Kurt Sima, on June 20, 2018
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It is not an easy task to set a needs analysis meeting with a new business prospect. Think about all the things you must do to earn the meeting...
Here’s a typical scenario:
Some prospects take even more time and energy than the scenario listed above. The last thing you want to do is show up to the meeting unprepared!
Kurt Sima, on April 25, 2018
The 2018 NFL Draft will take place this week. I root for the Cleveland Browns. The team with the 1-31 record over the past two seasons. The team with one of the worst track records when it comes to evaluating and selecting talent. That’s my team!
Kurt Sima, on April 23, 2018
Have you ever tried to fill a leaky bucket? Pouring water into the bucket while water leaks out from the bottom is a fruitless process and a waste of time. The net result is a partially-filled bucket!
Kurt Sima, on March 7, 2018
I work with a lot of B2B sales organizations.
Some perform well. Some perform not-so-well.
Kurt Sima, on March 5, 2018
Symptoms and Suggestions to move beyond the stall!Too often sellers fail to convert new business target accounts because they stall at various points of the sales process. Here are some symptoms and suggestions designed to help sellers move beyond the stall to convert a new business target to a new business customer.
Kurt Sima, on February 26, 2018
Sales managers in the media space are faced with the challenge of hiring sellers who sell integrated solutions. No longer is hiring a one trick pony—a master negotiator who secures large shares of available opportunities—the recruitment and selection gold standard. Hiring great negotiators who can also develop business by selling integrated solutions is now standard operating procedure.
Kurt Sima, on February 15, 2018
A client of mine recently told me about the departure of seven salespeople from his organization. All seven of the sellers had been hired in the last year — all seven departed before their one-year anniversary. One other thing related to the departed seven; they were all millennials!
My client immediately came to the conclusion that there is something different about millennials that caused them to leave his organization. My client was partially correct and partially incorrect.
Below are five reasons millennials quit sales jobs:
Kurt Sima, on September 28, 2017
It is the time of the year for sales managers to finalize their business plans for the upcoming year. Plans will soon be approved by the cheese (boss) upstairs or the cheese (VP of Sales) in the tower miles away. Most agree that it’s smart to develop a business plan with details on how to exceed goals—some call them a roadmap to success.
By now, most business plans (encased in a binder) have made their way to a shelf, tucked away for safe keeping like a roadmap in a glove box. Roadmaps are pretty worthless these days, especially if they are tucked away in a glove box—kind of like a business plan in a binder on a shelf.
Travelers know there is a better way to keep from getting lost than a roadmap; it’s called a GPS. It’s about time managers figured out how to keep from getting lost by transforming their annual business plans from a roadmap to GPS. Following are 5 ways to help in this process...
Kurt Sima, on September 21, 2017
Surprises are fun when they are part of a birthday; not so much when they are involved in selling. Salespeople should do their due diligence to minimize surprises during the sales process, especially when presenting and closing proposals.
Salespeople can improve their closing ratio and improve customer results using a no-surprise proposal (NSP) technique by clarifying these five things before they build and present a proposal:
Kurt Sima, on September 7, 2017
The best B2B salespeople follow a sales strategy that includes the use of a needs analysis meeting with new business prospects or existing customers. Do you?
Without a needs analysis the sales process breaks down transforming salespeople into peddlers—pitching, hoping and praying… pitching, hoping and praying… pitching hoping and praying!
A better approach involves a conversation with customers and new business prospects to uncover business problems or opportunities.
