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December 4, 2014
5 Ways to Stop Making Yourself Miserable in Your Sales Job
Stay in control and make things happen.
Sales work isn’t easy. As a sales coach, I’m sensitive to the inherent struggles of sellers. In an age of economic pressures and empowered buyers, your challenges are significant. It’s difficult and frustrating when you feel you don’t have complete control and the ability to change the circumstances.
There are, however, certain habits and choices you may be making that actually make your job even harder than it has to be. These are things you CAN control. Here are the...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on December 4, 2014
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October 10, 2014
3 Types of Questions You Should Avoid Asking in Sales
Quality questions can make the difference between stalling out and advancing the sale.
After conducting research with sellers and buyers for over 20 years, I’ve concluded that there are five kinds of questions sellers should avoid.
1. Avoid Asking “If I Could…” Questions
This is an obvious set-up. The seller asks a question to fabricate a conditional commitment. Then the seller proceeds to deliver on the condition he or she set up with an expectation the buyer will proceed.
When nearing a close or in response to a sales...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on October 10, 2014
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August 22, 2014
Selling Dilemma: I’m Trying, But I Can’t “Just Make Goal!”
Sales Management Vs. Micromanagement- Benefits of Activity Metrics
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been hearing a new drumbeat in the world of selling. Actually, it’s not a new sound. It’s a rhythm that was helping us all keep pace a decade ago but got replaced. It’s back because it is a classic beat, one that has always been appropriate and important.
The resurgence of a focus on activity metrics is one that all sellers may not view in a positive light. I’ve heard, then and now, that it feels like micromanagement when a sales...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on August 22, 2014
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July 23, 2014
Selling in a VUCA World
How do sales professionals adapt to rapid change?
Ever feel like you have whiplash as a result of the jarring changes and conflicting directions you’re getting from your customers and your company?
You’re not alone.
The swift acceleration of change and the constant struggle to keep up with it (let alone get ahead of it!) causes everyone, at times, to feel like the silver ball inside a pinball machine. Your sales leaders and support departments are in reactive mode, zinging around at lightning speed as they accommodate and...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on July 23, 2014
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June 10, 2014
The Great Divide Between You & Your Customers
Take a look at your sales process & find where it gets stalled.
In sales, we are experiencing an embarrassment of riches and yet we are impoverished.
Just look around the offices of most sales organizations. You'll see computers, telephones with headsets and auto-dialers, mobile devices, CRM systems, and numerous apps and software programs that support selling activities in every conceivable way.
Needing to beef up a particular skill? Well, take your pick of the myriad of training programs, seminars, books, podcasts and other resources that are easily...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on June 10, 2014
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April 10, 2014
There Is No One-Size-Fits-All in Selling
When people prescribe the only solution they know, a lot of malpractice is likely to occur.
We are all looking for the magic bullet.
And when we find something we like, something that seems to work, we can become rabid advocates for what we believe is the magic bullet.
But when it comes to sales methodologies, there is no magic bullet and no one-size-fits-all solution. No one training program fits every sales situation, every customer, every company or every seller. That's why we should be adapting and not adopting the latest, greatest techniques.
Recently, I surveyed...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on April 10, 2014
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March 13, 2014
To Engage Your Buyer, Sequence Your Questions Properly
15 Questions Sales Professionals Should Be Asking
Are your questions drawing your buyer closer to you or making your buyer back away from you? It may depend on the order in which you are asking questions. Adjusting the sequence of your questions can make a difference in how the buyer responds.
Early in a buyer/seller relationship, questions that seem sales-focused cause mistrust. A buyer recoils when questions seem to be some form of entrapment. By contrast, buyers open up and trust develops when a seller starts with buyer-focused...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on March 13, 2014
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January 21, 2014
Are Sales Enablers Disabling You?
Sales people should be selling…so why overload them with other tasks?
On average, salespeople spend less than 35% of their time actually selling.
This finding, reported in Clearslide’s "4 Reasons Why It’s Time to Reboot Technology,” is not a big surprise to most sales professionals. But it certainly gets the attention of sales managers and senior sales leaders.
No one wants it to be this way. Everyone knows that more time spent selling adds up to more goods and services being sold. More revenue. More profit. So why is this the...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on January 21, 2014
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December 12, 2013
New Year, New You, New Sales Approach for 2014
Complacency is the enemy of high achievers. Don’t let it be yours.
As 2013 fades into 2014, what are you planning to do differently as a seller in the new year?
Nothing? That would be a mistake! The profession of selling is changing rapidly, and you need to up your game if you want to continue being successful in sales.
Sellers who stagnate find themselves struggling, often after it's too late. Don't be one of those statistics – the once great seller who can't seem to get back on top. Complacency is the enemy of high achievers. It's much easier to stay on...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on December 12, 2013
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December 2, 2013
In Sales, You've Gotta Be Soft on the Outside and Hard on the Inside
The single most important lesson any seller can learn.
You know those types of people we refer to as marshmallows? They have a tough exterior, something about them seems hardened or brusque. But when we get to know them, they turn out to be softies. Actually sweet. They have a squishy inside because they care about people. That's just not what they show at first to the outside world.
Effective sellers do well to be the opposite of these marshmallow types. If you can be soft on the outside, empathetic and compassionate and interested in your...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on December 2, 2013
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