I have to laugh when salespeople try to convince me that selling today is harder than ever. They wax poetic about the good old days when they could visit customers, buy them a beer and a burger and book the order. Listen, I was around in the so-called good old days, and they weren’t […]

We all know how difficult and expensive it is to get a new customer. I have seen some surveys that claim that it can cost over $5,000 to acquire a new customer. This makes sense when you think of the branding, marketing, trade shows, content marketing, newsletters, and advertising, not to mention travel to meet […]

We have spent a great deal of time listing all of the things that great salespeople should be doing. Now it’s time to reverse that and learn from others’ mistakes. I sat down this week and listed some of the more common and dare I say damaging, mistakes that salespeople make. Most of these I […]

We all know it is hard out there right now. I have spent the past few weeks taking calls from salespeople who are more than a little discouraged, wondering what is going on. Everyone seems to be looking for answers as to why they aren’t making their numbers. Some of them blame China, some blame […]

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about what to do if sales are slow or down. Since then, things have not gotten much better. I have to agree with what people are saying.  Yes, as far as I can see, things have slowed down in terms of PCB sales. Not only here, but […]

Sales greatest secret, a great salesperson’s greatest challenge. Whenever I am working with salespeople, especially new salespeople, helping them with their cold calling to generate leads, one of the things that always comes up is the question, “What is the best voicemail message I can leave to make sure the customer calls me back?” Honestly, […]

It seems that all of a sudden the salespeople I work with can’t do anything. The calls and meetings I have with them are filled with negative statements like: “I can’t get appointments.” “No one answers the phone.” “Everyone I used to know and work with is gone.” “Nobody wants to see suppliers.” Some companies […]

The best salespeople use techniques they have learned over the years. Some of them are original, some of them have been learned, some have been handed down over the years from one generation to another. Some are interesting, some are a bit hokey, to say the least. When I was a very young sales manager […]

The key to successful salespeople is that they go deep. They go beyond the transactional, the normal steps that salespeople tend to do. Great salespeople have that certain something that regular salespeople don’t have. And customers love them for it. Customers can’t wait for them to visit. Customers hope that they will be asked to […]

Great salespeople generate leads. Man, oh man, I heard it again this week. The fingernail on the blackboard noise of a salesperson telling me, “I am long past finding new customers, what I am now is a relationship manager.” OMG are you kidding me? Really, if these were the old days you’d have your straw […]