Channel Your Inner Paul Harvey – 3 Strategies to Ensure You Never Lose On Price

For any of us old enough to remember, The Paul Harvey show, was a must listen to radio program heard round the globe on a daily basis.  Full of interesting facts and tidbits, the best part of the show was arguably the last segment, where he shared an engaging story, and left us dangling with the familiar phrase “the rest of the story.” For those of you who forget, or others who ... by Meridith Elliott Powell

It’s the Kiss of Death in Sales

Tell me, ever hear a salesperson say something like this: “Just had a great meeting. I think there is going to be $100,000 (or $10,000 or $1MM) of business there!” .. Yet somehow that great meeting never turns into any business. Well, you are not alone and as a sales leader I have some ideas to help you help your sales team... Salespeople are generally optimistic in nature. Which is great, except when it clouds their ability to be objective and ... by Gretchen Gordon

The Future of Meetings in a Semi-Virtual World

Apparently, guests at the building housing the New York headquarters of Jefferies, an investment bank, were once greeted by a section of the Berlin Wall purchased from the East German government. In the London office of Slaughter and May, a law firm, water trickles down an atrium wall into a shallow pool made of natural stone. The San Francisco home of Salesforce, a software giant, greets visitors with a ... by Jonathan Farrington

Data: The Top 10% of All Salespeople are 4200% Better at This

My wife and I entered the small jewelry shop and were greeted - not with a warm welcome - but with a matter of fact "my name is...and I'm the owner...and I created everything in the store" which was followed by fifteen minutes of non-stop presentation of everything she created... You've been in a store like this and you know exactly how you have reacted to that.  It includes thinking all of the ... by Dave Kurlan

The DNA Of a Sandler Trained Professional Salesperson

Most sales training courses focus on only one element—technique. Salespeople learn the latest techniques for cold-calling or closing a sale. Once the training is over, they might even try to implement them. The results, however, are short-lived. Not because the techniques didn’t have merit, but because they didn’t fit with the salesperson’s behavior or with the salesperson’s ... by Scott Bliss

Three Gaps and a Bridge

I recently recorded a webinar with LeveragePoint (link below) about “making a compelling case for change”. Those of you who have followed me over the years know that this has long been a favourite topic of mine, and with good reason: “no decision”, doing nothing and sticking with the status quo has become unfortunately common outcome... In fact, according to many analysts, a decision to “do nothing” is now most common result of ... by Bob Apollo

Why the Best Sales Techniques Won’t Win You Clients (Here’s What Will)

Salespeople are asking the wrong questions: What are the best sales techniques? What tech tools will help me generate hot leads and land new clients? How do I sell effectively on social media?.. It’s not what will help you win clients; it’s who... The answer is you. Yes, you are the very best tool in your sales toolkit. You know how to have conversations and ... by Joanne Black

Should empathy be the leading sales performance indicator?

We’ve been talking about empathy quite a bit on this blog lately, and you may have noticed that there are as many definitions as there are experts on the topic... McLeod defines empathy in sales and sales leadership not from the perspective of what salespeople and their leaders are doing and thinking - but from the perspective of how their behavior is received by ... by George Brontén

The X-Factor That Drives Customer Loyalty

You have more ways than ever before to engage with customers and enhance our product and service delivery. But the greatest opportunity for moving the needle on customer loyalty—that critical driver of long-term growth and competitive advantage—lies in consistently building value for customers... Here’s something that’s not always so intuitive: Customer loyalty starts with employee loyalty. In fact, there are ... by Integrity Solutions

How to Follow Up with a Prospect

There are plenty of things that prospects like to hear, and can help make your follow-up more effective... I think we both know the almost impossibility of making a sale on the very first contact. Without compelling follow-up, there can be no sales–and I’ve got seven ways your follow-up could improve... This is the easiest one. You may have had one conversation with them and with you one piece of information. So in your next email to them, you play it back. You say ... by Mark Hunter