I am tired of seeing salespeople flailing, failing and whining, quoting morons and false teachers, executing horrendous sales process, acting like amateurs, and shooting their own sales effort in the foot. The list below stemmed from a twitter rant several years ago where I reeled off consecutive tweets proclaiming what I wish salespeople would STOP doing …
I get it. The “system” seems to be set up to commoditize sellers. There are procurement people with letters after their names that specialize in a special form of torture. Dreaded RFPs. Invitations to come do your Dog and Pony Show or present a capabilities overview. Buyers who seem disinterested in why and how you, your company, and your …
Maybe It’s Your Sales Approach Getting You Treated Like Just a Vendor and Commoditized? Read More »
Readers, be warned. I am angry and frustrated from seeing way too many initial/discovery sales calls/meetings that are supposed to be dialogues turned into presentations. Point to all the insight selling data you want. Quote the (great book) The Challenger Sale all day long. Yes, we need to bring value to sales calls and be prepared …
Bad Things Happen When You Turn Discovery Sales Calls into Presentations Read More »
Professionals practice; amateurs wing it. When it comes to sales, which are you? Look at how many swings pro golfers make on the practice range compared to the number they take in a tournament. Or how about the number of swings or ground balls a major league ballplayer takes before every game? I have no clue …
What if You Prepared Better and Practiced More before Big Customer Meetings? Read More »
Here’s a second excerpt from the live web-video conversation some of my favorite sales gurus (Miles Austin, Mark Hunter, Andy Paul) and I conducted earlier this year. In this 47-second clip I challenge you to think about when you should be making sales presentations. Way too many salespeople deliver presentations way too early in the sales process. *A note to those …
Sales Tip Video: Are You Presenting Prematurely? Read More »
I’ve never held back making my feelings known about the word “presentation” – particularly when pronounced by excited salespeople with the long e – preezentation. Last week I shared about the boardroom disaster that was the most painful (and formative) lesson in my sales career. If you haven’t had a chance to hear me telling the story …
6 Tips to Turn Your Sales Presentations from Pathetic to Powerful Read More »
Pain is a good teacher. Fourteen years ago I suffered the most painful experience in my sales career – so painful, that it’s burned in my memory as vividly as the birth of my children. And so powerful and formative were the lessons from that experience that it’s not an exaggeration to say it changed …
This Boardroom Disaster Was the Most Painful but Formative Lesson in My Sales Career Read More »
Hate is a strong word, so strong that many of us won’t let our young children use it. But it has its appropriate place in our lexicon. There are things I hate and I’m sure you have your own list, too. I hate cancer. I hate the herb rosemary. And I hate the word “presentation” …
We just returned from our family vacation. It was a great time at an all-inclusive resort just south of Playa del Carmen. As my son and I were reading in the setting pictured above, he smiled and said it looked like we had found our Corona TV commercial spot. All-inclusive resorts seem to have a …
What We Can Learn about Sales from the Rookie Mexican Teppanyaki Chef Read More »
My clients’ businesses run the gamut from from leading edge technology consulting all the way to simple old-school product distribution. I love helping to drive new sales across this wide spectrum of business types, and more often than you’d think, I end up tackling the very same issues in very different businesses. Earlier this year …
Driving Business with a Customer-Focused Sales Story and Fresh Techniques Read More »
