Articles for Sales Management Professionals

Have you noticed most sales reps today do not think or plan enough moves ahead? Most don't even know until the Fall what they still need to do to achieve their annual quota.

Are you giving remote facility tours to your prospects and customers? Plant tours have always been a critical opportunity to sell your value and to demonstrate your quality. But customers are just not traveling as much today.

It used to be how often you contacted a buyer was defined by their sales volumes. But today things are more complex. One of the best things you can do is to just ask customers how often they want you calling and bringing new ideas.

Are you and your leadership team able to do business or conduct blind shopping studies of your competitors? It could be a great way to increase your competitive awareness as to why they're winning business and what you need to do about it!

Though cell phone video capabilities have existed for years, most salespeople are not taking advantage of this technology. The goal is to use your cell phone to capture more images of your products being utilized and satisfied customers talking about why they like doing business with you.

There's an old 1950’s selling concept called “WIIFM’s.” It was a simple acronym that stands for “What's in it for me?”

How many of your reps follow a “Ready – Fire – Aim” selling philosophy? Most are so action oriented they only think one selling move ahead.

Effective questioning skills are the foundation of all persuasive communications. There are three questioning structures your team needs to be utilizing:

How much time do now spend fighting fires and fixing problems compared to actually coaching…and leading your team? Will you be able to spend more time this year being more of a coach conducting account planning and strategizing with your salespeople?