Effective business development demands presenting proposals not sending quotes!

Are you really presenting proposals or in reality are you sending your prospects and customers a glorified quote that is titled a proposal? A quote tells the buyer the price.  A proposal sells the benefits, explains you know the prospect's business and details why they should go with your solution, product or service.  A proposal explains the cost as an investment, it details why your prospect can't afford not to do business with you. So why don't sales people write proposals?&nb ... Read more

Sales Tip No. 29 - Who are you really competing against?

We frequently hear sales people saying "there's no competition on this deal".  When we dig deeper we find that there is competition after all, but not from where they think.  The "competition" is coming in the form of 1) lethargy, the easiest decision is no decision, do nothing or 2) competition for use of the funds earmarked for your deal - not a directly competing product, service of solution.   Lethargy is always a challenge - remind the prospect of why you are there in the f ... Read more

Is your sales team slipping into a dependency culture?

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Sales Management Challenges: 6 of 6 - Managing for maximum performance

In the current market, we are seeing some complacency creeping into how sales leaders are operating. They seem to be thinking, "Business is going well, so what do we need training or development for?"  This doesn't refer to you, of course. You would not get complacent--you are far too professional! I'd like to share the benefits of my 30-year experience in sales and marketing with you. This series of blogs tackles 6 of the top sales management challenges with sound advice and a practical ... Read more

Sales Management Challenges: 5 of 6 - Gauging experience as you hire your Team

The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as having said, "The years teach much which the days never know." In general, I agree. HOWEVER, it depends what kind of education is happening during those years. I'd like to share the benefits of my 30-year experience in sales and marketing with you. This series of blogs tackles 6 of the top sales challenges with sound advice and a practical 'do today' tip. Sales Challenge #5: How to measure the experience of your team 10 years exper ... Read more

Sales Management Challenges: 4 of 6 - Motivating your Team

Quiz time: How 'engaged' (passionate/enthusiastic about their work) are the members of your sales team? If they are like today's U.S. workers, then about half of them (51%) are not engaged and almost one fifth (18%) are actively disengaged. I'd like to share the benefits of my 30-year experience in sales and marketing with you. This series of blogs tackles 6 of the top sales challenges with sound advice and a practical 'do today' tip. Sales Challenge #4: Motivating your team ... Read more

Sales Management Challenges: 3 of 6 - Where are you on the Sales Management Continuum?

It's so important that universities offer courses about it, scholarly publications are written about it, and towns hold meetings about it. We're talking about management. In particular, the sales management continuum. I'd like to share the benefits of my 30-year experience in sales and marketing with you. This series of blogs tackles 6 of the top sales challenges with sound advice and a practical 'do today' tip. Sales Challenge #3: How to choose the correct spot on the Sales Ma ... Read more

Sales Management Challenges: 2 of 6 - Building the Right Team

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review reports on current research into teamwork. It seems that the fault may lie more with managers who do not know how to get the best out of their teams rather than the team members themselves. I'd like to share the benefits of my 30-year experience in sales and marketing with you. This series of blogs tackles 6 of the top sales management challenges with sound advice and a practical 'do today' tip. Sales Challenge #2: Considerations for building ... Read more

Sales Management Challenges: 1 of 6 - How to Create Clearly Defined Sales Processes and Sales Objectives

Read Forbes, Fortune, or any other top sales and business publication. What will you find? Articles about the top sales challenges commonly faced, no matter which product or service you are marketing.   I'd like to share the benefits of my 30-year experience in sales and marketing with you. This series of blogs tackles 6 of the top sales challenges with sound advice and a practical 'do today' tip.   Sales Challenge #1: How to create clearly defined sales processes and sales ... Read more

How Power Base® Sellers have adapted to a changed sales eco system

Having been in the sales business for a long, long time, having trained literally thousands of salespeople, having sold and trained around the world, I am often asked "Has selling changed over the years?".     Well, if you were to read one of the most famous sales books ever, Dale Carnegie's, "How to Win Friends and Influence People", and you read the first few paragraphs without reading the preface, you'd think, "Hmm... this is quite relevant today." Then, when you do read the prefa ... Read more