Want the best way to open your closing presentations? Some reps have an entire presentation planned in advance, and then they launch into it, only latter getting to questions and comments. I used to do it that way, until I found that if I got to initial questions or comments (and yes, even objections!) first, I could save myself A LOT of time and energy. So here is how I currently start my closing calls (yes, I’m still closing sales!): Once I get my prospect on the phone for our chosen closing time, I open with: “Before I get started, I’m sure you’ve looked over things, so, what questions do ..read more

If you would like to instantly improve your selling skills—and so your open and close rate—you can do so by taking just a few minutes to complete the following exercise (don’t worry, it’s easy and fun!). What you’ll do is make a list of all the common closed ended questions you ask, and then turn them into assumptive questions instead! I’ll get you started: For the Gatekeeper: Closed ended: “Is _______ available?” (or—“Can I talk to _______?) Assumptive: “Hi, can you connect me with ________ please?” (or just—“Hi, ________ please.”) Questions while qualifying: Closed ended: “Do you ever use a ..read more

Who do you think knows why your prospect buys? If you have followed me for a while, you may know that my opinion on whether to ask a prospect, “How are you,” has changed over the years. What I’ve discovered, is that asking this simple and socially accepted icebreaker is more important than you might think. Here’s why: Selling over the phone is challenging because you don’t have all the visual cues an outside sales rep has—and uses. You can’t tell if your prospect is annoyed, resistant, bothered, or if they are willing to have a conversation with you. You just can’t read their expressions and ..read more

Who do you think knows why your prospect buys? Who do you think knows when your prospect is going to buy?  Or who they like to buy from? The answer, of course, is your prospect! The problem for many sales reps, is that they prefer to pitch and talk at prospects more than they actually ask questions and listen. Sounds simple, but trust me, it isn’t. To prove this, just listen to a few phone calls of yourself or some of the reps in your office. That’s why the top reps are in the habit of asking more questions than they are of talking at their prospects. A great technique to develop is to g ..read more

I hope you’re not making this common mistake when following up on an email you sent: “I’m just calling to see if you got the email I sent you?” While this may sound like a reasonable way to follow up after sending an email, do you see how you’re providing your prospect with the perfect stall? How many times you hear: “Ah, when did you send it?” Or “I haven’t had time to look at it yet.” OR “Who are you again?” If any of these blow offs sound familiar (and I’m sure you can come up with a few of your own), recognize that you are to blame for them because of how you’re following up. The best pra ..read more

Good morning everyone! I just returned from a “Day of Development” seminar in Charlotte with the Jon Gordon company. Several of his books include: “The Power of Positive Leadership,” “The Energy Bus,” etc. Check them out on Amazon if you’re interested in learning more. There was a lot of great stuff in the meeting, and one thing I wanted to share with you all is a way to combat the recurring negativity that silently creeps into our heads every so often. You know how it is: You’ll be minding your own business and then suddenly you’ll hear things like: “These leads suck . . .” “I can’t make any ..read more

What’s the number one blow off prospects use these days? “Can you email that to me?” If you think about it, that’s the perfect stall. They aren’t saying no, and it implies they might be interested . . . but face it—they rarely are. Not only is it hard to get prospects back on the phone, when you do, you usually lead off with the ineffective opening line of: “Did you have a chance to review that email I sent you?” And you know how that goes: “What email? Can you send it again?” The solution? Be prepared with a good script and a good strategy. Try this: Be prepared with an initial email templat ..read more

Have you ever interviewed for a job you really want, thought your interview went well, and then didn’t get called back for it? I’ve helped sales managers and business owners interview hundreds of potential sales reps over the years, and I’ve identified 3 top mistakes that virtually eliminate sales candidates on the spot! Study these 3 interviewing mistakes and make sure YOU don’t make them the next time you’re trying to land your next sales position. Mistake Number One: A poorly written resume that shows either gaps between jobs, or worse, lists many jobs where a candidate worked less than 2 ..read more

Ah, the amorphous, “I want to think about it . . .” At first glance, this seems hard to handle because it’s not really an objection, rather, it seems more like a stall. Because of this, it fools many sales reps who think that perhaps after a week or two the prospect might actually buy. But they rarely do. Make no mistake: this is almost always a “no” disguised as a “maybe.” What you need to do is find out what’s behind this objection and whether or not you can compete with what the real objection is. Here’s what to say: “Just out of curiosity, how many other offers are you going to be compari ..read more

Based on how successful my last blog was on handling the objection: “We’ve Already Got a Vendor for That,” I thought I’d give you another proven response to help you overcome the objections and resistance you get daily. In this case, “Your Price is Too High.” The reason this is such a common objection is because your prospects have figured out it’s the best way to get sales reps to drop their price! And most do! Top performing reps, however, know better . . . They know the “Price is too high” objection is just another smokescreen. And they handle it using any of the following scripted techniq ..read more