“New Age Selling”-What Are The Implications For...

 
Yesterday I felt compelled to write about “Strategic Selling,” – Strategic Selling – Remember That? – a term which seems to have been lost amongst more familiar terms such as “Consultative Selling” or “Collaborative Selling” and “Relationship Selling” even “Sales 2.0” The fact remains that whatever label we choose to hang on our preferred style of selling, there are now considerable implications for sales management.
It is my view that for companies to remain competitive now, their sales organization must be able to respond positively to changing economic tides.
As businesses strive to establish customer orientation, sales partnerships and a strategic approach to selling, they are demanding more and more from their salespeople, but ensuring that these new methods are widely practiced and smoothly implemented falls to sales management.… continue reading

“Strategic Selling” – Remember That?

In most industries today, a handful of ideal customers have become universal targets – fact.
Nearly every industrial salesperson dreams of calling on the CEO of those top companies, which logically means that there are maybe 500 customers for a million sellers?
With such intense competition, conventional approaches are not equal to the challenge. Salespeople need to develop strategies that distinguish their products, services and their organizations in the mind of the customer.
Making a sale has always involved an element of systematic planning, but strategic selling – a term which appears to have gone out of vogue – means more than rehearsing product information and timing the close. Strategic selling begins with understanding your company’s strategy, vision and distinctiveness and then selecting high profile customers.
The next step, logically,… continue reading

Can You Identify the Four Personality Types Resident...

 
The reality is that we are constantly looking for an edge – to steal a march on the competition – and whilst it is true that professional selling is becoming de-personalized, our ability to quickly get on the same “wave length” as our buyer/prospect/customer, will always provide us with a  significant advantage.
For example, there are four personality types or social styles – Analyticals, Drivers, Expressives and Amiables – and all four have their own unique approach to business, their own language and thought processes, etc.
As a consequence, the very best sales professionals have become adept at recognizing which personality type they are dealing with and adapt their approach and communication style accordingly.
In every boardroom, you will always find three of the four personality types – occasionally,… continue reading

The Five Main Drivers for Improvement Within Any...

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change” – Charles Darwin
Whatever got you where you are today will not be sufficient to keep you there. A rapidly changing environment is the regular background against which organizations must develop.
Change is continuous and will become more rapid as we move forward over time. Senior management must be capable of reacting to those changes and be prepared to take advantage of them and yet stay within the overall framework and agreed strategy.
The role of strategy is fundamental if the people within an organization are to be enabled to make the level of contribution of which they are capable. Strategy, based on a good grasp of the core… continue reading

What Makes a Top Sales Expert?

It is a much debated question, so to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the formation of the Top Sales Experts team, I am going to share my thoughts on the subject.
To begin with, I think that anyone calling themselves a “top sales expert” probably isn’t!
It’s rather like telling someone that you have high levels of integrity; or that you are a great lover; or that you are kind to animals; or that you are incredibly brave – I mean, have you ever had to trust yourself? Make love to yourself? Given yourself a pat? Given yourself a fright? So how do you know? These cannot be personal attributes that are “self-awarded” but rather observations made by a third-party or parties.
“Guru” is another word that seems to… continue reading

That Complaining Customer Could Have Become Your Next...

It’s a mistake to think that because a customer has expressed dissatisfaction with your product or service, they will not come back to you.
They won’t return if you handle the situation badly. However, some of your most vociferous complainers could become your most loyal customers, because you handled the situation well and treated them with respect.
This means recognizing some essential traits:
• Customers want to be respected
• They want attention
• They want to be appreciated and recognized
• Most of all – they want to be understood!
Losing Customers
Why do businesses lose customers?
My experience this week is, sadly, a typical example, and regular visitors here will know that I am on a campaign – crusade even – to improve standards of customer service, and I’ll describe those experiences… continue reading

Don’t Ever Undervalue – Or Underestimate – The...

 
To some, networking means simply meeting or calling someone new for what might be a one-off discussion or event. In this limited sense, networking is only a trading relationship in which two parties seek to discover whether they have anything of mutual interest to talk about. They either make some sort of exchange or quickly move on. This makes networking a highly ‘transactional’ subject, much like buying and selling or negotiating with someone.
My view is very different, because I believe that networking has a much wider definition. In fact, it can be a major social and life skill to be used in both a business/organizational and personal setting.
Network and Relationship Building
The ‘relationship building’ aspect of networking is a long-term commitment to knowing more about yourself and… continue reading

Moving the Focus Away From the Leaders to the

Some researchers prefer to move the focus away from the leader altogether and to examine instead what makes others prepared to follow these individuals.
In 1988, an important article published in the Harvard Business Review, entitled “In Praise of Followers” began to shift attention away from the machismo of leadership to the less glamorous side of the same equation – the role of ‘followership’.
What the advocates of followership recognized was that to become an effective leader, most people first had to learn how to be good followers.
With few exceptions, this is as true of the corporate world as it is of military and political leaders. Aristotle noted “He who has never learnt to obey cannot be a good commander.”
More than ever, today business executives have to operate… continue reading

If a Salesperson Only Possessed Just Three...

One of the most interesting and enjoyable exercises I perform before I agree to take on a new client, is to conduct a full “audit” of the prospect’s commercial functions – specifically the sales and marketing teams. I utilize ASP Profile as part of that exercise, and the first results I always look for are those from the “Attitude to Change” assessment: It measure three specific areas ….
Creativity and Flair, is the ability to look outside the square and to challenge paradigms when necessary; it means, for example, the ability to create solutions to meet client’s needs, the ability to think laterally when the situation requires it and the capability to constantly think, “How can we improve this” rather than accepting the status quo.
Discipline, is all about being… continue reading

The Secrets Of Inspired & Inspiring Leadership...

An inspired and motivated workforce is essential for any business that hopes to stay ahead of the competition. But just how do you motivate people? What kind of leadership do people respond to? And how can you improve the quality of leadership in your business?
The Inspiration Gap
In a survey of more than one and a half thousand managers, people were asked what they would most like to see in their leaders. The most popular answer, mentioned by 55% of people, was ‘inspiration’
When asked if they would describe their current leader as ‘inspiring’ only 11% said ‘yes’
The two attributes that people actually mentioned most often, when describing their leaders, were ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘ambitious’
As well as this thirst for inspiring leadership, there’s also evidence to support the… continue reading