Next month, my 22 year old daughter will begin her first real job working for the company which initially turned her down. How did she get the job, despite the initial rejection? Here’s her story. A month before graduation from University of Maryland, Jamie went...
It’s no secret that buyer behavior has changed with the ease of information access we all enjoy through the internet. With a click of the mouse, we can get what we need to evaluate new products and services. There’s no doubt that shifting some dollars to digital...
Over the last year I’ve heard several stories about lost sales opportunities. Many occurred as a direct result of post-conference oversights that could have been avoided. It happens too often. Join me by shaking your head as you read the story below. Then, vow to...
At the Fortune Magazine Scaling Up Conference in Atlanta, Verne Harnish, author of Scaling Up, Founder of Gazelles and Entrepreneurs Organization called me to the stage. He asked me to share a sales tip with the audience of 1000 growth-focused business leaders. As I...
While most of us need a second chance now and then in life, there are rarely second chances in business development. You can’t call a busy vice president or CEO a second time and say, “Hey, our first conversation really didn’t go the way that I wanted it to. Can we...
Just because you received the news that you didn’t get the sale doesn’t mean there still isn’t an opportunity for you. By taking the right actions, you could change your prospect's mind this time or set yourself up to win the next time. Here’s how to do it:...
What's another word for a decision maker in a sales situation? It is a prospect, a lead or a potential client, etc. These are all names we use to describe those we want to buy from us. However, something is missing from these words. It’s the human element. We need to...
Many Business Owners and Salespeople express frustration, when they reach prospects on the phone only to find the conversation cut short by the decision maker’s request, “send me some information.” I’ve heard stories of sellers who hang up and never send the...
Maximizing relationships means you find ways to get new dollars from existing clients. Generally speaking, you want to work to increase your share of sale with your clients that may need more from you. You want to purposefully work toward getting a bigger “piece of...
We can’t control the economic climate we work in, but we can face it and make the most of it. Ten years ago, you could offer to save a company 10 percent on a product or service, and that might have been enough to close the sale. Now, that kind of savings is not worth...
I was recently training a client’s sales team. One seller asked me for ideas on keeping in touch with a prospect AFTER he was told “no”. He had competed for an RFP and was not awarded the business despite developing a great relationship with the prospect. I suggested...
Executive decision makers have until year end to make things happen before their reviews. Not only do they need to complete initiatives on their list to get their bonuses and great scores, but also, those looking for promotions must showcase themselves to management....