Sales Articles

4 practical ways to resolve Sales vs Operations fights

“Field gets the glory, support gets the job done.” I laughed when I heard this line, by a fellow in IT, in a movie I recently watched. “Field gets the glory, support gets the job done.” Hilarious as I found it, it’s a source of irritation and conflict in many businesses, and the cause of

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Defend your price by showing the buyer his cost

“The price may be high, as you say, but what about the cost?” The buyer does a doubletake. Quickly recovering he retorts, “What do you mean, the cost? I’ve just told you the price is high!” The salesperson (mechanic) has been here before; he knows the buyer sees price and cost as the same, yet

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Tips and strategies to easily prospect on LinkedIn

When prospecting on LinkedIn, remain engaging not (I dare say, never) salesy. To easily prospect on LinkedIn calls for a strategic approach, consistent effort, and genuine engagement. Prospecting is the cornerstone of successful selling; it is the most important step in the sales cycle. Prospecting is the never-ending quest for potential buyers of what you

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For predictable revenue set clear sales goals and targets

Nothing frustrates sales people, and therefore business performance, like unclear expectations. (That, and insisting that they sell a product no one needs, like the Yellow Pages). But back to expectations. Even with a clear sales strategy, indeed as part of it, business owners and executives should set clear sales goals and targets for their sales

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Get your salespeople off the path of least resistance

Salespeople default to the path of least resistance. The easy path. It’s in their nature. Internalizing this sales psychology is critical to business owners and sales managers. Especially given that, in the quest to solve this challenge, the tendency is to throw money at it. “We will just increase the commissions,” you’ll hear it said.

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Misaligned seller and company values costs you sales

Aligning personal values and corporate values earns you sales. Misaligned values loses you sales, and may cost the sales person his job. Here are 4 true stories that practically illustrate why you should align salesperson and company values. Case 1: The Preacher We had to part ways. Was he competent? Absolutely! In fact, he was

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To be a great retail merchandiser educate the buyer

To merchandise successfully, educate the buyer. But first, who is a merchandiser and what is merchandising? Well, when that lady (it’s almost always a lady) in the supermarket invited you to try her company’s cereal (or other product), that was different from the one you intended to buy, you experienced merchandising. At least the type

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Invest more in sales relationships than processes

invest in sales relationships. Here’s why. Towards the end of last year, my bank wrote to me. Like the two years running before then, I was being invited to take up yet another 30% increase on my credit card limit. This third invite would effectively more than double the limit I had started off with.

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