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In June 2014 I had the opportunity to provide some concluding remarks and summarize my year as president of the National Speakers Association at their annual convention. The year had been the journey of a lifetime, and it was also my best year in business. I felt like I was on the top of the world…
What happens when a customer says no to you? What do you do? Ninety percent of salespeople accept no as an outright rejection and just move on. But that is the worst thing you can do! In doing so, you disqualify yourself from numerous sales. Why? Because a good sales executive will encounter between three…
As our society has become more polarized politically, many people have started talking about the term confirmation bias to explain what is going on. The term basically means the tendency to look for information that confirms our existing beliefs and to ignore the information that challenges our beliefs. Our confirmation bias leaves us stuck in…
Michael Lewis’s 2003 bestselling book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, which inspired the 2011 film Moneyball, examined the Oakland A’s baseball team and their general manager’s approach to assembling a team that could compete, despite its comparatively low payroll. A’s manager Billy Beane introduced baseball to sabermetrics—“the application of statistical analysis to…
None of us in sales escapes the occasional “no.” The power lies in understanding what each customer or prospect means when they say it. Once you know that, you’ll know what to do about it. Here are five typical reasons a customer/prospect says no and the appropriate solution for each: Reason 1—Bad Timing No matter…
Do you get frustrated when your prospects or customers do not return your calls? I know I do. I may be a Sales and Leadership expert, but when I don’t get a return call, I still review what I said to figure out what I need to change in order to get better results. Remember: Your customers and prospects are…
Does your organization know how to support a sales hunter? As a Sales and Leadership expert, I have noticed that this relationship can be a complicated one—on both sides. Below is a letter written by a hunter to management that addresses typical issues hunters face. The letter is meant to raise issues hunters should address to gain the support they…
When is change the ingredient necessary to success? Do you have the guts to call for a change the way Nick Saban did in Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship? His quarterback, Jalen Hurts, who has been working for him for two years and amassed a record of 25 and 2 wasn’t producing in…
When my 23-year-old daughter Amanda started her job in New York City on October 1, she decided to join the company gym and be there at 6:45 every morning. That means leaving for work every morning before 5:45 a.m. to drive the 30 minutes to catch the 6:15 ferry to the city. I figured this wouldn’t last long. Boy did she prove…
For the past thirty-five years I have used option selling to help close business. and neuroscience reveals why this works so well. It boils down to choices, engagement, stress, and risk aversion. Traditionally, sales people go for the trial close and just offer one solution. If the prospect does not feel the risk is low enough…
Jack Welch, Chairman of the General Electric Company recently received a book advance of $7.1 Million Dollars, the largest in history. Set to retire next year at age 65, Jack Welch is finishing a 20-year career of leading General Electric. During his tenure, he increased G.E.’s market value from $12 Billion to more than $500…
“Some people make mistakes and wait until the next game. Our guys wait only until the next inning.” Bobby Valentine Manager NY Mets Translation– Stop waiting for tomorrow and just go at it again as soon as possible.
One of the negotiating points in the recent Verizon (formerly Bell Atlantic) phone strike revolved around the stress endured by customer service representatives (CSR) in following their scripts to the letter. According to a NY Times article, if there is any deviation from the script, the CSR could have points deducted from her performance score.…
Did you ever hear of Stinking Thinking? I’m talking about all of the thoughts we are prone to have that pollute our minds and prevent us from achieving our goals. Here is an example: If I said to you don’t think about Pink Elephants, what are you now thinking about? That’s right! You are now…
As a sales executive, are you more concerned with the number of calls your sales people are making or the quality of their calls? If you are more concerned with the number of calls, then you are a task-oriented leader. If you are more concerned with making quality calls, you are a purpose-oriented leader. If…
John Chambers-CEO of Cisco Systems Who leads the fastest growing company in the history of the computer industry? Answer: John Chambers. For the past 21 consecutive quarters, Cisco Systems reached it’s profit expectations and has grown from annual revenues of $1.2 billion to $14 billion. According to Selling Power Magazine, Cisco enjoys the Titan position…
Last night, my wife hosted a Pampered Chef party. Basically this is an excuse to get your friends together under the guise of learning new recipes and discovering new gadgets to assist your culinary efforts. The party is actually run by an individual whose job is to present a cooking program and sell the culinary…
When a problem comes your way, what’s your response? Many of us see problems as threats to our success and existence. We tend to spend a lot of time and energy worrying about them and the impacts they have on our business. When we look at problems in this light, we are not performing at…
There are quite a few people who profess they don’t speak foreign languages. Yet all of us have been in a situation where we felt we have clearly communicated our thoughts but might has well have communicated them in another language because the recipient was oblivious to what we said. You understand? The truth is…
In the late 70’s I remember making a sales call on Wall Street and taking a break for lunch on the steps of Federal Hall (Intersection Broad and Wall Street, site where George Washington was inaugurated as our first President). Around the corner from Wall Street comes a man who introduces himself as Congressman Ed…