When I visit countries, accompanying salespeople to their customers, I always ask them this question: Why do you think you will win this opportunity from the customer we are about to visit? This time, a sales executive’s answer surprised me: …
Some salespeople are very creative in nudging customers to like them and be top of mind just in case their competitors drop the ball. Many companies have their own gift stores so that sales execs can leave ‘Goodies’ like calendars, …
If you are a loyal follower of my blog, you know I am passionate about how the psychology of selling can make us better sellers. The title, Listen to Understand, not Listen to Sell, makes you reflect on how a …
Despite you doing your best in selling, your prospect doesn’t want to sign the contract you offered and your opportunity stalls. You are at a dead end. There are objections, price objections even. How do you handle these? According to …
Aren’t we all looking for tips on how to close opportunities? But how could anyone possibly write tips to close opportunities successfully, knowing that every customer’s situation and challenges are different? Well, over the last six months, I have observed …
The other day, I was approached by a software supplier who asked me if I wanted our sales force to become Trusted Advisors. The question was out of context because that was not what we discussed at that stage. Regularly, …
Imagine you are a Marketing Manager of an SME type of company. Senior management has asked you to come up with a plan to grow their business in the next three years. Where would you start? You would use research …
How good are your skills in pitching your business case into simple math? Who benefits from the economic downturn? Is inflation slowing down? Are we coming out of the economic downturn? Well, it depends on where you live. Just review …
In the past, success in sales depended very heavily on the salesperson’s sales acumen. Although Sales Acumen is still needed, to make a difference and add value to the customer conversation you need to be able to talk business. To be a top salesperson now your Business Acumen supersedes your Sales Acumen.
Welcome to a series of podcasts where I will interview several Thought-Leaders and Salespeople on the topic of Sales Transformation. I will ask for their advice and practical tips for sales frontline managers and Sales Leaders to make their sales transformation …
Buyers and Sellers have something in common: They find themselves stuck in the middle. To get out of that situation and become more successful both require a strategic focus. Unfortunately, the more they give in to taking the easier, tactical …
Following last week’s post, this week’s challenge is to see how well you adapt your actions and next steps on various customer conversation scenarios. Stakeholders you meet can be in different phases of their buying process. So, they are most …
Loyal readers of this blog are transforming themselves from salespeople who were selling with the seller’s perspective and now becoming Trusted Advisors, selling with the buyer’s perspective. So far, they have the fundamentals right. When preparing for customer meetings they: …
This year my family and I took a last-minute holiday deal and went for a week to Tenerife, escaping cold Western Europe. Usually, I would take more time to research, review and plan these kinds of things but now, sitting …
Having the best product, the best solution and the best price doesn’t always turn into a sale. Buyers are looking also what you are bringing to the table. If in the customer’s eyes everything is equal, you become the differentiator.
You can read it in the news, hear it on podcasts and watch it on the major media channels: the economy is slowing down. Businesses are preparing themselves for headwinds to come. Two years ago, economists predicted a recession due …