We€™re looking at a €œbolt-on€ aptitude that is quite complementary to last week€™s trait – Practical Thinking. Problem Solving has become a much needed sales trait in that salespeople today need to be subject matter experts. Prospects expect salespeople to be able to diagnose the prospect€™s pain points. This trait also assists a salesperson in bringing back the needed information to formulate the best solution for his or her presentation. Problem Solving This is a salesperson€™s ability to identify alternative solutions to a problem and to select the best option. This basically means to be able to identify the system component that is causing the error as well as the… Read More
Continue Reading6 Sales Hiring Mistakes
Salesopedia has this article on their home page this week – Six Common Mistakes in the Sales Hiring Process. Obviously we are going to read that one. First off, great quote from Zig Ziglar in the article: “Sales people are really the only people in business who pay the bills!” That provides some perspective on the importance of strong sales hiring. Here are the 6 mistakes as outlined by the author: 1) Assuming the hiring manager knows how to qualify people 2) Not defining EXACTLY what you are looking for in a new hire 3) Assuming specific business functions know how to hire like talent 4) Over emphasizing a hire… Read More
Continue ReadingTop 10 Selling Mistakes
“Don’t Make These Top 10 Selling Mistakes!” Bet that got your attention. I found it on the Business Buyer Directory which provides a non-traditional means for business buyers to locate businesses for sale worldwide. The article is a couple of years old, but makes some excellent points, in fact ones that applicable to a hiring process. 4. NOT Looking the Part – Selling involves approaching strangers, people who have never met you before. People naturally base purchase decisions on first impressions. Look the part you are playing, or better yet, exceed the common image expectation in your industry. Always dress and groom one level above your targeted audience. It portrays… Read More
Continue ReadingDealing With Competition
Selling Power’s The Challenge of Your Competition provides an interesting back story to a large electronics company and how it was started. I won’t spill the candy on the article, but I thought the closing graphs were insightful (my emphasis): Everyone learns from the competition. Some people learn how to improve; others learn how to lose gracefully. Some want to be the only kid on the block; others want to be the best kid on the block. If nothing else, your competition will reveal what kind of person you are. Remember, you cannot hold a person down unless you’re willing to stay down with him. Grow with your competition; allow… Read More
Continue ReadingMastering The Complex Sale
If you haven’t bookmarked Salesopedia.com, I suggest you do so now. It is a relatively new site but is full of excellent sales advice. Clayton authors a great sales blog over there that I highly recommend reading. His latest entry discusses an article by one of our favorite sales authors – Jeff Thull – titled Ten Timely Tips For Mastering The Complex Sale. Point number 1 is one we preach: 1. Every sale is not as good sale. About 35% of all sales are bad sales. In one way or another, they leave the customer disappointed or the seller with excess costs and diminished returns. Often salespeople are so concerned… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Cost Of Discounts
This topic – discounts – is one that was beaten into my head as a young sales rep. Selling Power offers the article How Much Is that Discount Really Costing You? that cuts straight to the core of discounting. Discounting is a real problem among salespeople and especially one type of salesperson – the type that is commmissioned on revenue and not profit margin. A straight percentage of the sales revenue is an invitation to discount. The author of the article goes right after this problem: 2. Update the compensation plan to maximize profits instead of volume. Switch the plan to a margin basis, or at least a blend of… Read More
Continue Reading8 Forms Of NonVerbal Communication
One of our readers sent an email this past week questioning the “experts” that claim the vast majority of communication is nonverbal. I searched around for more information on this topic and found this about.com page – Types of Nonverbal Communication. This page breaks down 8 different forms of communication: 1. Facial Expression 2. Gestures 3. Paralinguistics 4. Body Language and Posture 5. Proxemics (personal space) 6. Eye Gaze 7. Haptics (touch) 8. Appearance Quite a list with communication channels I did not consider. Appearance is an excellent point – think of a candidate who appeared for an interview and looked like an unmade bed. That appearance communicated something beyond… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Contradicting Ad
I read a short sales ad for a Sales Rep that was only 7 sentences long. But the brevity of the ad did not stop the author from being unconsciously contradicting. The open: Person must be an achiever, with excellent communication skills. Previous Marketing and Sales experience is a must with a proven track record and cold calling experience. Later is states a Bachelor’s degree is required. Why? If there was a Bachelor’s degree for selling, I would deem this requirement important. The contradiction comes in the last sentence: No phone calls please. I know I have mentioned this before but please don’t do this. The beginning of the ad… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Not To Impress A Client
I never know if these stories are believable or not, but this one from monster.com struck me as something I would do: Then, the client offers a cup of hot chocolate. As we get to the details of price, I take a gulp of my chocolate and it goes down the wrong way. I choke and spray it all over the client’s face, shirt and white trousers. I was numb. While I sat there, my bosses were running about trying to find napkins. I apologized profusely and wanted to cry. It was just one of those days. I laughed at the story because I have experienced that immediate choke response… Read More
Continue ReadingSales OR Customer Service
An ad continues to run for a specific sales position in our backyard that defines the job as an outside sales person, Account Executive and requires 25% travel. Yet the title of the ad is Sales/Customer Service. These two positions are almost mutually exclusive of each other. There are few customer service people who develop into strong outside business development salespeople. The opposite is true too, most strong outside salespeople do not make effective customer service reps. The point here is that ad titles are incredibly important in today’s online world. The title is the gateway to garnering the click. Without the click, the ad does not get seen. I… Read More
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