I recently started taking swimming lessons. I love telling people about it because the response is priceless. First there is a confused look. Then, a gasp, followed by, “You don’t know how to swim?!”
LeadG2, on February 14, 2012
I recently started taking swimming lessons. I love telling people about it because the response is priceless. First there is a confused look. Then, a gasp, followed by, “You don’t know how to swim?!”
Demrie Henry, on February 8, 2012
Can you imagine what would happen if you told your sales manager that you absolutely refuse to make cold calls? Thinking back to my days as a sales account executive, I know that my boss would have thought I was being insubordinate if I walked into his office and boldly made the proclamation, “I refuse to make cold calls ever again!” He is a great guy and an incredible sales manager, so I’m sure he would have given me a short window of opportunity to explain my proclamation and then an even shorter window to “prove” my new lead generation tactic successful.
Jim Hopes, on January 26, 2012
My wife and I subscribe to Consumer Reports and recently I was leafing through the pages when I came across an interesting article outlining the best and worst values among cars. They calculated the cost of ownership over a five-year period taking into account factors like cost of acquisition, reliability, maintenance cost, fuel efficiency, depreciation, etc. Turns out the Honda Fit is THE best value on the market at a cost-per-mile of 44 cents. That's pretty impressive considering a Mercedes S550 costs $1.70 a mile to own and the vehicle I drive, the Acura RDX, costs 84 cents a mile to own, nearly twice the cost of the Honda Fit.
So, why doesn't everyone own a Honda Fit? On a cost-per-mile basis, it's clearly the least expensive vehicle to own and operate. The reality is people most often don't choose the lowest priced car because myriad other vehicles satisfy other objective and subjective needs within their lives affecting their value perception. And, so it is with the products and services you sell.
It's your job to uncover the needs truly unique to your particular prospect and to understand the subjective personal wins that might help drive their choice. Are you doing that? Well enough? What could you commit to this year to get better at that? It would be a good investment on your part.
Jim Hopes is CEO at The Center for Sales Strategy.
Kim Alexandre, on January 24, 2012
There’s been a lot of talk over the last few weeks on the growth of revenue derived from apps; whether it is the adoption of subscription based apps or the in-app purchases consumers have become comfortable making. So comfortable that some say in-app purchases (a.k.a. clicking ‘buy’ in a gaming app) could reach over $4 billion in 2012- double that of 2011!
Kurt Sima, on January 17, 2012
2012 is here! Time to start a new year. Time to start selling more! Most sales leaders and sellers agree that it is a good idea to sell more from one year to the next. Unfortunately, accomplishing this goal can be a challenge in these turbulent economic times. It's time to break the cycle. Here's a list of 5 simple steps that will help you start the year off selling:
John Henley, on January 12, 2012
Good sales people and sales managers like to talk about their sales performance, and it’s this time of year that many sales organizations stop to honor those who had the best year as the calendar starts a fresh countdown. I support that idea and have a suggestion to add. What if every salesperson in your organization picked one client who had a good 2011 and asked that client to share two things:
Kim Alexandre, on January 10, 2012
If you're still looking for a New Year's Resolution, go ahead and add engaging with Twitter to that list of possibilities. By the time you're done reading this, you'll see why it's worth your time as a seller.
Mike Anderson, on January 9, 2012
Last Friday's story from Research Brief reminds us that while more executives expect measurable results from their marketing investment, relatively few of their providers are able to demonstrate that ROI. (Click here to see that briefing.)
John Henley, on January 3, 2012
If you are planning to vote in the Republican Presidential primary in the coming months, you are a potential prospect for Newt, Romney and all the gang. I got to thinking about how similar this is to what we go through as sales people when we try to get that first appointment with an ideal prospect. It takes a combination of getting attention and establishing credibility. If you can do those two things, you are generally going to stand out enough to get an appointment. If you only do one, you will not sell the prospect on the value of spending time with you.
John Henley, on December 29, 2011
It's healthy for people and organizations to celebrate victories—that's a given! Some managers miss the chance to lead effectively when it comes to setting and celebrating goals. Effective leaders focus on two things in this area. They decide what goals are worthy of celebration and how big the celebration should be.
