The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Handling an Account List is much like running a small business whose performance is the result of the owner’s initiative, resourcefulness and choices.  As a business person it is important to identify which opportunities are subject to your influence…and then determine what actions to take to ensure that your influence will have effect.

What buyers fear most...  It is a difficult objection to express, because the buyer doesn’t even know what it is they’re afraid of.  

Over the weekend I saw "Rudy," one of the most inspiring movies in sports. For those of you that have not seen Rudy, it’s all about a person’s passion and persistence to accomplish a dream.

One of the most difficult aspects of selling is getting the first appointment with a new prospect. That is a fact, but it shouldn’t be the only focus. Simply getting the appointment is not the goal; the goal is to get a good appointment.

“I know that I should be doing more _________________ right now, but it’s just that I have so little time these days!”

It started innocently enough. You had a planning meeting with the client that you knew would take a better part of the morning, so you stopped at the donut shop on the way to the appointment. A couple of weeks later, you wanted to make-up for failing to return a phone call, so you grabbed a bag of bagels. And before you knew it, you were hooked on the stuff.

If you're a business leader looking to advertise using digital—or you are a salesperson responsible for digital sales—knowing what your market is currently spending in digital advertising will help you gauge what kind of budget you may want establish for your online initiatives. If you don't currently know the current local DMR (Digital Marketing Revenue) for your market, Borrell and Associates has released a handy interactive map of over 500 regions where digital dollars are being spent. 

When football players score a touchdown, it’s not unusual to see them celebrate in the end zone. Long-term traditions include player renditions of the dirty bird, the “dunking” the ball over the goal post, or the famous (infamous, if you’re from Minnesota) Lambeau Leap. In recent years, the NFL has become more strict about excessive end-zone celebrations, because of their potential to be interpreted as taunting, poor sportsmanship, and… well, class-less.  (Do I need to spell it out with a Sharpie?)

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 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?