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I've been asked by Charles H. Green of Trust Matters to host the April 2010 edition of The Carnival of Trust. As a sales trainer and management consultant, I believe trust is at the very core of productive sales relationships, whether those relationships are ongoing, long-term relationships (as in the relationship between an insurance agents and her accounts), or very short-term (as in the relati Read More

The primary reason that salespeople fail is that they are salespeople in name only. They fail because they never truly embrace sales. It is this failure to completely embrace sales that prevents them from taking the actions necessary to succeed in sales. Read More

I recently landed on a blog post titled, “You Become Like the People You Hang Around.” At first glance your mind thinks, “Yeah, Yeah, I’ve heard it all before,” and that’s where the problem begins.

We have developed a mindset of, “That’s nothing new.” We turn away and act as if we’ve already got it all figured out, as though it doesn’t apply to us, as though we are immune to the laws of succ Read More

The pursuit of your biggest and best dream client can dominate your time and your focus. But don’t let the work you do to win the dream client destroy your future sales by eliminating your prospecting activity. No excuses. Each hour on the dream client needs to be matched an hour building your future dream client. Read More

Every salesperson needs a good Elevator Speech. But it is more important to have an Elevator question that generates interest and generates opportunities. Excellent questions help define your brand and demonstrate you can create results. Read More

Options are great in buying a car or playing the upside on a stock, but they don't belong in selling. As an expert you should work to understand the buyers specific objectives, and present the best solution based on that. If you need to make adjustments make them based on further input from the buyer. Read More

Here's an email I received the other day. It illustrates how not to sell via email (and is included here exactly as I received it):

MY NAME IS MARC BATKE I LIVE IN CALGARY ALBERTS CANADA.I WORK WITH ONE OF THE TOP INVESTMENT BANKERS IN THE COUNTRY HIS NAME IS KURT SOOST. WE ARE CREATING A #1 SALES PERSON NETWORK IN DIFFERENT Read More

Salespeople use scripts. Even those who believe they don’t use scripts are really relying on scripts, albeit ones that haven’t been refined as well as they might be. By writing and rehearsing your scripts, you will be smoother, you will be more consistent, you will be more persuasive, and you will be more effective. Read More

There is a difference between coaching and managing. Coaching provides the opportunity to build the salesperson’s competence and their situational knowledge. Coaching the salesperson’s opportunities is an effective way to close the sales performance gaps. Read More

Like it or not, all sales organizations are participants in the race to sales competence. How many sales leads will your organization, whether a sole-proprietorship or large sales department, burn through because your sales people are incompetent (or, at least, less competent than they should be) at selling? How many marketing dollars will you invest in various Read More