How to Close the Sale Without Being Salesy
So many sales people tell me about how uncomfortable they feel when it is time to close the sale and they don’t want to sound salesy. Old school sales training would suggest you use some kind of Kung Fu closing technique like, “So, should we plan to start this week or next week?” But this…
Why You Need to Plan a Client Event
Existing clients are often the number one overlooked source of additional revenue to a company. Just think how many thousands or even millions of dollars your organization invests each year to attract new clients. Often, once a company has them, they are sent over to customer service and moved out of the sales pipeline. In…
3 Questions Sales People Should Ask Every Prospect
It seems commonplace in sales training that we need to ask our prospect questions. But, I get a rare glimpse into the fact that most sales people have no clue which questions to ask. Should we ask them questions about challenges? Their working solutions? Process? In the Game Plan Selling system, I lay out a…
Stop Asking Probing Questions of Your Prospects—Start Understanding
Just the other day, I was at a program where a sales trainer told the audience to ask prospects probing questions. Do you like to be probed? I sure don’t, and it’s even more annoying when a sales person probes aimlessly. I can’t tell you how many old-school sales trainers have told me to just…
3 Simple Tips to Selling to the CEO
Most sales people logically understand that they would make larger sales and far more money if they sold to people in the C-suite, but they rarely sell at that level. Those sales people that do sell at the highest level often outperform everyone else combined. Remember, the CEO has the decision-making authority and can always…
How My Brother Turned One Weak Referral into Six Outstanding Introductions
When your brother is a sales conference speaker, you get pretty sick of hearing about sales techniques. My poor brother has to hear my sales training tips all day long, and he loves to complain about it. But, what he rarely complains about is how they make him a lot of money. Just the other…
Stop Lying About Your Sales Forecast!
I’m going to just come out and say it. 90% of what’s in most sales people’s pipelines is pure junk. Let me explain. When companies bring me in for sales training in Boston, one area we always explore is the existing sales team’s current pipeline. Inevitably, sales people will boast about how many excellent prospects…
See How Easily You Can Know When a Prospect is Qualified
Just the other day, a new sales training client of mine called me to brag about his new ‘awesome’ sales opportunity. “Marc, I just had the greatest sales meeting. I was awesome. The guy loved me and I think it’s going to be a huge sale.” “Sounds great,” I said, “What are his key challenges?”…
Why Sales People are Losing Their Existing Clients
Ever heard the story of Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill every day only to watch it roll back each time? It is a painful story that many sales people relate to deeply. In my extensive travels as a sales conference speaker, I run into sales people all the time who focus so much…