Successful selling is far more than being a smooth talker. It requires the ability to listen attentively and move within the conversation. This principle is discussed in a ManageSmarter.com commentary titled Build Sales Relationships: Consultative Questioning. The opening recollection of the author’s first sales position is excellent: I marched into orientation, ready to close like a champion. That’s when my real learning began. My manager opened training with a startling insight: “Want to be successful in sales? Keep your mouth shut and your ears open.” His approach contradicted everything I read: He stressed dialogue instead of dominance and questioning in place of presenting. And he always customized his approach based… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Perfect Stall
Our local Pioneer Press offers an article about HD radio which intrigues me. There are some interesting developments in the technology. One of them is this: More important, the radios have an iTunes tagging feature, developed with Apple’s help and being tested in the San Francisco Bay area. This means users can press a button to tag songs they like, save that information to their docked iPods, and later transfer this info to their iTunes software on their computers. They then can buy the songs on Apple’s music store. That is a fantastic idea. However, I truly enjoyed this perfect stall that comes later in the article: “We’re definitely taking… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Toughest Topic To Qualify-Money
It’s not really when you know how to do it. Unfortunately, many salespeople have a distinct weakness when it comes to even broaching this topic with a prospect. This weakness leads to compounded expenses in that the salesperson will typically invest time and resources on a prospect who will disappear at the first discussion of price. Many salespeople are aware of this fact so they deem it best to avoid the money topic all together with the hope they can persuade the prospect with an extended dog-and-pony show. The entire sordid affair feeds upon itself. The costs here can be enormous. I’m of the belief that a salesperson’s greatest asset… Read More
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