Articles

What To Do When Your Client Throws You Under the Bus

One of the most unpleasant situations to be in as a sales person is when the client blames you for what the client perceives to be a failure or shortcoming of your product or solution. Clients might go from being happy and reliable, to being angry and threatening to cancel their contract. “Getting thrown under the bus” in this way by clients can be demoralizing, to say the least. You .... Read more »

5 Must-Have Steps for Selling to Big Companies

Selling to big companies is one of the major focuses of many B2B sales organizations, whether you have an existing major account lead generation effort in place, or whether you’re a smaller B2B company trying to acquire some larger corporate clients. Big companies offer big rewards, just by nature of their size – bigger budgets, more complex (and lucrative) business needs, and bigger opportuni.... Read more »

The 4 Biggest Mistakes in Managing your Sales Funnel

Many sales people are familiar with the concept of the “sales funnel,” with the idea that every sale starts with a large pool of prospects, which are eventually narrowed down by the various steps of the sales process (qualification, presentations, proposals, etc.) leading to a much smaller number of customers who actually decide to buy and close the deal. A big part of success in mana.... Read more »

3 Simple Tips for Creating “Ah Ha!” Sales Conversations

It’s easy to forget this when we have so many sales technologies and advanced sales strategies at our disposal, but sales is ultimately about having conversations with people. The most successful sales relationships often start with energetic, productive conversations between two people who are genuinely curious about how they can work together to help each other. Some of the best sales.... Read more »

4 Lead Management New Year’s Resolutions for 2013

Every New Year brings the promise of renewal and rejuvenation for everyone who works in sales. Jan. 1 presents a clean slate and a chance to do things differently – reconnect with promising prospects, enhance your sales processes, improve your efficiency, and find new ways to add value for customers. If you’re looking for new ways to take your business to new heights in 2013, you can .... Read more »

The Most Important Things Your Boss Might Not Have Taught You About Sales

Sales people are often misunderstood – by customers and prospects, who often think we’re trying to finagle our way into their schedule so we can try to hard-sell them into buying something they don’t need; by colleagues in other parts of the company, who often (wrongly) believe that sales people get all the glory without the effort; and most of all by our bosses. Whether your boss i.... Read more »

Top Sales Performers: Why They Close Deals

In running lead generation programs over the last 23 years, we have often wondered why certain reps can take a sales lead of any quality – cold, warm or hot – and seem to turn them into closed deals. What is the "x" factor that makes certain sales reps so successful? There is no one single reason why some sales performers close so many more deals than others. Some people are natural s.... Read more »

6 Time-Tested Guidelines for Starting a Lead Generation Referral Program

One of the constant struggles in lead generation is the tension between sales people asking for “more sales leads” and managers asking their sales people to “do more with the sales leads you already have.” Fortunately there is a way to bridge the gap – your sales team can generate more sales leads by implementing a lead generation referral program. When you start a lead.... Read more »

7 Undeniable Ways to Become a Better Salesperson

Sales is a constant battle for improvement. Whether it’s getting better at overcoming objections, improving your appointment setting success ratios, or increasing the number and size of deals you close, every salesperson is trying to get better every day. By making incremental improvements in the way we operate, salespeople have a unique opportunity to see big results. 1. Be a .... Read more »

5 Things Decision Makers Say When Your Sale Is Not Going To Close

Every sales professional has to overcome objections, deal with rejection and keep conversations moving forward in the face of difficulty. But sometimes the decision maker makes it all too clear that the sale is not moving forward to the deal closing table anytime soon. Here are 5 statements from decision makers that show that the sale is not going to close: 1. “Let’s touch ba.... Read more »