Sales persons are considered at the bottom of the list, according to a gallop poll. I know it’s because of scores of sales people going about the sales process in the wrong way. With terms like “snake oil peddler”, “Con artist”, etc, the picture is certainly not a pretty one.  I also know, though, that the sales profession is one of the most rewarding jobs ever. Of course, it’s only as good as you treat it. It can do you good when you approach it right. Here are some immutable laws of sales that you should keep in mind: The first date – you don’t want to mess with it Unlikely...


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“I want my sales reps to be ruthless”. This is the feedback I received from a regional sales manager at a solution provider client of mine. His comment got me thinking. I honestly don’t know if he meant that he wanted his team to be a mean, cold hearted group of SOBs when it comes to selling. He may have. However, instead I think it was a little deeper than that. I think what he meant was, something that I’ve noticed with a lot of folks both young and old. From the younger sales folks it seams like many expect too much for little effort. And from the older folks…well many have been...


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The first ten seconds of your first call with someone will determine the rest of your relationship with your client. Those ten seconds determine whether you will ultimately succeed or fail. You may get a subsequent appointment, but if you fail to capitalize on those ten seconds then you are going to face harsh negotiation and the psychological chess games. So use those precious ten seconds to show your prospect (more...)


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No doubt about it we are living in some turbulent times. And unless you are consciously proactive, all the negative news spewed out every other minute can have a negative impact on your psyche. And worse yet it, it can affect your sales results and your sales people. As an owner or sales/marketing executive, you have do everything you can to avoid the following attitudes and their related actions among your sales team (more...)


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According to a some IT analyst, budgets in 2011 will remain flat, if not a little higher than in 2010. This is something you probably already know but the real question is: given that IT leaders will spend differently, how will you respond? For instance, in our experience IT decision makers have 5 main priorities both from a business and IT perspective. They are (more...)


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There is an old saying “Good times hide your flaws, bad times magnify them”. I would certainly classify this past recession as a bad time and based on the request I have received for sales training, the flaws being magnified have to do with sales skills. In the good old days when sales were a plenty many organizations felt the route was to purchase sales automation software or get neat little gadgets to help you become more efficient. Now that our sales flaws and foibles have show themselves in the last few years and each new sale is harder to get, companies are beginning to re-examine their...


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