I’m traveling to Palm Springs, CA today for a trade show. Let me just say that a California trade show is a blessed thing to a Minnesotan in February. Anyway, I didn’t put an email message saying I will be out of the office. Why even use that feature in Outlook? Here’s my rationale, I receive all of my emails on my cell phone. They are pushed to me so I actually get notified the moment they arrive. I have my laptop with me and the hotel has wireless internet which is to be expected these days. I may be physically out of the office, but I am still connected.… Read More
Continue ReadingHiring Without Knowledge
Selling Power’s Hiring One of the Team focuses on finding superstar salespeople that will fit into your existing team. Clearly that is the goal for all sales hiring and this article supplies some sound advice. Other parts of it I will leave to your judgment. Here is a quote I enjoyed (emphasis mine): “Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind. Experience is easy to provide and quickly put to good… Read More
Continue ReadingSurviving An Email Storm
Ok, the title is overly dramatic, but I did see a company encounter an email storm this week which was…well, laughable. This is a large company with thousands of employees. One gentleman sent out an email about a specific account with a Word attachment. What he didn’t know was that one of his distribution lists was wrong – it included everyone in the company. One person on his list replied to all about printing the document. That email started the storm. Person after person started replying to all to remove them from the email list. It gets better, the original author then sent out another email that simply stated “please… Read More
Continue ReadingFriday Humor
A bumper sticker I saw coming back from lunch today: My dog is smarter than your honor student.
Continue ReadingDefeatist Thoughts
Isn’t there an old sports axiom that states games are won or lost before you ever take the field? Well, at least some form of that saying. JustSell.com lists a handful of self-defeating thoughts from the sales world (email newsletter – sorry, no link). Here they are: Defeatist (accepting, expecting, or being resigned to defeat) Cynical (contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives) Vindictive (seeking revenge) Blame/ Fault (who cares? what are we going to do now?) Wishful (do what you can to influence the deal and keep moving) Self-pity (get over yourself… complain less… especially to yourself) Worrisome (it won’t help, costs time, and can drag you down) Jealous… Read More
Continue ReadingWhat To Do In 2009
Selling Power provides another good article – Expert Advice for 2009 – that makes 4 relevant suggestions for this year. Clearly the economy is foremost on everyone’s mind and is affecting sales in a negative way. As they say, the show must go on. You can read the article for the 4 suggestions from 4 different sales trainers, but I especially noted these two: Shift to opportunity mode. Are you in survival mode or opportunity mode? A survival response to the economy is rooted in the “we just need to stay afloat” mentality. Leaders in this mode react by reducing head count, decreasing employee development, and controlling expenses, resulting in… Read More
Continue ReadingSmall Time
Interesting article from Selling Power’s sales management newsletter – Think Small. Here is the opening set-up for the article: Yet in times like these, the Big Deal is more difficult than ever, if not impossible, to come by. That’s why Small is the new Big. Find ways to close smaller deals and take on smaller projects than you might have considered in the past. By doing so, you’re not settling for less; rather, you’re taking a more achievable step toward a potentially lucrative, long-term relationship with a customer. I agree. Downturns are an opportunistic time to establish a relationship with a large company. I take the same approach – any… Read More
Continue ReadingLevers
A lever is “an inducing or compelling force.” Selling in a down economy is best handled through the use of levers. I recently discovered a lever with a material that has certain properties and uses that are not offered by the market leader in this space. The market leader has such a dominant position that most prospects are unaware of the alternate option. In talking to customers and prospects, the lever became quite obvious. Of course, discovering a lever is one thing, defining it within the marketplace is another. The work that now must occur is to translate the lever into the prospect’s world. Brevity is key. Real-world application is… Read More
Continue ReadingProfitable Pockets
I’m wrapping up my trip this week in Philadelphia and I am finding a consistent theme – company revenues are down but there are specific niches, or pockets that each company has maintained. Some have even grown in these areas. Businesses will survive this economy by leveraging their strong markets (maybe not their core markets). I have consistently heard that medical, aerospace and some consumer electronics markets are still relatively strong. Salespeople should be in close contact with their customers right now to identify these pockets and leverage them in their sales activities. Failure to take this initiative could be a truly career-limiting move. Another consistent theme I have encountered… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Value Of The Visit
One thing I enjoy about meeting with customers in person is that you get a better sense of who they are, what their office environment is like, how they interact with coworkers, etc. As a salesperson, this information is invaluable and can only be gathered through a meeting. For instance, I met with one customer yesterday who I thought was somewhat dry from email and phone call interactions. I was completely wrong – he is quite the comedian and prankster. He also knows all of the people who work on the floor. Observing his interactions with them and seeing where his office is (cube right on the floor) told me… Read More
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