Problem:  Sarah told me her goal for the past year was to lose weight and get in better shape.   Bill’s goal was to increase his sales.  Nadine was going to reduce her credit card debt.  Sarah, Bill and Nadine all had something in common.  They all failed to achieve their goals.  At the end of the year, in fact, none had even come close.  And all were frustrated.

Diagnosis:  People s ...

Problem:  Gerry was fortunate.  His company’s new marketing program resulted in a great deal of incoming calls.  Daily he received at least 2-3 calls from interested prospects who wanted to see him.  It was a salesperson’s dream.  No more cold calls and lots of appointments.  But at the end of the quarter, his sales had not increased.  In fact, his closing rate had declined to 15%.  What happened?

Diagnosis

Problem:  Jack had been with the company for only two years, yet he was considered their most technically competent salesperson. He was the “go to guy” when the other salespeople needed someone to talk to about solutions, specifications, and competitive information.  He was an expert when it came to product knowledge, yet he had the worst closing rate and was the lowest paid salesperson.

Diagnosis:  Jack had a bad habit and it was hurti ...

Problem:  A large majority of salespeople struggle to get in front of enough prospects to keep their pipeline full.  As a result, they feel desperate, have a difficult time dealing with rejection, and often avoid asking the tough questions to find out if they really should be spending their time with someone.  This leads to a long selling cycle, inefficient time management, and ultimately, failure.

Diagnosis:  Prospecting is a ...

Problem:  Dennis was the VP of Sales for a medium sized application service provider and was concerned about the high number of appointment cancellations his reps were getting.  As an example, he related something that had happened about ten days before.  Apparently Richard, one of his reps, had made an appointment with a prospect that looked like they’d be a good fit for the company.  A day after the appointment had been made, the prospect called back and asked that the rep send “some information” about the company prior to the meeting.  Richard felt that this was a good sign of interest and complied, sending a fairly extensive package of information.  It contained spec sheets on some of the products ...

Problem: Jason was new to the company and was trying to develop his territory. He didn’t lack enthusiasm and was making his objective of 100 cold phone calls a day. He felt pretty good about that since he saw others make far less. But still, he was not making nearly enough appointments to keep his pipeline filled and wondered how he was ever going to achieve his income goals if things didn’t change.
 
Diagnosis: Unfortunately, Jason was committing an error common to most salespeople. His cold calling approach sounded like every other salesperson. You know, something like this…“Ms. Smith, this is Jason Jones with ABC Company. We’re a leading provider of software solutions and I’d like to tell ...

Problem:   Many salespeople wish there was a secret formula to prospecting successfully for new customers.   We often hear salespeople moan, "If only more people would listen and talk to me.  We know they would buy our service.”

Diagnosis:   Prospects are bombarded with sales messages and buying opportunities.  One recent study estimated that on average each of us is exposed to more than one thousand messages every day.  Add to this the complexity and pace of business, prospects have no real way to cope but to screen out much of what they hear and see.   Further, prospects buy for their own reasons and a ...

Problem: Bert, VP Sales for ABC Company, was explaining to the CEO why they were 50% short of goal. "Our prospects tell my salespeople our pricing is 25% higher than our closest competitor, business is terrific so why risk change, and they (the prospects) don't understand Web-based e-commerce yet."  Bert continued, "I can relate. We are pretty new. Maybe our goals are too ambitious."  Ms. CEO replied, "Those are all probably good reasons, but it's your job to make goal, so deal with it." (The CEO presented similar reasons to the Board of Directors for being off target.)  Bert accepted that these were serious issues that had to be dealt with and worked with his people to make more effective calls. H ...

Problem:  Tom heard that getting referrals was the easiest way to get new customers.   So he selected 20 of his best clients and called them.  He was pleased that almost all of his clients said they would be happy to help him.  The problem was that he didn't actually get any introductions.  What he did get was a very common response that sounded like this; "I can't think of anybody right now.  I'll have to get back to you.”

Diagnosis

Problem: Since closing rates are in the 15-20% range nationally, one of the biggest concerns that management and salespeople alike have is a desire to increase closing rates.  Although there are several reasons for this problem, one of the most overlooked is the tendency for salespeople to make proposals without knowing what will happen when the prospect gets the proposal.  This is like rolling the dice and hoping for the best.

Diagnosis: The traditional focus on closing has been to make sure we “ask for the business,” memorize a few good “closes,” or some other tactic.  We’ve been told that we must qualify, make a presentation, and then close.  We think th ...