12 Jan

You are calling a prospect for the first time, and instead of the person answering her telephone, you reach her voicemail.  “This is Anne xxx, I am not available now.  Please leave a message.” What should you do?  Should you leave a voice message? What should you say in the message? Should you give a shortened version of your 30-second “elevator pitch?” Or a different speech? What should the different message emphasize? What if you have already spoken with the prospect, and this is a follow-up call? Does that make a difference? Should you leave a voice message or not? It is...

12 Jan

In years past, there was a mythical sales test where an older, experienced sales professional would test a new, inexperienced pen by handing him his pen and then directing the novice to attempt to sell him his pen.  It was expected that the novice would try to explain the pen's features and how the “buyer” could not live without it.  He would show how easy it was to click the top of the pen, how nice the ink appeared on paper, how it could be used in many writing positions, and how inexpensive it was.  Then the novice was expected...

27 Dec

There are many experts that can coach salespeople on the mechanics of how to speak better at presentations.  This is concerned with making your content more memorable to the audience. According to presentation coach Jack Malcom “Researchers once ran a test to measure how much of a presenter’s message sticks in the minds of their audience. They found that immediately after a 10-minute presentation, listeners only remembered 50% of what was said. By the next day that had dropped to 25%, and a week later it was 10%.” (Source: http://jackmalcolm.com/2012/08/how-much-of-your-presentation-will-they-remember/) TWELVE TIPS: Keep it “short and sweet” vs “long and boring.” People...

21 Dec

I have often been asked to explain the best professional e-mail format to send to a prospect who doesn’t know me, sometimes called a cold-call e-mail. I don’t think there is one format that always works.  However, certain guidelines will make your email more attractive to a reader.  They are: Address the person properly.  Unless you have previously met the person, I would not use their first name, such as “Dear Bob” or “Dear Mary.”  I would also not use “To whom it may concern” or the formal Dear Mr. Jones.  Instead, I would advise something like “Dear Nancy Jones” or...

18 Dec

I recently watched a movie, “It Ain’t Over,” about the famous major league baseball player Lawrence Berra, known as “Yogi” to everybody who knew of him.  His granddaughter, Lindsay Berra, wondered why Yogi was excluded from a collection of baseball’s four greatest living players at the 2015 Major League Baseball Allstate game.  They recognized Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, and Johnny Bench, all great stars, but not Yogi.  Lindsay wondered why. And that was the movie's genesis, in which many speak of Yogi’s greatness as a baseball player. Yogi Berra was an incredible catcher who excelled both offensively and defensively. ...

17 Jun

Ideally, you know exactly where your opportunity is in your sales cycle – the beginning, middle, or end, and where it stands relative to the other choices the buyer can make? But sometimes that is not the case. Or, you think you know the status of your proposal, but you are mistaken. As Lincoln noted, we need to know where we are to decide what actions we need to take to close the sale....

09 Jun

I am often asked by salespeople to explain the best method of identifying the highest-potential prospects to target. “How can I find these prime prospects, so that I do not waste my time on companies that are not going to buy from me this year?”...

02 Jun

Often the difference between a salesperson that meets their sales goals, and another that does not, is simply a matter of optimizing one’s time. Many people find this to be difficult and spend valuable time and resources on opportunities that are not likely to close, chasing down “rabbit holes” or working on non-sales related tasks during business hours. High-performing salespeople optimize their time each day to focus on activities that yield the greatest results. Conversely, they minimize their time on activities that waste their valuable selling time....

26 May

How many of you have had the experience of a demonstration “blowing up” in front of a prospect? Perhaps there was an internet connection problem, or there was a technical issue or a feature that you wanted to highlight did not work as you expected. Maybe some of the invitees had trouble accessing the videoconference over the internet. Or, you were unable to use the videoconferencing software and the demonstration failed. That is more common now in the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine era....