Too many of our sales calls end up with both parties simply falling into their assigned roles. Both the seller and buyer know they have to have a certain number of meetings, and they end up in the business equivalent of a bad blind date. You share the same space, make polite but disinterested conversation, and part with some vague talk of keeping in touch or sending something. It doesn't have to be this way. If your sales calls are feeling less than fulfilling, look hard at your own approach. You just may be sleepwalking into mediocrity. You deserve better.
Today I'm addressing something close to the heart and soul of sales: the "pointless contact." Every seller - and every buyer - recognizes the script. "Hey...it's me...how are you? Just checking in to make sure you got my proposal...." It's a tough habit to break, but nothing could be more destructive to the rep's reputation and perceived value than "I'm just checking in." Translated to English, it means "I got nothing." Worse, you start to sound like that insecure, clingy relationship stalker: "Just wanted to make sure you didn't lose my phone number." What to do instead? In my workshops, I always encourage sellers to break the cycle.
I just read about Walmart launching its own digital marketing platform, effectively becoming sort of a media buyer (and sort of an agency), leveraging a treasure trove of sales and behavioral data on behalf…
One of the most compelling things I've read lately is "TV's Untapped Potential as a Digital Business," David Cooperstein's recent post on Forbes.com. While he makes some really insightful recommendations…
We're hurtling toward the Independence Day weekend and the beaches and lakes and country porches are calling. Maybe you'd feel guilty spending a couple of days on some Dean Koontz thriller but are intimidated…
If you're looking at midyear reviews with your sellers, or if you're considering how best to motivate and engage them, here are four topics worth examining, There are, of course, no universal truths, and there are many sales groups and reps for whom none of these themes may apply. But the very best sales leaders and managers are those whose empathy for their team members is seasoned with just a little paranoia. If you think you know how they see the world, you owe it to yourself to think again.
If it's all the same to you, I suggest we agree to write off the first five years of the programmatic era. I mean, let's face it: these first few years haven't been all that flattering. It's been a half-decade…
Originally posted in June 2010, some thoughts on the power of empathy in our sales relationships.
During the strategic media sales workshops I often conduct, we always start with a core foundational principle:…
Gian Fulgoni, Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of comScore, has spent 40 years measuring and analyzing the use of digital devices and the consumption of digital content. He'll be our featured keynote interview…
Start at Respect. If your seller has done, or is prepared to do, good work for this customer, then persistence is the ultimate sign of respect. And if you're respecting the customer by persisting, then you can rightly expect the respect of a reply and engagement in return.
Many businesspeople don't seriously distinguish between leadership and management, but they should. As Marcus Buckingham says in The One Thing You Need to Know, "Leaders play checkers; managers play chess." In checkers, every piece moves exactly the same; there's one leadership message that applies to everyone in the company. In chess, every piece has its own quirky individual moves; management is about how you move and plan for the individual.
If you or your team struggle with customer engagement during sales calls and presentations, this timeless post from 2010 may prove timely, indeed.
Over the years, as I've done training workshops for hundreds…