You may do everything else masterfully but if you can’t close the sale, you might as well be a professional product demonstrator instead of a salesperson. The real pros in selling have certain skills and habits that make them stand out above average.

Here’s a Personal Inventory Evaluation. Take it and see how close you are to achieving “pro” sales status. Read More »

Remember Willie Sutton? Willie was a bank robber.

When asked why he robbed banks, he replied: “Because that’s where the money is.” (No! I’m not suggesting that you rob a bank. 🙂 )

Willie’s story came to mind when I was recently asked by a sales consulting client, “How do I grow my business?” Read More »

You will often encounter people who are just poor decision-makers. Perhaps they’ve never learned some basic life skills and made some bad decisions. Now, they just procrastinate until they can’t wait any longer to make decisions, hence the cycle of making bad decisions continues.

As a professional salesperson, you need to know how to recognize procrastinators and help them learn sound decision-making skills. Read More »

Beth said to me, “I hate selling. I don’t know what to say and how to say it and I don’t want people to think of me as a salesperson.”

Let me tell you a secret. Thirty years ago I said the same thing to myself. In fact many, if not most people who aren’t in sales feel the same. What is it about selling that most people don’t like?

Ask yourself what you associate with sales people? Do the words pushy and tricky come to mind? Read More »

For too many people in business sales prospecting for clients is like fishing with only a string and a pole. They know if they throw something out there, they’ll draw attention. What they don’t understand is that you must first be at the right fishing hole. And, second, that you have to use bait that the fish you’re trying to catch like.

Let’s address the right fishing hole first. Answer this question: Who is your ideal client? You should be able to list at least five criteria of your ideal client without even blinking an eye. Read More »

Television star. Movie Star. Famous Comedian.

What do you do when you’re at a restaurant and a famous person sits down at the table next to you?

A. Pretend he’s not there.
B. Whisper to your friends that a famous person’s sitting next to you, but do it so subtly that he doesn’t know you’re talking about him? (But of course he does.)
C. Say ‘Hi’ and tell him how much you enjoy his program? Read More »

When you initially meet a potential client, the first thing you must do is establish rapport. The faster you can make this happen, the more sales you’ll make. It’s as simple as that.

The only way to accomplish this is through practice. I teach a learning strategy I call P.D.R.—practice, drill and rehearse. The more you do those three things, the faster these proven strategies will become ingrained in you. So let’s get started. Read More »

You can learn to listen for specific clues as to how to best present information to new potential clients.

By that I mean to listen for them to say, “I see what you mean,” or, “We look for ____ in a supplier” which usually means they relate best in a visual manner. Adjust your demonstration for this person to show them things. Take advantage of product brochures as visual aids as well as the actual products on the floor or demo samples you bring with you. Read More »