The other day I was attending a network event when a sales professional stated his business was way off, the phones just stopped ringing, and his commissions were drying up fast. He inquired if I could help him? I asked, “How much time did he spend prospecting each week?” He said, “Maybe an hour on Friday afternoons, my important work for the week has been completed.” I explain he had his priorities misaligned...

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I’m sure you have heard, “that person is a natural born sales professional!” Almost any sales trainer will emphatically say this statement is false. They will agree that selling can be translated into learned skills that statistics and history demonstrate generate world class selling behavior and results. Most people who are successful in sales or any endeavor hone their skills, traits and characteristics that give them the high...

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High performing sales teams and their managers are constantly striving for continuous improvement. This relentless journey for finding new ways to achieve their respective goals is an organizational culture established over time and reinforced daily. Here are 10 questions “world class” sales organizations are asking themselves: 1. Is your sales team meeting its goals? 2. Why is your best sales professional successful? 3. W...

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In many of our engagements over the last two years we hear sales professionals complain “the old days are gone it’s all about price!” Price has never been excluded from the equation. Perhaps there was a little less emphasis in the past, but always lurking near the surface. Although we are in the most difficult economy in our lifetime hasn’t it always been about price, value and relationships? Sales professionals can become pessimistic allowing...

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Generating leads and following up on them is a tedious job yet a fundamental requirement for world class sales performance. Warm leads are precious and the process to turn them into initial appointments and true prospects needs to be consistent. As the CEO or VP of Sales are you aware of the number of leads your sales people process each day, week, or month? Can you identify where the leads come from and how timely they are followed up on? Stat...

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Last week I presented at a senior executive forum in metro Phoenix. During the discussion the principle of ethics in business and the sales process was raised. One of my mentors and highly regarded business associates posed the notion that part of the current business dilemma we are experiencing today, has to do with unbridled greed and unethical business practices. Possibly a subject left to discuss when times are better? Doing the right thing i...

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A couple of months ago my two sons’ and daughter urged me to remain “relevant” by being connected to Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking offerings. After an initial defensive response, I pondered their observation and deduced we all must keep moving ahead never accepting the status quo. The notion that we are not a finished product unless we say so is thought provoking! This is thought provoking for personal as well as professional end...

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Time is money! All sales professionals have the same amount of time to sell (24hrs/7 days a week)? How they spend their precious time can make a big difference. According to a survey conducted by CSO (Chief Sales Officer Insights) only 35.7% of the average sales person’s time is spent in face to face selling. Arguably the most important use of a sales professional’s time allocation. Certainly there are other tasks: administration, quote preparati...

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