Do your failures get you down or make you feel that long-term success is out of reach? Consider what basketball legend Michael Jordan had to say about his own failures: “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot…
A software manager, a hardware manager, and a marketing manager are driving to a meeting when a tire blows. They get out of the car and look at the problem. The software manager says, “I can’t do anything about this – it’s a hardware problem.” The hardware manager says, “Maybe if we turned the car…
If your product or service is right for the prospective customer, then don’t hesitate to ask for the sale. Really, though, you should be implicitly asking for the sale throughout. How so? Because you’re helping the prospect through the process of consideration, i.e., considering whether or not to buy from you. If you’re acting as…
The job of the sales professional is to help each prospective customer make the decision about what is best for him or her. You’re not to leave the choice to them, and you’re not to take the decision out of their hands with some manipulative trick. You’re there to help the prospect through the process…
A salesman was demonstrating unbreakable combs in a department store. He was impressing the people who stopped by to look by putting the comb through all sorts of torture and stress. Finally to impress even the skeptics in the crowd, he bent the comb completely in half, and it snapped with a loud crack. Without…
Therefore, it’s a good idea to remember the sound advice of Stephen R. Covey when speaking with your prospects: “The little kindnesses and courtesies are so important. Small discourtesies, little unkindnessess, little forms of disrespect make large withdrawals. In relationships, the little things are the big things.” As I like to say, treat every prospect…
An important lesson for any sales professional is to be coachable. If you refuse to follow the coach’s leadership, then you can’t function as the member of a team, the team can’t function, and no one can win long term. Take it from Peyton Manning: “The head coach tells us what to do, and we…
Few things irritate me more than hearing managers spout truisms like “sales is a numbers game” or “this is a people business.” Well, duh. Football is a game of yard lines and turf. Saying so doesn’t tell you anything helpful. Pithy words of wisdom can be beneficial, but too much of what you hear about…
Zig Zigler said the following: “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” How true. It’s not enough to have the attributes that point you in the direction of success. It’s not even enough to have the talents and skills that…
Too many sales leaders put together a plan for their team only to leave it collecting dust on some shelf or cabinet. Margaret Thatcher knew better than this. She said: “Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan.” I like to say that if your plan doesn’t have coffee stains on…