be thinking "YES!" before they get to the end of the page. Here's exactly how to write an executive...
B2B sales is all about solutions, and solutions are all about customer needs. Unfortunately, figuring out those needs must take place early in the sales cycle, when you have the least rapport and when the customer is naturally wary. The time-honored technique to gather this information, and...
Travis Van's "Catching Flack" blog post Bad Marketing Follows Bad Sales blames Sales for not doing a good enough job communicating with Marketing about the nature of the customer base and the characteristics of a qualified lead. While I understand his point, with all due respect, the problem isn't...
Customer calls - whether in-person, on-phone, or online - are the heart and soul of B2B sales. So it's surprising that misconceptions about sales calls abound, even among sales pros who ought to know better. Here are the most common myths and how they torpedo sales success:MYTH #1....
Most sales reps have a draw minimum salary that shields them from the consequences of not making quota. That security blanket comes at a high price, though, because the employer is taking on the risk of your failure. Making big money in sales almost always means working for 100...
Two key questions that every sales pro must confront: "What are my basic values?" and "Do I believe in what I'm selling?" If the answers don't agree, you'll never be very successful in sales. Even if you've got fantastic sales skills, customers will sense internal conflict and be far...
For years, American businesses have treated sales pros as second-class citizens. That's about to end, though, because in the future that's rapidly approaching, solution selling will become the soul of B2B commerce. And that's good news for the selling profession. Let me explain:The Internet transforms any product...
There are exactly two categories of employees inside every business: the ones that sell or help sell and the ones who prevent selling from taking place. Most companies are infested with the latter -- aka the "sales prevention police." Here are the five most toxic members:The Overstuffed CEO...
The beliefs that drive your sales behaviors are the keys to becoming a successful sales pro. Change the beliefs, and you'll change the behaviors and get better results. Now, that's easy to say, but most sales pros have no idea how to change a belief. ...
Hallucinations or not, rejections can still sting. And that's a good thing, because that pain represents a fabulous opportunity to improve your sales skills. Your challenge is to discover your personal threshold of pain and then take action to remove the sting. Here's how.Let's start by understand...
Marketing needs our help! So in the interests of corporate teamwork, here are some more Really Useful Rules for Marketing to Follow! As before, I'll present a brief case study and then provide the generic rule. You'll want to send this link to your pals in marketing, so...
A few posts ago, I lambasted technology that wastes more time than it saves. I was expecting a chorus of agreement from sales reps, but what I got were grumblings from sales managers who simply adore CRM... because it lets them spy on their employees.Of course, it's that "Big...
Rapport is the ultimate key to selling. If you've got great rapport with a customer, they'll naturally want to buy from you, and every customer meeting is a pleasure for both parties. If rapport is weak, then every meeting is awkward and difficult, and making a sale becomes...
In past posts, I've ragged on trick closes, and gotten serious guff from hucksters who depend on them. I'm still convinced that manipulative closing is a recipe for miserable customers and that instead it's smarter to set up the conditions for a natural, painless close. Here's how.Dr. Robert...
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