Are your peak performers as committed to your company today as they were 18 months ago when the job market was much more difficult? Recent research found that today’s peak performers are twice as likely to have plans to quit and move on than they were in 2008. So, take time to check in with … Read full article
Recently I was retained by a regional VP of sales for a large financial institution to evaluate the effectiveness of his team’s sale of investment advisory services provided to high-net-worth customers. He asked me to be a “mystery shopper,” and at his request, I met with one of his salespeople while posing as a high-net-worth … Read full article
Salespeople tend to be very optimistic. When a customer calls, it’s natural to be excited about the opportunity, but keep your eyes open for signs that your potential client isn’t as interested as he seems. A customer who is truly interested in your company will be open to working with you. A customer who has … Read full article
After you make a sales presentation or deliver a proposal, you must stay present in your prospects’ lives. The longer a prospect takes to make a decision, the greater the possibility that fear will develop when you’re not there. Therefore, to effectively handle your buyers’ fears, you need to regularly talk to them to see … Read full article
How do you manage a Prima Donna? One thing to think about is how the Prima Donna got that way to begin with. Often we sales managers create Prima Donnas by leaving them alone over many months, taking a “hands-off” style (which is a nicer way of saying a lack of management) rather than continued … Read full article
Any time you feel pressure, start asking questions. We’ve developed an effective sequence of questions (below) that can help you explore the thinking behind any demands your customer makes. These questions will also help you gather new information that can put you in a better position to address the customer’s needs. Plus, asking questions of … Read full article
Are you familiar with the old sales axiom telling is not selling? Well, telling is not coaching either. Confucius had it right when he said, “What I hear I forget, what I see I may remember, but what I do I understand.” He could have been giving advice to sales managers on how to develop … Read full article
Untrained sales managers focus on what they know best, selling. They spend their time working on the largest deals… or jump in to take over customer meetings… (in both cases stifling the learning curves of their reps). Untrained sales managers don’t define standards of performance… so they don’t coach to standards… which leaves the sales … Read full article
Achieving customer satisfaction — satisfaction with your solution’s price, performance, and service responsiveness — is the pre-requisite for developing any long-term relationship with a customer, and especially one that you may want to take to a higher level of mutual commitment and loyalty. Because your customers’ expectations are always on the rise, you’ve got to … Read full article
Your customers’ level of satisfaction is based on how they feel about these four questions: 1. Am I achieving the results I expected? 2. Is the product or service performing as expected? 3. Did I pay a fair price? 4. Does the way I’m treated by your support people make me feel important? The first … Read full article