Unless you have been hiding in a cave somewhere, you have heard that the U.S. economy is doing poorly. Housing starts are down, the value of the dollar is down, car sales are down, real estate is down, retail is down, gas prices are up, food prices are up, bankruptcies are up and the sky…
What’s the common image of a salesperson? The big bad wolf. The big bad wolf seeks and destroys. It’s a predator who pounces on its prey, eats the weak and leaves a bloody mess behind. This image makes the job of salespeople a lot harder than it should be. The good news is that this…
I just finished speaking at a conference in San Francisco and I find myself writing this article sitting by a window next to the street in a busy Starbucks close to Union Square. It’s funny what you can learn when you take the time to really observe and listen. I would like to share the…
The last quarter of the year rolls around and you begin to hear some common refrains: “We are waiting until the first of the year” “Starting in January I am going to…” “We have to wait until spring when business picks up” “The first of the year I am really going to get into it.”…
“I want to think about it.” Baloney. If you believe and allow this excuse from customers, you and your family will be eating Ramen Noodle soup your whole career. When customers tell you they want to think about it, they are really telling you they either have an unspoken objection or they are not convinced…
You probably answered “no”. Who wouldn’t? I wonder how your customers would answer that question. Do your customers think you, your product and your business are boring? People want to be entertained. Entertainment = Sales. Boring = Broke. Your customers get their news from FOX News and USA Today, their food from drive-thurs, their coffee…
“Work harder” – “Work more hours” – “Put your nose to the grindstone” – “You have to pay your dues” – “Climb the ladder of success.” Do all of these sayings sound familiar? These common phrases often espouse ideas that become anchored as limiting beliefs in your brain. Here’s the shocking news; these phrases often…
One idea to improve sales that most people don’t want to talk about is the ability to recharge your batteries. Salespeople who run on low batteries don’t perform as well as when they are charged up. Recently, I went with my family on a cruise and had a fantastic trip. We went scuba diving in…
Customer service is false propaganda. Before you think I am nuts, let me explain. The factory gives customer service surveys and dealerships give customer surveys. Everyone seems to talk about Customer Satisfaction Indexes. Measuring your success and failure is obviously important. However, is customer service really about numbers? In customer service, the most important customers…
“In the mind of the beginner that are many possibilities, and in the mind of the expert there are few.” – Suzuki Roshi What would you do in your sales career if you did not have limitations? Everyone has self-imposed limitations. These limitations can stem from several strong forces – environment, childhood experiences, workplace profiling,…