Understanding the Buyer Starts with the Seller As any successful salesperson will tell you, the key to making the sale is understanding the buyer. But there’s more to it than first appears—and it starts with you, the seller. Role The first part of this process is knowing which role your prospect plays within the company. ... Read Post

American Express Offers a Teachable Moment in Ethical Selling “Every ethics question a business person could face comes down to a question you face on your very first sale: what are you willing to do for a buck?”, Philip Broughton wrote in his book, Mastering the Art of the Sale. The question needs to be ... Read Post

Want to build a great sales culture? Have a habit of gratitude. Sales organizations invest time and money into building strong cultures. They read books on why culture eats strategy for lunch, hold team-building events and listen to pundits touting the value of culture. But, I think corporate America is making this too difficult. Building a great ... Read Post

Typically, we talk too much, we listen too little, and we tend to overwhelm others with our vast array of knowledge. That’s neither persuasive nor pleasant. Read Post

Embracing Sales Mastery with Insight, Value, and Technology I’ve worked with thousands of salespeople in many different industries. Professional selling is changing rapidly with technology-driven automation and commoditization resulting in more than one-third of sellers losing their jobs in the coming years. Salespeople need to fund themselves from the value they create rather than from ... Read Post

Your current customers can be your best, untapped source of advocacy for your company, business, product, or service. But many organizations don’t know how to utilize their advocates to their full potential, and don’t have a concrete plan to obtain and maintain advocates. This article provides concrete actions to help salespeople and sales companies effectively ... Read Post

What Could Happen if Sales Dominates Many organizations want to be sales-centric when they “grow up”. They believe it’s a bold culture; one that embodies the competitive spirit; one that carries the innovation DNA; one that will stand out and win on energy alone. Sales is considered by many as “sexy” in contrast to, for ... Read Post

The Top Skill of Successful Salespeople? Emotional Intelligence What Traits are in the Toolbox?: Emotional intelligence and intellectual intelligence probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think “salesperson.” Traits like good speaking skills, extroversion, and dedication are all likely to be at the top of the list of descriptors for those ... Read Post