SalesHQ

The realization of your goals depends on your ability to visualize these objectives in concrete terms and commit to these terms with full purpose. Use the following tips to help you set and achieve your goals. h4. Discover Your Target Define Your Values: Make a list of the things you want. Most people are unclear about their desires. Sure, you want ...

You're taught to plan for success, but how well do you plan for failure? Bill is now a highly successful sales trainer whose clients fly him around the US to coach their reps. But he wasn't always so competent. Here's his story about dressing for an interview: As a rookie rep, I was extremely proud to land an appointment with an ...

Why is moving from a job in sales to sales management so difficult? Why do some salespeople excel at selling but fail at managing sales staff? While the principles within the field are the same, the overall skills you need to succeed are very different, says Tony Alessandra, a professional speaker who wrote several books on sales management. Alessandra explains that ...

How savvy are you as a salesperson? Do you act and talk like every other rep out there, or have you found ways to distinguish yourself? Insurance salesperson Carol recalls blindly using an old technique that resulted in her failure. Here's her story: The sales call started out smoothly. I had generated a good lead and called on the company to ...

Jack was a true sales pro, pushing software worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But his lack of attention to a seemingly minor detail ruined his shot at a big sale with a big company. Here's Jack's story: While selling specialty software, I had arranged a presentation in front of a group of facilities managers for a former computer giant. The ...

Buyers try to make everything we sell into a commodity. "You're no different than your competitors," is their mantra. As salespeople, we have to engineer solutions to our clients' problems instead. h4. Unique Product vs. Commodity One of my clients is a Wisconsin-based equipment manufacturer for the food, dairy, chemical, pharmaceutical, biotech and beverage industries. They sell their products to ConAgra, ...

When Tom got a call from a woman working at the one of the largest advertisement agencies in the world, he thought his low-income days of selling party-planning services were over. A big client like that could keep him fed for years. Here's Tom's story: The woman calling wanted to hear about our offerings on the phone, but I insisted that ...

Practicing what you preach is not merely a mark of good morals, but a mark of good salesmanship, too. One salesman ignored this principle when he tried to impress Kelly, a training manager. The salesman failed miserably. Here's Kelly's story: I'm the manager of training for a Canadian retailer and am often contacted to see if I would like to purchase ...

I'm walking through Terminal 2 at O'Hare Airport lugging two heavy bags. I see the shoeshine stand directly ahead. The shoeshine man is looking for his next sale. I'm walking and thinking about getting to my connecting gate. Somehow, he catches my eye. When he has it, he looks down at my shoes. My eyes follow his. As I pass, trying ...

There is a scene in Ron Howard's film Backdraft that still inspires me. Kurt Russell (Bull) and William Baldwin (Brian) are talking. Bull lays out the facts about fire fighting with these words: "This isn't like selling log cabins in Aspen, Brian. If you have a bad day on this job, somebody dies." Firefighting was a profession to Bull. Selling isn't. ...

How sophisticated are your sales-call presentation skills and etiquette? Sales rep Tim was selling a software package when he couldn't help his buyer make a decision. Here's Tim's story: While on a sales call at a large New York-based insurance company, my prospect became very defensive. We were pitching a $12 million outsourcing program, and Tony, the buyer, couldn't seem to ...

If you cannot benefit from repeat business, you can stop reading right now. If, however, your business relies on selling more to the same clients or forging strong relationships throughout their companies, the Platinum Service Calendar is going to change your life for the better. Not every customer is going to get the same level of service. Do you have platinum ...

Have you ever head of the “puppy dog close”? This phrase is from the old pet-store strategy of sending a dog home with prospective buyers to help them decide whether or not to keep it. In this tale, tools salesman Barry uses this technique to sell his product to an ideal buyer: A big-company decision maker who would also be a ...

Successful salespeople are involved with their products - and they show it. When I was in the radio business, my wife and I had an ongoing argument about commercials. We would be driving along in the car, listening to the radio like a normal couple. When the song ended and the commercial came on, I'd turn up the radio. "I was ...

Negotiating effectively with a prospective employer is a little like winning at poker. Both necessitate that you play your cards close to the vest, maintain a poker face, know when to hold and know when to fold. Just don't take the poker/negotiating comparison too far when you enter the career casino. Unfortunately, many job seekers do just that. Questions asked on ...

1. Identify Sales Prospects The cycle begins with identifying target prospects, says Alan Rigg, president of consulting firm 80/20 Sales Performance. You have about 30 seconds to grab the prospect’s attention so they’ll give you two or three minutes of their time. “Prospects don’t sit by the phone hoping salespeople will call,” Rigg says. “You have to be compelling enough to ...

"No" is unpleasant. It's frustrating, it's demoralizing, it's downright annoying. It's also inevitable if you have a career in sales. You're going to hear it at some time or another, and though that initial sting might get you every time, there are ways to make "no" work in your favor. It doesn't have to resound endlessly in your mind and undercut ...

In this horror story, rookie telecom rep Joe learns the hard way that it takes more than encyclopedic product knowledge to land the sale. Here's Joe's story: I was about to go on the first sales call of my life, and I was terrified! As a customer service rep for a company that sold telephone systems, I'd taken a call from ...

A great sales truism is that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Fortunately, as these Monster members learned, it is possible to make a sale despite a lousy first impression. h4. Facing Disaster Could you meet your clients the way Monster member tim_lex had to? My new company stressed professional appearance. After three weeks on ...

Are you a member of a sales department or a sales force? There's a big difference. Members of a sales department don't make much of an impression on the prospect and, as a result, make the next person look better. Members of a sales force are tough acts to follow. Consider figure skating. There are certain figure skaters - Peggy Fleming, ...