Tag - sales calls

In my last post, I talked about why conventional sales strategies that were considered “tried and true” two decades ago are no longer working in today’s environment; they’re more about the seller than the buyer.  Unfortunately, many sales reps still cling to the old ways, despite the fact they are losing business to sales reps …

Everyone knows we live in a post-trust era.  The days when people trusted others until they gave them a reason not to are gone.  These days, trust has to be earned. But trust is what advances the sales opportunity.  So how does today’s sales rep build the trust needed to succeed with customers? Value = …

We’ve all heard the Golden Rule of Business: “He who has the gold makes the rules.”  That’s especially true in sales!  Your customers have the gold you’re after, so you must play by their rules. To do so, you must also apply the Platinum Rule: “Do unto others as they would have you do to …

In his book, Achieve Sales Excellence, author Howard Stevens set forth “The Seven Rules of the Customer.”  These seven rules emerged from comments recorded in over 80,000 interviews his company conducted as part of a fourteen-year study of 7,500 sales reps from 2,500 companies.   One of the things study participants – all of whom …

During a sales call or demo, it is easy to be very product-focused.  After all, the product is what you’re there to talk about, right? In my last post, I talked about why focusing on your product or service during a sales call is the #1 mistake you can make.  Your customer wants your conversations …

During a sales call or demo, it is easy to be very product-focused.  After all, the product is what you’re there to talk about, right? As sales reps, we tend to focus on the product because that’s where our comfort zone is.  We talk about our products every day.  We know them inside and out. …