The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

As we head into mid-February, it makes sense to take a look back and review some of the top blog postings of 2012.

Referrals are like gold, it takes hard work to acquire them and they are extremely valuable! Most salespeople aspire to get them however, it seems as if this is the one area most would say they could greatly improve on…even high performing b2b sales reps.   

As a sales manager, you have no doubt had this experience. You just returned from making a sales call with one of your people and they begin to describe to someone else how the call went, who said what, and what got accomplished. As you listen, you are wondering if you were even on the same call, because what you saw and what you experienced was quite different.  So, what’s going on here?  Is your salesperson just obtuse, or perhaps trying to spin the story to make himself look good? Chances are, neither.

I was recently talking with a sales rep for a heavy equipment company. He sells agriculture and construction equipment, you know tractors, front loaders, bull dozers, excavators, forklifts…big machines most men (and all little boys) wish they had a reason to buy. He was telling me about a particular situation he was working through with a potential customer.

Beware!  Danger to your sales strategy is lurking as close as your telephone receiver. How so?

Sometimes, despite all our efforts to break the ice and establish credibility in advance of that first call to a prospect, and despite having well-crafted and articulated valid business reasons, the prospect is still reluctant to see us.

As we move into a new year, great sales leaders in every industry and every country will develop a new or somewhat revised strategy for the challenges and opportunities they see before them.

Happy New Year!  In 2012, our Appointment Lab has learned that setting appointments for our clients involves clear organizational planning and preparation in targeting the ideal customer.