There’s an old Farside comic about a slick salesman who’s successfully sold refrigerators to Eskimos in the frozen plains. It illustrates a common perception about salespeople: that we’re swindlers, dishonest manipulators who convince people to buy items they don’t need. Unfortunately, there’s some truth to this perception. Some salespeople are mischievous and dishonest. They will…
Brett Nelson explains how small talk can have a big impact on your likeability. Worth keeping in mind, but remember to be yourself. Don’t scan a prospect’s office to find something to relate to, for example–you’ll end up with small talk that sounds forced and insincere. Instead, be open about your interests and inquire into…
If you’re a business leader, then you mostly likely have a business plan, a vision for your team or your company. Don’t have one? Put one together. Interact and converse with the members of your team and other business leaders. Discern where you want to go and how you plan to get there. If you…
When you finish with an in person appointment, where do you go from there? If you answered “Back to the office,” then you’re missing out on a great opportunity. Give yourself some extra time to visit three businesses that neighbor the one you just had an appointment with. Look around the block–what do you see? …
You don’t need to turn on the evening news to know how uncertain it is out there. No one can be sure about the economy, about the upcoming presidential election, or about how the Supreme Court will rule on the Affordable Care Act. You can’t be certain about those things that might affect your business,…
Being a leader means having to make the tough decisions. Sometimes you have all the relevant facts before you. Sometimes you have to take a shot in the dark. All of your decisions matter: for you, for your team, and for your company. How do you learn to make the good decisions and to avoid…
As sales professionals, we must accept that the service or product we are selling to prospective customers is likely not among their immediate concerns or even on their radar. You might be thinking that the right way forward is to convince prospects that they should be focused on what you are selling, but this path…
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.” – From Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare While someone may be born into great opportunity or great riches, no one enters the world a great sales professional. Except maybe my children–they were asking the doctors purposeful questions about their office and…
All leaders make bad hiring decisions. If you make a bad hire, one that endangers the success of your team, you still have options. While you shouldn’t throw new hires to the wolves and see if they can survive, you do want to 1) give new hires the tools necessary to succeed and 2) hold…
As important as it is to know the weaknesses of your team members, it is much more important to know and utilize their strengths. Any successful coach doesn’t position his players where each will do the least amount of harm; he places them where they’ll each do their best. Great pitchers or quarterbacks don’t play…