Problem: Despite years of experience, attendance at numerous training programs, and coaching from sales managers, many salespeople still fail to elevate their performance above mediocre levels.

Diagnosis:  Numerous factors can influence performance, but the most overlooked is attitude – how we feel about ourselves.  Unfortunately, our attitude about ourselves, our self-image (self-confidence or self-perception) is influenced by our performance in our da ...

Problem:  Paul was an average performer in his company and marveled at the incomes and status of the top performers.   He had been to a few one-day seminars and read a book on motivation but it didn’t seem to be working fast enough for him and his motivation was decreasing.  He complained frequently and was thinking about moving on to a better opportunity so he could make more money.

Diagnosis:  There is a lot of pressure today to get results quickly.   The media publishes stories regularly of people who became "overnight successes" without paying their dues like most people.  People become programmed to think that if ...

Problem:  David got trapped by the prospect…maybe “squeezed” is a better term.  Here’s what happened.

His prospect was playing him off against the incumbent.  It’s a familiar ploy and it goes like this.  The prospect holds out the carrot by suggesting that the incumbent vendor is doing an “okay” job, but suggests that having an alternate (backup) supplier might be a good idea, “just in case.”  (Ever heard that one? Salespeople invariably assume that because the door of opportunity seems to be opening, the prospect must have some dissatisfaction with the incumbent.)  ...

Problem: You’re in that familiar, albeit uncomfortable, position of having to chase a prospect that told you they were interested.  But, based on their failure to commit, it appears that they are not.  Initially, they seemed very convincing in their interest regarding your product or service (as they nearly always are).  Since then your tactic has been to try to get their ear so that you can tell your story more convincingly, provide a comprehensive review of your features and benefits, and ferret out any objections that might be blocking the sale.  To that end you’ve been persistent and called them at least weekly, sometimes more.  But that effort has yielded no tangible results and now you’re fearful that yo ...

Problem:  Why is money so difficult to discuss? Salespeople frequently hear from prospects that budget is “no problem” at the beginning of the sales call.  However, once things start to get close, the story sometimes changes.  We’re told that we “have to sharpen our pencil,” “get more competitive,” or offer “additional discounts.”  And yet, once the sale is won, price seems to evaporate as an issue and pressure is put on the vendor to improve quality or service.  Often we hear from salespeople that money is the number one issue in getting and keeping the business.  We need to have more competitive pricing, better discount structures or we just can’t compete.  You’ve heard it all before.

Problem: One of the most frequent complaints we hear from business owners, sales managers and salespeople alike is the following: "Price is the primary focus of the sale these days -- all of our prospects want the lowest price.” It starts out innocently enough. Buyers lead with questions and comments like these: "How much is it? Can you give me a quote?” As the sales discussion proceeds it gets more intense: "That seems like a lot.” or "Why is it so expensive?" or "I saw it for less." Salespeople often respond by cutting price thus giving away margins and commissions.

Di ...

Problem:  Have you ever run into a prospect that just doesn’t “get it?”  You’ve done your job well.  They’ve convinced you they have a problem that they really want to fix, you’ve determined that you’re in front of the person who can make the decision, and found out that they have the financial resources to fix the problem.  You’ve presented a solution that works perfectly and satisfies all the issues that they expressed.  But in spite of all that, they have decided to go with a competitor who has a less effective solution; perhaps one that really is a bad choice for them.  Every bone in your body wants to tell them that they are screwing up, but you just don’t know how to say it; so you walk away confuse ...

Problem:  Most salespeople hate cold calls and aren’t very good at making them.  As a result, cold calling activity is limited and they never seem to improve.  We all get cold calls on a regular basis and most result in failure. 

Diagnosis:  The first 10 to 15 seconds are critical in a prospecting call and will set the stage for success.  Most prospecting calls shriek “SALESPERSON CALLING” and trigger the prospect to ...

Problem:  Mitch’s company sold data storage solutions.  A five-year veteran of selling, he called the other day for some coaching.  He said that he had just completed a one-hour meeting with one of his top prospects, a large retailer who was a key prospect for his company.  He explained that he had experienced difficulty getting the prospect into a discussion of pain and, when he finally did, he felt time pressure to hurry through the qualifying process.  As a result, Mitch thought that he had done a poor job in the pain step.  He said that this seemed typical of his meetings and that due to poor qualifying on his part, he was not closing some of the accounts that he thought he should.