A sales message designed for one situation will not necessarily work well in another. For example, you may have perfected your 30-second elevator speech (or “30-second commercial,” as it’s often called). This works great if you are actually in an elevator and have...
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...
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...
What’s better, consultative or transactional selling? It depends on the situation and the company’s goals. The problem comes when you need one approach and miss sales because you have the other. As an example, a seller can sell one item to one decision maker OR sell...
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....
As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, I recently had the privilege of spending time with some high level Fortune 500 corporate prospects. Knowing they hold the key to my clients’ successes, I asked them what they like and don’t like about their interactions with...
I recently had the privilege of spending time with some high level, Fortune 500 corporate prospects. We met at a conference which was designed to help potential suppliers meet and develop new relationships with Decision Makers. The opportunity arose for me to sit with...
I was recently asked, “What is your single favorite piece of sales advice?” Here it is. Have a healthy respect and empathy for decision makers. These days decision makers are doing more than just their jobs. In the corporate world, many companies are still adjusting...
In Part 1 of Avoiding the 'Big Black Hole' of Business Proposals, I covered the first two steps that will help you receive a well-earned request for a proposal including what to do in the Pre-Proposal Stage and how to Structure Your Proposal. This week we will explore...
Have you experienced the 'Big Black Hole' of the sales process? It's like this: You receive a well-earned request for a proposal, spend precious time crafting it, hit “send” and anxiously await a response. And then surprise, surprise, you’re rewarded with nothing but...