6 Ways Competitive Intelligence Improves Sales Win Rates

I consult for over a dozen companies every year, and no one ever brings up competitive intelligence. Lots of sales managers want reps to focus on their prospect’s competitors. Of course,...

Sales Enablement: What Are the Advantages?

Are There Important  Advantages of Sales Enablement for My Business? Does your company rely on the Sales team for all or most of its revenue? More than 80% of American businesses...

High Intent Buyers: Create The Right Funnel

Everyone says they’re working for higher win rates on sales from high intent buyers. Maybe they are, but they’re probably working at it from the wrong direction. Very little is...

Sales Training That Sticks: Better Outcomes

Sales training outcomes are variable at best. “Sales Training doesn’t work!” I’ve heard it over and over again. Yet sales enablement is a huge factor in revenue operations, and gaining...

Sales and Marketing: What’s Next 2021

Sales and Marketing: What’s Next What’s next in sales and marketing? Consumers are demanding more value, and more autonomy throughout the customer journey. The marketing industry must not only provide...

Sales Enablement Resources: The Ultimate Guide

Sales enablement resources are everywhere, at every level. There’s stuff for sales pros, sales managers, and even the C suite. Have you fallen in love with Sales Blogs? Are you...

Retaining Sales Reps – A How To Guide

Retaining Sales Reps Starts At Hiring Retaining sales reps is a challenge, but let’s start at the beginning. To keep a sales rep, you need to hire a good one...

Hiring the Best Sales Rep – 20 Interview Questions That Work

Hiring the best sales rep from the complex group of applicants you have in front of you is no small task. Your sales staff represent your brand to your customers...

3 Lead Generation Hacks to Help You Convert Leads

In the challenging task of lead generation and converting leads, did you ever regret abandoning a lead you thought was too weak to pursue? Did you wish you had a...

End Worthless Sales Meetings! 10 Ways to Make Them Count

Overview Sales meetings don’t have to be worthless – in fact, in many organizations reps love them! How many of your sales reps resist going to the weekly sales meeting?...

Accountability Culture – 11 Steps to Success

Accountability culture is a frequently-discussed goal, but what does it really look like? And where do you begin? Accountability culture is about following through and meeting your commitments. Recognize that...

6 Habits of Elite-Level Sales Pros

Best Practices

10 Rules For Developmental Sales Meetings

Developmental sales meetings are replacing weekly numbers reviews all over the country. What are they? They’re sales meetings that focus entirely on making every sales pro more productive, and nothing...

Better Sales Collateral

B2B sales often demand face-to-face meetings and interactions, but you can only control the conversation for as long as you’re in the room. Once you’re out the door your prospects...

5 Reasons Your Sales Reps Keep Quitting

Why do sales reps leave what might seem like great positions? Sales reps don’t just think in “dollars to doughnuts” terms. There’s quality of life, skill development, corporate culture, market...

10 Secrets to Sales Success

According to a 2017 study, 80% of people working in sales will leave sales within 5 years. That means only 20% of us are “lifers.” And part of the reason,...

Client Success: Half the Reps, Double the Sales

I love to hear good news from my clients! In this case study, XYZ Company is a small payroll service organization. Their sales numbers were in a two year slide....

Stop Making It Harder To Buy From You!

The best sales reps know that customer experience is key to driving sales. If customers don’t like working with you, they won’t! Do you work for a company that seems...

Buying In For Higher Sales

If you’ve taken any of the Sales Dynamo classes over the years, you’ve heard us say it dozens of times: “No one wants to be sold, they want you to...

Vending, Clerks, and Sales

There are three primary ways in which things are sold: vending, clerks and sales pros. How do you know which combination of styles will work for your business? It may...

How Does Your Sale Flow?

Sales Flow We know it’s important.  How do you develop one? Let’s get specific. Sales Flow (also called sales process or sales cadence) is the process used with the customer to...

Building the Sale

In sales, there is only one goal: turn a prospect into a satisfied customer.  That satisfied customer pays your bills, advertises your business, and refers their friends.  They are the...

How Much Does It Cost?

How much does it cost? 55% of customers want to know before they talk about anything else.  “It” is the product or service you’re selling.  And since the beginning of...

Style Points

Every product has a style.  The style is going to dictate the market, and to some extent, the salesperson.  However, it doesn’t change the rules of selling.  Or does it? ...

Shake Off Your Stale Sales Pitch

We all learn them: Long pitch, short pitch, elevator speech, card-passing catch phrase…  Sales pitches are useful; they help us stay on track when we’re nervous, and help us cover...

Sales Fulfillment Issues

I hear this one lament over and over from fellow salespeople: “I did my job and sold it, and then the back end screwed it up.”  Sales fulfillment issues. Has...

Networking: Just Do It!

Professional Networking – verb.  Any process by which you expand your network of business connections. Professional networking is establishing a real connection with another business professional. You work together to advance...

How To Make More Money In Sales

Are you a professional sales rep? You’re here to make money in sales. You’re a “natural born salesman,” right?  People have said it your whole life. I’m here to tell...

10 Commandments of Sales

Like any profession, sales has ground rules that should guide, shape, and inform the activity. These are the 10 Commandments of Sales. Ignore them at your peril! Law #1: Thou...

Inbound Marketing: Yes, You Need It

What is inbound marketing?  Inbound marketing is different from outbound marketing in that the goal is not to make the phone ring or the door to swing immediately. Those goals...

Business Development in 6 Simple Steps

Business Development is all about bringing on new business. Sometimes as you add new business, you also find you need to expand your business offerings, or develop new solutions. That’s...

The Art of Discovery

What is Sales Discovery? Discovery is the part of the sales process when the client tells you what to sell them, how to sell it, and when they want it....

How To Get Promoted – 3 Simple Steps

In our careers few things feel as good or mean as much as getting a promotion.  We’re not talking about a better title – we’re talking about different responsibilities, managing...

The “NEW” Job Interview: What You Need to Know

Everyone has interviewed for a job and thought they “interviewed well.”  We’ve seen interviewing trends come and go – where do you see yourself in five years, what’s the greatest...

You Say You Work From Home?

Lots of folks  telecommute, or  work from home. When you’re in outside sales, or self employed, telecommuting can be a gift from the heavens.  These flexible jobs are in high...

Is It Time To Replace Your Sales Manager?

In sales, we rely heavily on our sales managers.  They are our cheerleaders, teachers, coordinators, and team mates.  That is, they are if they’re good at their jobs.  If they’re...

5 Habits to Build Professionalism

There are routines, or habits that can help you build your professionalism. Good news! They are no more painful or complex than the habits you have already. Can 5 habits...

Don’t Make Assumptions. Drunk, Yelling Mexican Men Are…

Before the Stomach Bug Don’t make assumptions. I’ve learned they can cost you a lot of joy, sales, friends… I was reminded of this on my honeymoon. My husband and...

Selling Against A Lower Price: How To Win The Sale

Selling against a lower price can be aggravating. “I can get it from XYZ Corp for 8% less.  Can you meet their price?”  We hear it far more often than...

You Say You’re In A Sales Slump?

In sales, like all things, our performance is inconsistent.  Even the best, most solid of us have times where we perform below normal, and even the worst of us sometimes...

The 5 “E”s Will Close More Business

Quite often I mention how important it is to have an agenda for every client interaction.  The 5 Es are a great example.  They are the groundwork for every client...

How To Motivate Your Sales Team

It’s a long-standing concern in every business: how do you keep your employees motivated to be creative and effective, day in, and day out?  It’s not hard, but it is...

2 Emails to Keep Your Sales Manager Happy

You need to keep your sales manager happy.  In this article, we discuss the 2 emails that should keep your manager happy and off your back. Some managers tell your...

10 Best Sales Communication Skills

You know communication skills are key to sales. Do you know which sales communication skills are critical? A successful client conversation comes down to 10 points. They are simple to...

When The Client Sells Himself

The sales that last, the sales that earn the most referrals, and the sales that earn the most repeat business, are the sales when the client sells himself.  So we...

The Staffer To Fire Right Now – The Negative Employee

People don’t quit jobs. Workers quit negative bosses, and negative employees. Over 80% of employees surveyed in  recent studies said job satisfaction is most affected by the behavior of their...

The Resolution To Keep This Year – Sales Training

This year’s “Must Keep” resolution is to start a sales training program. Think about it. 71% of sales pros have never had any sales training. There is no degree, license,...

How To Land Your Dream Job

I asked a recent college graduate, “What is your dream job?” “Too early to tell,” came the reply. “What’s yours?” I smiled. “This!” I answered, and then laughed, realizing I...

Don’t Grow Too Fast! It’s Deadly

What is sales growth management? It’s literally managing the speed at which you allow and plan for your business to grow. You want your business to grow. The question is,...

Ending the War With Millennials

Millennials at work have gotten a bad rap. Why?  They approach work differently from older workers. It’s time to stop complaining, start working with Millennials, and enjoy the skills they...

Are You Out Of Context?

Professionally, context counts. Your context needs to match the context of the client. Have you ever had a persistent telemarketer ruin your lunch hour by calling repeatedly? They’re annoying because...

Time to Throw Away Your Business Cards?

Now that so much has gone digital, should you throw away your business cards, and move to a digital representation of yourself, an e-card? Maybe. Do you work in environmental...

“Job” or “Career”? The keys to the difference

Career-track employment is a wonderful thing, and I am not here to discredit it. However, I think the value of “jobs” is becoming harder to see. Maybe it’s not a...

Volunteer for Higher Sales

When your prospecting and cold calling are letting you down, what can you do to freshen things up? How can you get doors to open instead of close?  Volunteer, and...

What If You Don’t Golf? Business on the Golf Course

It’s that time of year – the weather is great, the sun is warm, and no one wants to be stuck in the office if they can avoid it. It’s...

8 Critical Presentation Skills

Presentation skills are more important than ever. You give a presentation because the computer just won’t cut it. The customer needs a human resource in the room. If you’ve ever...

Why Closing Sales Is Different Today

In 2005, everyone had computer access and a cell phone. None of us had streaming TV, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, or Skype.  Faxing was still big. Important information still regularly...

7 Secrets of Successful Sales Pros

As I travel from client to client, I’m asked one question more than any other: What kind of people make the most successful sales pros? While there is no one...

The 4 Most Common Shopper Personalities, and How To Sell Them

Did you ever wonder how to sell a particular client? There are millions of individual personalities out there, but most of us fall into one of 4 categories when we are...

Why You Missed Sales Quota

Quota is much-argued situation in most sales organizations. How is sales quota set? Do previous successful months offset less successful months? Is it a moving target, growing as you become...

Sales Best Practices: What’s In, What’s Out

Sales best practices are changing again. Here’s what’s In and what’s Out. Out: canned sales pitch.  In: discovery questions.   Out: talking.  In: listening. Out: cold calling and hoping.  In:...

How to Land A Sales Job

How to land a sales job? In some ways, it’s like every other job search. It’s difficult to set yourself apart. What do you do? More resumes? More cold calls? Better clothes?...

Why Your Sales Training Didn’t Work (and how to fix it)

Your sales training didn’t work the way you hoped it would. Why? The good news is, it’s not your fault. Mostly. You brought in a well-reviewed, high-priced training company, and...

Want Better Sales Numbers? Take This Quiz!

Do you want better sales numbers? Is your team underperforming? You need some data about why your numbers are where they are. This is an abbreviated version of the basic...

How “Do It Yourself” is Killing Your Business

It’s a Do It Yourself business environment. As technology has exploded, businesses work with more apps/ programs than we could have imagined. There is little that you can’t do by...

Why You Need a PRSP (Proven Repeatable Sales Process)

What’s a PRSP? As you probably know, it’s shorthand for Proven Repeatable Sales Process. Everybody talks about it, and throws around other business terms like Sales 2.0 and Inbound Marketing....

Jump on the Hidden Fast Track

I’ve heard that there’s a skills gap, and that it’s growing. All the studies say it’s true. As we’ve suffered recessions and market fluctuations, most industries have severely cut their...

The Essential Sales Bookshelf

As a sales process consultant, I’m often asked to recommend books to help clients navigate their way through one issue or another. Over time I’ve realized that I keep referring...

Why Lead Scoring Will Make You Money

I hear this from clients all the time: “Why do I have to make sales even MORE complicated? I don’t need to add lead scoring.” Well, you don’t need to...

In With a Plan, Out With a Sale

I’d like to say this once and for all – Luck is not a business plan! “Talent” is not a business plan! Whew! I needed to get that off my...

Sales Meetings: 6 Topics to Make Them Stronger

What makes good sales meetings good? Every rep in the room walks out with something they can use to make more money. That’s a high bar, but it’s the only...

Why Your Networking Is NOT Working

I’m usually a big believer in networking. Going to trade shows, networking events, and charity events is how I’ve met many of my strongest business contacts, and probably a third...

Are You A Sales Leader? Or A Boss? 7 Ways To Tell

Sales leadership can make or break a sales team. Leaders are everywhere, and we love them. It’s not about their job title, it’s about the affect leaders have on other...

SMBs, Build the Right Foundation

SMBs are competing against the big boys daily. ADT, ADP, Price Waterhouse, Merrill Lynch, Office Depot, Verizon… These are huge, international businesses whose names define their industries. They have company...