The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

. . . you just help enough people get what THEY want. I heard this truth many years ago from the legendary Zig Ziglar. It’s so simple and so powerful, it should be the basis for everything a sales professional does. But, simple and easy are two different things. Most sales professionals are so wrapped up in their products and services that nearly everything that comes out of their mouths sounds either like a monologue about features and benefits or a manipulative question designed to get the prospect to say they have a need which the salesperson’s product magically fills. 

But, what if you made this statement the basis for every move you made? If you really believe you can get anything you want in life if you just help enough people get what they want, how would that change… 

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. Google Is Leaving You Clues to Help You Rank Higher: Know Where to Look — Unbounce

With the help of AI, machine learning and years of data, search engines are getting better at predicting what people want. As search engines become more concerned with solving people’s problems, the old SEO toolset is going to be thrown for a curve. The search race is no longer simply about keywords — it’s about being a trusted brand committed to solving people’s problems. The good news is there are a few places you can start looking to see what your customers want, so you can then deliver.

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. 18 Empathy Statements That Put Your Prospect at Ease — HubSpot

Sales is evolving. Today’s buyers won’t stand for being bullied into a deal. That’s where the empathy statement comes in. If your idea of empathy is throwing an “uh-huh” or “I see” into your conversations every few minutes, think again. This article highlights several empathetic statements that will show your prospects you’re more invested in their interests than closing a deal.

The words "Role Play" immediately bring feelings of fear, dread, and anxiety for most salespeople. 

But why? 

That's easy. Most sales managers use role-playing as a form of punishment. We've all either done it or had it done to us.  

As a manager, we are often frustrated by a salesperson, team, or project when they fail to make the progress that we expect. We try all kinds of solutions: motivation, incentives and sometimes "threats," but when those don't work, what do we do? We summon the team for a meeting. A meeting where we ROLE-PLAY! That'll work! Right?

Well, it can, but only if we do it right! 

I have been doing sales training and consulting for nearly 20 years and I always get a chuckle when salespeople tell me they need to find ways to close business in two calls. When I hear this today, I wonder where these people are living. Do they live on the same planet as I do? It’s not about the number of calls—it’s about the length of the sales cycle. And the sales cycle doesn’t start until the buyer is ready for it to start.

As we dive into fourth quarter, life starts to pick up the pace from lazy summer days to hectic school and work days. Traffic is heavier, vacations are over and the hustle and bustle of the holidays starts to take shape. Before you realize, it’s a new year (with new budgets!). Avoid being caught come January 2^nd and make a plan now to set yourself up for success in the coming year. As Benjamin Franklin so famously stated, “If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail.”  There is so much truth to this statement. 

I recently had a coaching assignment with a highly ambitious salesperson. This person wasn’t prospecting for new business as often or as much as her manager would like. I’d had a few calls with her and given her a few assignments to complete between our calls in the prospecting part of the sales process. Her performance for me (and for her manager) continued to be lackluster. I've done a lot of individualized coaching over the years. Because of the talent interviews my company does, I am privy to the innate talents of everyone I coach. Often times my coaching assignments are to get people to do something they are not currently doing. Prospecting is often at the top of the list. 

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. How to Succeed in Sales as an Introvert — Salesforce

The stereotype of a sales rep is an effervescent extrovert who charms people into buying anything at any price. But if you are an introvert, take heart. You can do it, and do it just as well as your extroverted competitors. This article, written by a successful introverted salesperson, shares a few strategies and techniques to help.

Turnover is a costly problem for sales organizations. On average, companies experience a 17.8% turnover each year, and the average cost to replace an employee is 1.5 - double the employee's annual salary. (And it's even higher for high-level employees like managers and those with specialized skills.)

Take a look at the high cost of turnover in the infographic below. What you find may surprise you!

There are so many areas in life where balance is important. I believe a political view too far to the right or too far to the left is not healthy, and a workout routine that is exclusively power lifting will not make you as healthy as a more diverse exercise routine.  

This is true in the sales profession as well. Great salespeople are generally hard workers and focused on the job at hand. But if you spend all your time focused on selling and not on understanding the greater business climate, you will not be as effective in your selling or as helpful to your clients.

We hope you've had a great week! It's Friday, and today we're sharing what we've been reading online this week! Here are our "best" from around the web.

1. 5 Effective Ways to Stop Interrupting — HubSpot

Interrupting will hurt you no matter what you do, but it’s especially detrimental in sales. Your success depends on positive interactions with prospects. You need to earn their trust and respect, as well as elicit key information from them. Here are five tips to help you.

Do you love baseball? I do. As this season winds down and teams head to the playoffs, I am already thinking of next spring and the first pitch. I always wait with anticipation to see how the team will perform every year. Will we have a winning season and make the playoffs in the fall? Do we have the right players to be a winning team?

As a sales manager and a sales consultant, I have witnessed literally thousands of sales calls with competent and hard-working salespeople—professionals who have done their homework on the prospect, prepared thought-provoking questions that make it obvious they know something about the prospect’s business, and who pose questions with a genuine interest in hearing the answers. Sometimes it is magical and they help the prospect clarify a specific problem that needs to be addressed or an opportunity on which they would really like to capitalize. And, sometimes, all they do is get their questions answered and move on. Too bad. 

What makes the difference between an interactive conversation that engages the prospect and one that is rote and turns into simply an information-gathering exercise? Follow up questions. Good follow up questions are never scripted. Good follow up questions show you were listening, that you are interested, and that you really need to learn more about the headline the prospect has just shared. Some simple open probes can reveal a lot of context and detail you need to know about a problem or opportunity—information you will probably never get if you simply move on to your next beautifully-crafted question. For example:

•  That’s interesting. Tell me why you say that.
• What do you mean by that? 
• Really? Tell me more about that.