Are You Genuine?

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When you’re looking for the next order, it’s easy to slip into a small exaggeration to attract attention.  “Our Service Plan covers everything.” “Our price is always lower than the competition.” “We always exceed your expectations.” These half-truths destroy your credibility and alert the prospect that you may not be trustworthy. Use these tips to make your selling efforts more genuine: Have Positive Expectations Positive behavior often inspires positive responses.  People tend to mirror each other’s …

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Why Do Good People Fall Short?

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Perhaps they lack the required experience, confidence or competence.  Perhaps their goals are unclear.  But often, it’s the behavior of the employee’s leader that is the primary cause for constraining an employee’s performance. When a leader acts differently than the employee expected – neither being nor doing what they believe is appropriate – then the employee is likely to get discouraged and fail to meet his or her potential. Leaders don’t do this on purpose, …

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Restoring the Personal Touch

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In business, technology is the indispensable enabler of communications, customer service, productivity and other functions.  You cannot compete without it. But people want to do business with other people, not with faceless companies or their technology.  If technology identifies a new opportunity, how can you transform it into a personal interaction? Years ago, our parents and grandparents knew the people that sold them their food, hardware, shoes, etc. and B-to-B transactions were conducted across a …

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You Can’t Cause Change With A Memo

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Change is inevitable. Organizations are always adapting to meet shifting market conditions, to enable their growth, etc. Resistance to change is also inevitable.  It takes more than a memo containing a few bullet points to overcome this resistance. What seems crystal clear to you regarding a pending change initiative is often less straightforward for those impacted by the change. Expect it to take much longer than you imagined to implement a major change. Plan your …

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The 3 “Cs” of Top Sales Performers

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Extensive research has documented 3 key traits of top salespeople that directly influence their selling style and ultimately their success. Top sales performers rely on the following “C” attributes to drive their selling process. 1.  They CARE…about their customers and their work associates. Top performers set goals, commit to achieve them and continuously measure their performance in comparison to their goals.  Their goal orientation drives them to understand their customer’s decision-making process and to meet …

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Connecting Attracts Attention

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In an economy filled with noise and distraction, how do you capture attention? Why should a prospect or customer listen to your message?  Why should an employee follow your lead? Here are 7 “connecting” concepts that pay dividends. Share knowledge to earn opportunities. Learn something new that challenges your assumptions. Seek to create value for others. Always do more than is asked of you. Elevate your credibility by trusting someone else. Enhance your worth by …

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4-Part Sales Discovery Motivates Action

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The most critical part of any sales process is Discovery – seeking to uncover a prospect’s needs and goals.  Prospects become customers once they confirm that you have heard their story, can meet their goals as well as their needs, and could actually exceed their expectations. Productive sales Discovery does much more than uncovering a prospect’s needs and goals.  It: Encourages prospects to do the talking; Provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate empathy; Enables …

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Three Ways To Begin Anew

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The beginning of each new year offers us the exhilarating opportunity to begin anew. Your new year’s appraisal should build on your achievements and clarify your objectives for 2015. Celebrate success – What worked well last year? What goals were achieved and why? What progress was made towards fulfilling your Purpose and realizing your Vision? Does your team know what was accomplished and how they contributed? Assess direction – Are your Purpose and Vision statements …

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‘Twas The Day Before Christmas

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‘Twas the day before Christmas And all through the shop There was laughter and goodies Work would soon stop. The people were joyful And full of good cheer Knowing that Christmas Soon would be here. Stories were shared There were smiles all around As everyone realized The joy they had found. They had bonded together To achieve every goal And their customers were happy So they were told. They were proud of their efforts And …

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Three Ways To Strengthen Emotional Intelligence

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Leaders increasingly recognize that the competency of their people and the consistency with which they demonstrate their company’s values when serving customers can be the company’s most sustainable competitive advantage.  Nurturing the engagement of these dedicated employees compels leaders to evaluate and strengthen their emotional intelligence (EI). A leader with high emotional intelligence demonstrates these attributes: Active listening that enables the hearing of unspoken words by paying attention to tone of voice, inflection, pauses, and …

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