SalesHQ

Despite your desperate hopes and prayers, business isn't just going to wander into your business. You need to get out there and hustle, and we've got the tips to help you do it. The Basics 1. Create quality marketing tools. This doesn't mean you need to allot 75 percent of your budget to printing costs, presentation slides and a Web site. ...

Have you ever gotten frustrated when you realize that your prospects keep stereotyping you as a "salesperson"? And because of that, they don't give you the trust and openness that you deserve, and that are essential if you're going to help them solve their problems? That's what's been happening to Michael, who calls companies to set appointments with decision makers. "I ...

Success in sales depends directly on your ability to make yourself likeable, and create a positive experience for your customers. The following 9 Tips are some of the best - and easiest - ways I know to help you create a more positive customer experience: 1. Love what you sell, the company you work for and the customers you serve. If ...

When it comes to our customers, we in sales are used to walking a fine line between right and wrong behaviors. The consequences of stepping over that line can range from a simple "blip" in an otherwise strong and steady relationship, to costing you the sale, or perhaps even losing a loyal customer for life. Now, I know that we spend ...

What's the difference between the rising star whose career is picking up speed and his counterpart who can't seem to get the engine to turn over? Often, the star has mastered the nuances of business etiquette - the subtle but critical behaviors that can make or break an important meeting, influence a first impression or impress a potential client. According to ...

Early in my sales training career, I used to do about an hour on how to work with gatekeepers. Today, you no longer talk to live gatekeepers. Instead, you go straight into the prospect's voicemail system. Polite, patient executives who would never think of hanging up on you feel nothing when they delete your voicemail after one sentence. The typical businessperson ...

You know that I am passionate about good customer relations, any of my clients will confirm that fact, and I fervently believe that the focus of all modern management thinking and strategic business practice has to be the customer. Common sense suggests that keep your customers happy and your sales will continue to soar - neglect them or take them for ...

   They speak with the eyes of truth believing what they see is the truth.     When adults want the brutal truth they should speak to a child. A small child is fascinating to listen to and to watch, they react with action. They do not take what is stated and dissect it trying to discover a motive. They react to ...

Customer service is built on the bedrock of a positive attitude. Without the positive attitude all of the attempts to "train" customer service will fail. Picture this; a man, Mr Jones, walks up to the front desk of an hotel at the beginning of a holiday. He has just completed a twelve hour flight in economy class overnight to reach his ...

Your business and your sales team can not be successful if you are not organized. Being organized does not mean having a spotless sanitized desk with a pen in every color to match your color coded file system. Nope. Being organized means having one place, one contact management system that you use everyday to manage all client files, your complete calendar, ...

A conference is a huge opportunity to build relationships with extraordinary people -- people who might have a significant impact on your professional or personal success. To make sure you maximize the return on your (or your organization's) investment of time and money to attend, you can't afford to be a conference commoner. You have to be a conference commando. Here ...

Nineteenth-century Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted gave the world a legacy of discoveries, including one that all of us in sales today can appreciate. Hear me out here, I promise this will be worth it! Oersted discovered electromagnetism, which we can all credit as the basis for many of the comforts of modern life. However, there’s another angle to Oersted’s story ...

    Richard A. Hilliard   A rose has never knocked a man off his horse   This is a line in a movie and I thought what a great concept when applied to sales. Each sales professional has a process that they follow. Depending on how engaging the sales person is determines how powerful it is with the client.  Is ...

  8.06.09    Teamwork     It is amazing how many similarities there are between sales and baseball.  The teams are competing against one another. The teams are trying to get to the top and win the prize. The ultimate goal is to be the only team left standing.  The team is required to win one game at a time. Each team has ...

Here’s a fantastic sales tool for you to use in first time meetings with executive-level decision-makers. A tool that’s so powerful it’ll literally leverage your problems into profits … and it’s a hoot! Included in Mike’s recent order for 200 copies of, “Outrageous Temp Stories” were the words, “To use in a yet-to-be-figured out approach with prospects.” I replied, “Great idea! ...

Yeah, yeah, smatterings of sales trainers see fit to advise audiences to incorporate one of these lame lies into their sales presentations. A very few high dollar sales professionals will tell one occasionally. Even you may be tempted to respond like this every once in a great while. What are the seemingly harmless white lies they tell? How about this one ...

To sell someone you have to know what prompts them to act, and how they think. Unless you shape your sales ability to meet the buyers viewpoint, you are not going to make the sale. You must sell the person on the benefits of listening to you. Convince the prospect that you are not there to only sell them but ...

Sales training is designed to impart specific knowledge, skills and attitudes and to increase a desired behavior in measurable ways. But too often the skills we teach salespeople are not the skills valued by customers. Sure, you've got to learn how to prospect and persist professionally. You need consultation and presentation skills. And though some sales trainers try to remove the ...

There's a difference between lost customers and dead customers. Most sales managers and salespeople don't make that distinction, but Jill Griffin does in her book Customer Winback: How to Recapture Lost Customers - and Keep Them Loyal. In the rush to get new business, we ignore lost business. Marketing Metrics, a Paramus, New Jersey-based consulting firm, estimates that the closing ratio ...

The business world is filled with myths, some of which have become guiding principles for many businesses. One of the most nefarious of these myths is currently all the rage: exceeding the customer’s expectations. Numerous books have been written explaining the glories of exceeding the customer’s expectations. These authors give shining examples of the concept in practice and then explain in ...