On a recent business flight, I happened to engage a fellow passenger in conversation. His business was selling steel to manufacturers who make things (almost anything) with steel components.
Mike Anderson, on May 3, 2012
On a recent business flight, I happened to engage a fellow passenger in conversation. His business was selling steel to manufacturers who make things (almost anything) with steel components.
Mike Anderson, on April 25, 2012
More price-sensitivity. Greater demand for “value added.” Remarkable scrutiny when it comes to determining “return on investment.” Why are clients so demanding, all of a sudden?!
John Henley, on April 12, 2012
In most areas of life, we are faced with the choice of the Pain of Discipline vs. the Pain of Regret. If you exercise regularly, you are choosing the Pain of Discipline over the Pain of Regret. If you make mostly good food choices you are choosing the Pain of Discipline over the Pain of Regret.
John Henley, on March 1, 2012
Our company’s reason for being is to help our clients turn talent into performance, and I spend most of my time making sure we have everything operating in such a way that we can delight customers. I don’t get to sell that often, but recently I found myself in conversations with a friend who runs his own business. After a few conversations and a meeting with a few key managers, I presented the owner with a pre-proposal and asked him to review it with his management team.
Alina McComas, on February 16, 2012
Have you ever found yourself trying to explain the difference between Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? How about trying to articulate the draw of a FourSquare, Instagram or newer site like Pinterest? Better yet, how about the reasons why you would want to be actively engaged with multiple social media sites?
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.
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.
Kurt Sima, on November 3, 2011
Expanding your sphere of influence—and getting to know more people within your current customer base—makes common sense. It also makes good business sense.
Steve Marx, on October 18, 2011
In the wake of the untimely passing of Steve Jobs, plenty of people have written about their own experiences dealing with the legendary bigger-than-life persona that was Jobs. Could one of those articles actually offer sales advice? You bet. I found this in the New York Times.
Demrie Henry, on September 19, 2011
Just like every other five year old tomboy, I loved frogs… especially the baby ones. And in my town, after it rained, momma frogs and baby frogs were everywhere. As soon as the downpour was tamed into a light sprinkle… my brother, sister and I couldn’t get outside fast enough to search for baby frogs. The big frogs were ok, but it was the teeny tiny baby frogs that we were after.
