Selling on the phone can be drudgery, but this is how the money is made in sales. It all starts with a phone call. Whether you are a full-time telemarketer or CEO selling the company’s vision, the telephone is the most potent tool in the sales tool bag. Here are ten simple rules for selling…
“Different isn’t always better, but better is always different.” – Marshall Thurber, entrepreneur I like this quote because it sums up my thinking about how customers will buy an offering because of its differences and not because it is similar to another offering. This is true even if the offering is a commodity or is…
Would you buy something from someone whom you don’t trust? Most people won’t. Studies have shown that lack of trust may disable a sale more quickly than any other factor. So, what is trust? I define it as the feeling you get from someone that what they say equals what they do. Sometimes we trust…
The single greatest cause of sales “failure” is the fear of rejection— that creeping feeling that customers will tell you “no”. It can be so paralyzing that rookie and veteran sales people will go to great lengths to avoid that word. This fear disables you from cold calling, closing, and from getting up in the…
Western culture is overwhelmingly pessimistic. Just turn on CNN or the local news and you will be bombarded with bad news—home foreclosures, inflation fears, Iraq, crime, and much more. Most advertising is negative—have you seen the political campaign ads? Studies have shown that 7 out of 10 people are pessimistic in the United States. That…
People can “hear” you smile when you talk with them on the phone. A recent study confirmed that you sound different or better when you smile. Smiling affects how we speak. Listeners can actually detect your smile based on sound alone according to a new study by the University of Portsmouth. The study determined that…
Innovative products need to be marketed and sold differently than other offerings since they require a special customer who is receptive to innovation. Most customers are skeptical and will wait until innovative products are mass marketed. Here are a few suggestions on how to market innovative products: • Not everyone will understand the need for…
Study after study shows that people who set goals accomplish more, achieve greater success, and accumulate greater wealth than people who don’t. Read on if you agree. Setting your sales goals for 2008 should begin with a review of how you did in 2007. Did you achieve your 2007 sales goal? If so, what went…
It is legendary that referrals can be the best method for new business development. Simply put, there is no better sales person than a happy customer. Here is a simple suggestion. Effective immediately, make it part of every customer meeting agenda to discuss referrals. I am not kidding. Make it your practice to ask each…
Not long after my wife bought a Honda Fit she received an envelope with a handwritten address and a real stamp. Opening what looked to be greeting card from some friend was a card from her sales person at the Honda dealer. The card read: “Our path to success is built on referrals. If you…