The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

It's frustrating, isn't it! You know you can help, you know they are an ideal prospect and yet you can't even get a serious conversation started. What's going on? Salespeople are too consumed with trying to demonstrate the value of their product. It's ok to communicate some product attributes with a prospect, but the key to getting momentum is demonstrating that you can be trusted and could be a source of value.

Last week, a sales manager told me, “I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I get really close with my salespeople."

Crickets. That’s what I heard when I direct dialed a bunch of sales reps to inquire about pricing, timing, delivery and credit. Here I was, flush with cash (to pay in advance of services, as the new corporation had no credit), and a very large percentage of sales reps from all industries were lax or never even bothered to call back. They literally left cash on the ground. I couldn’t believe it. I was a "call-in" with ready money.

Every sales representative that calls on your prospect today (and there is likely to be lots of them) will say they want an appointment. While meeting with people like you (and your competitors) might be a big part of your prospect's job, it is probably not the only thing they do. As a result, many would-be salespeople will be turned away.

We've been busy with summer vacations, back to school shopping, moving kids into dorms and posting adorable first day of school pictures of the munchkins on Facebook. We bet you've been busy too! That's why we wanted to send out a quick post to make sure you didn't miss some of this great content from The Center for Sales Strategy during this hectic time of year:

Too often salespeople are looking for a fast answer and end up getting a NO. You don't want a fast answer, you want a fast YES. When you ask for the business too fast, you are often relying entirely on a product pitch.

Every fourth summer, a great many of us spend much more time watching TV than we did the previous three summers. It’s the Olympics, of course, and our eyes are drawn to the tube by the incredible athletic talent on display. But do we realize just how important, how determinative, that talent is?

Serving up the ideal sales person for your team to increase sales performance is much like creating the ultimate masterpiece in the kitchen. Like a culinary chef, you must know the significance of each ingredient you are using, meticulously measure each one, and mix them together perfectly to prepare dishes that meet everyone’s needs. If one significant ingredient is missing, it can destroy the entire meal and leave everyone wanting more. Hiring sales people and coaching them is much like preparing your favorite dish. 

One of the industry newsletters I subscribe to comes from FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation), whose work is centered on lending and banking analytics. A recent issue warned against operational negation. That is, behavioral contradictions which can send the customer conflicting signals.

Whether you’re just getting started, or you’ve been involved with your organization’s lead generation efforts for years, at some point, you’ll hit the wall when it comes to content creation. It can be daunting to come up with something new to say every day. The next time you need something to write about, try one of these tips.