It was like selling to the United Nations when I sold manufacturing technologies. The stakeholders and decision makers ranged from machinery operators to the C-Suite. Every level and department dressed and spoke differently. You sell to people from different departments at different levels within the same organization. Each has unique styles and lingo. Do you meet each stakeholder and decision … [Read more...]
Can You Get Awesomeness From a Book? “EDGY Conversations by Dan Waldschmidt
April 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Add “EDGY Conversations: How Ordinary People Can Achieve Outrageous Success” to the list of classic motivational books. Then read it. How do I make such a bold statement? From the time I began selling, I read the great ones including “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People” and “Think and Grow Rich.” All of the motivational classics share three … [Read more...]
Don’t be a Sales Zombie, Ditch the Sales Tricks
October 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment
What’s your trick for overcoming objections? or What’s your best closing trick? Questions like these plagued me for years like the Masque of the Red Death. Salespeople haunted me for quick tricks that do not exist. Sales tricks are an illusion. Questions that manipulate your customer to say yes or agree with you are tactics that eventually fail. Some people may fall for these tricks, but as … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Prevent Buyer Brinkmanship – “ABN” Always Be Negotiating©
October 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
At the 11th hour, the customer throws us a big curve. We invest months and years developing new business opportunities. We brainstorm with our clients to create valuable insights for them. We research their market conditions, customers, competition and their business plans. We help model ideal outcomes for them and mitigate their risk. We spend our company’s valuable resources only to find our … [Read more...]
ABN: Always Be Negotiating© – #Sales Tip
October 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
When does negotiating begin? Does it start at the end of the sale or earlier in the opportunity? Like most of you, I was trained that negotiations happen at the end of the sale, just before the close. Contrary to this axiom, I always believed negotiations begin at the beginning of the buying process. Is your prospect drawing you in? One morning 30-years ago, an inbound caller requested … [Read more...]
