Sales Articles

Is your email subject line losing you sales? Find out

We open email based on two things: the sender and email subject line. And ‘we’ here includes your prospects too.Of all the tips, dos and don’ts out there on email or written communication etiquette, if in Sales, remember this: you (and your prospects) open email based on sender and email subject line. It is highly

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Why you need and how to create your sales funnel

Contrary to popular belief, what goes into your sales funnel are suspects, not prospects. Whether gotten from your marketing or sales efforts, digital (say website) or ‘analog’ (say billboard, call, or print) it doesn’t matter. You still have to separate the wheat from the chaff (meaning, qualify them). But first, what is a sales funnel,

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How to ensure a smooth customer transition

The sales job has an element of customer service in it. Sadly, many sales people frown upon it claiming, “It’s not my job. Once I deliver the account, I’m out.” Equally, many customer service representatives strait jacket themselves in their job description and put blinders on even the most glaring of sales opportunities. “We’re not

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How you can become creative in selling

The following illustration of how to become creative in selling, happened to a salesman in a multinational FMCG firm. The product he was selling was tea in a sachet. His first quarter sales were nothing to write home about. In fact, they were pathetic. The heat of disapproval from the sales manager was getting intensely

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Sell internally and externally to succeed in the selling

Sell internally and externally, otherwise you will soon be piping these common lamentations by salespeople. “I was let down by back-office?”, “ Whose job is it?” “Why me?” As a salesperson, where does your job end? Is it after you have delivered the cheque (sold externally)? Is customer service your work? More importantly, is back-office

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Cross selling: meaning, examples and importance

Examples of cross selling Have you witnessed or experienced any of these examples in cross selling that show it’s importance? While fueling, a petrol attendant invites you to buy a higher grade fuel; as you await the meal you’ve just ordered, the waiter asks you what drink you would like to have; in traffic, a

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Is your use of jargon losing you sales? Let’s find out

“We’re done now,” to quote Big Shaq of the famed ‘Man’s not hot’ hit song. We’re done now with elections and the tension therefrom. But we’re not done with learning from the happenings. Here’s the last lesson; one from the Supreme Court proceedings on how jargon is opaque, a barrier to communication, and how best

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Sales conflict: why you shouldn’t fight over stolen sale

Sales is competitive. As with any competition, there are winners and losers.  The just concluded election, for instance, had a whopping 16,000 contestants, yet the vacancies were less than 10% of that. Selling is no different. And with competition, inevitably, conflict arises. One such is, “He stole my client” (sic). Given the labour that goes

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Crowds are not votes, and other sales lessons

The petition was lodged on Monday. The loser in the just concluded Kenyan Presidential elections went to the Supreme Court seeking a nullification of the results. Will the Court rule in his favour? We shall know in 12 days or so. Irrespective though, political analysts and intellectuals are offering insights into how, against all odds,

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Stay ahead in a rapidly changing world with Lend Me Your Ears. It’s Free! Most sales newsletters offer tips on “What” to do. But, rarely do they provide insight on exactly “How” to do it. Without the “How” newsletters are a waste of time.