It is a unique day, of course, so it seems like it deserves some recognition. My friend Clayton Shold over at Salesopedia has posted some interesting, trivial facts regarding this day. To pique your interest: The last time February had five Fridays was 1980. The chances of being born on February 29th are 1 in 1461.
Continue ReadingRainmaker Traits
Here’s a good post on sales “rainmakers” from my friend Bob Rosner. I suspect that most of you are aware of our emphasis on salespeople with strong listening abilities. Part of a rainmaker’s skill set? Absolutely: DO Listen and synthesize. The biggest difference between an average salesperson and a rainmaker? Mr. Average assumes his most important tool to making a sale is his golden tongue. While Ms. Rainmaker knows that it’s her ears. That may be the most important aspect of their abilities. Unfortunately, we have seen this work against them in an interview. Some hiring managers want to be wowed in the interview by some form of verbal gymnastics. … Read More
Continue ReadingWhat Color Is Your Power Suit?
Navy blue hopefully. I say that with confidence based on this article from Selling Power – Design Your Image of Success. From the article (my editing): While good posture, eye contact, and direct, well-modulated speaking voice have long been deemed important in sales, only in recent years has dress come into its own as an influential factor. And even more recent, says Ms. York, is the realization that colors can also play a basic role in the business of motivating people to buy. “Colors have a lot to say, and just as sales people should pay attention to the types of clothes they wear, they should also know what colors… Read More
Continue ReadingThe 7:1 Rule
An interesting article here from CNNMoney.com titled 8 ways to be a better boss. The article focuses on coaching which is a task that many sales managers avoid to their own detriment. There are some excellent points in the article and this tidbit of which I was not familiar: 2. Always follow the 7:1 rule. “You must give seven pieces of positive feedback for every one piece of developmental feedback if you don’t want to be perceived as overly critical,” Frankel says. “Catch people in the act of doing things right and reinforce it with praise” – even if they’re just doing the job they get paid for. Seems like… Read More
Continue ReadingAmerica’s Smartest Cities
Seriously, Forbes ranked the top 25…is there anything Forbes won’t rank? Yet, I am a sucker and watched the slide show. I’ll speed it up for you a bit and provide the top 5: Boulder, CO Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD Ithaca, NY ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN Corvallis, OR I won’t mention which one of those towns is my hometown…well, I spent the first 5 years of my life there. Lee says that doesn’t count. Unfortunately for him, the Twin Cities did not make the list. In all seriousness, I’m not sure if there is much value to this type of list. Clearly the top towns are host to a major university which stands… Read More
Continue ReadingLinkedIn to Gates
Bill Gates is on LinkedIn…are you? I’m behind the curve on the social networking side, but I do find LinkedIn to be a fascinating tool. We are just starting to expand our sourcing activities into the LinkedIn space and it is already paying dividends. We are starting to receive 2nd and 3rd degree of separation contacts from job seekers, business owners and old classmates. It it almost like drawing a “Chance” card in monopoly – you’re not quite sure who is contacting you, but it always draws your attention.
Continue ReadingWhy Communication Matters
I’m presently working on some leadership projects with our customers so these topics are probably on my mind more than usual. ManageSmarter.com presents an article Communication for Managers 101 that provides 5 steps for better communication between managers and employees. Some of the suggestions are rudimentary, but we encounter many managers who simply do not follow these basic tenets. The reason why good communication is important, in case you had to ask (emphasis mine): Harvard Business Publications recently confirmed what many have always known: effective communication is the number one skill for executives to develop. … A Gallup poll of more than 1 million U.S. workers concluded that the No.… Read More
Continue Reading10 Management Lessons
There might be nothing more important to a business’ success than strong management. When management struggles, the entire company pays a price no matter how large. ManageSmarter.com offers an article with 10 excellent tips for leadership. Here’s a taste: • Have a vision and communicate it. Make sure you clearly communicate your vision for the company. No one follows a leader who cannot communicate the way in which the company will succeed. The future of all your employees is tied closely to the success of your company. Make sure they believe in your company, what it stands for, and its products and services, and make sure they know that the… Read More
Continue Reading100 Job Boards
I received an email from Amy Quinn pointing me to this article – Where the Talent Is: 100 Sites to Find the Elite in Any-Given-Field. This is a comprehensive list of job boards and sites for employers looking to hire in specific fields (sales included). Here are the sales boards listed in the article: Sales Jobs: Sign up with this site and get access to hundreds of thousands of resumes from qualified and experienced sales professionals to help you find a match for your company. Sales Trax: This professional sales community is a great place to meet and talk with potential sales employees. Find salespeople interested in everything from pharmaceuticals… Read More
Continue ReadingOpen-Ended Questions
Asking the right questions is the backbone of successful selling. The reason they are so important is that the right questions qualify the right information. This information allows the salesperson to determine how good of a fit exists between the prospect’s needs and the salesperson’s solution. Simple, right? But what questions should the salesperson ask? JustSell.com has an excellent starting point where they list 30 open-ended questions. An example: qualifying What do you see as the next action steps? What is your timeline for implementing/ purchasing this type of service/ product? What other data points should we know before moving forward? What budget has been established for this? What are… Read More
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