In prior articles here you’ve read some controversial selling advice that runs counter to everything you’ve been told to think or do.
What now? Do you reject it or try it out?
Before you read any more suggestions about selling — including mine — a few disclaimers.
I’ve read more than a hundred books on selling, and I’ve had plenty of training. Maybe because I’ve sorted through so much advice and so many tips, I tend to be skeptical.
You’re wise to be skeptical, too. [click to continue…]
No is always better than maybe. It doesn't mean no forever. It just means no for now: no to the way you've presented your offering so far.
No may be the single most dreaded word in selling. But you can learn to appreciate it.
We’re learn from early childhood that no is a constraint on our ability to get or do what we want. [click to continue…]
Don't try out new sales approaches in front of an important audience.
[This is the fifth in a series about Prospecting and Sales Negotiations. The prior post suggested some ideas that have helped me improve my prospecting. Some of them go against the grain of a lot of current thinking about good selling skills. This post suggests ways you can try out new sales approaches at relatively low risk.]
Have you ever done something so stupid or embarrassing during a sales call that you’ve tried to bury it, but someone you work with won’t let it die? [click to continue…]
[This is the fourth in a series of posts about prospecting and sales negotiations. The two prior posts gave you some ideas on behavior what to avoid when you're prospecting. This post gives you new ways to think about what you're doing. With these new perspectives you can eliminate some of the habits that irritate most people about stereotypical sales behavior.]
The power of mental imagery is amazing. Many psychologists have observed that you can dramatically change the way you perform an activity simply by changing the way you think about it.
Today I’ll share some unconventional ideas about prospecting that can have that kind of power. [click to continue…]
[This is the third post in a series about prospecting and sales negotiations. The preceding post suggested that you can hurt yourself by "spilling the beans" too early. This means you should avoid telling your prospect too much about your product or company until she's told you about her problems, goals, wants or vision.]
Life, interrupted
How often do you welcome random interruptions by strangers who want you to spend money on things you don’t know you need or want?
Never. Or almost never. You’re just like everyone else.
Here’s an exception. Imagine an overweight widow in late middle age. She’s wearing a pink floral housecoat and feathery slippers. In her TV room nine cats are lounging on large, brightly colored pillows scattered across an acrylic wall-to-wall carpet that smells of cat urine. She’s been watching The Home Shopping Network since she woke up at 9:30 a.m. [click to continue…]
One of the the most valuable sales insights I’ve ever learned is probably the most controversial and hardest for sales people to accept.
In the early stages of a new relationship with a prospect, share as little information as possible about your company and your offerings.
You Can Make a Mess When You ‘Spill the Beans’
In literally hundreds of sales calls, I’ve seen both junior and senior sales people make the same mistake: At the very first opportunity, they start spewing everything they think is wonderful about their company and their offerings. [click to continue…]
Even if you work for a national retail chain, your sales process almost certainly involves some level of negotiation.
At what point in your interaction with a prospect do your negotiations typically begin? Is it when the conversation turns to commercial terms such as price, payment options, delivery, financing, warranties and contracts?
Sales Negotiations Begin the Moment You Say ‘Hello’
Every step in your sales process — from your first conversation to signing the deal and delivering or implementing your offering — involves a negotiation. [click to continue…]
What’s so annoying about so many marketers?
Is it their brainless PowerPoint presentations?
Is it their focus on pointless activity that doesn’t measurably generate revenue? Is it that they’re not accountable for anything other than meeting deadlines and staying in budget?
Is it that they’re preoccupied with theoretical ideas like branding and couldn’t care less about down-to-earth activities like lead generation?
Is it that any leads they generate are mostly worthless? [click to continue…]
[This is the ninth in a series of posts about entrepreneurship as a way to protect your income in a bad economy.]
In prior posts we’ve talked about ways to build a secondary revenue stream on the Internet. To this point you’ve chosen a healthy market, you’ve selected the products or services you’re going to sell, and you’ve begun to provide your offering through an affiliate or your own Web site or blog. You’re driving traffic through paid advertising or by writing articles with links back to the sales site.
It’s Show Time
Now you’re ready for the most interesting part. This post is about welcoming your shoppers to your online sales environment and studying how they behave.
It’s as if you’ve built a store, you’ve announced the grand opening, and now you’re roaming the floor like a proud proprietor greeting your guests. Except that your guests don’t know you’re there. [click to continue…]
[This is the eighth in a series of posts about entrepreneurship as a way to protect your income in a bad economy.]
Once you’ve identified the markets you think you may want to serve, check to be sure you’ll face healthy competition.
That’s right: You want competition. [click to continue…]