February 2012

“She Never Told Me, ‘No!’ That’s Probably Why I’m So Rotten.”

You’ve seen it. Plenty.

Some unruly child about 3 feet tall, all of 45 pounds wielding enough power to be the envy of any Communist dictator. And a parent softly pleading with this little tyrant to behave, act nice and stop yelling.

Power corrupts. Three and four year olds don’t have an extraordinary capacity for wisdom though. Drunk with power he grows increasingly confident in his ability to twist mom and dad into Harry Houdini contortions as they try to bend to his will.

Permit me to introduce you to Melvin Williams, the subject of the HBO series, “The Wire.” Melvin ran the heroin trade in Baltimore for decades. No, Melvin doesn’t take drugs. He doesn’t even drink. He just wanted to make money – as much as he possibly could.

Melvin is an old school hoodlum who refused to rat out anybody…so he’s done his share of prison time. Twice. Refusing to testify against anybody. A life of crime, sacrificing too much time behind bars.

He loved his mom, but in a Biography Channel episode about his life, he made this comment about his mom.

Parenting is a lost art in many homes. Sadly, Melvin’s home didn’t do him any favors. Sure, his mom may have been a good woman, but to be a good parent demands a willingness and ability to say, “No!” And to enforce it.

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Snipe Hunting: Fixing Sales Problems That Don’t Exist

Sure there are legitimate sales problems that need to be fixed, but more often than not I’m finding sales managers (and salespeople) determined to fix problems that don’t exist.

As we wind down another month, sales teams all over the world are in a mad dash to figure out how they can close more deals. Many of them will use one tactic in an effort to do that. It’s a crutch, but many salespeople are fully convinced it’s THE problem that needs to be solved.

Thanks for watching!

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Episode 118 – Common Mistakes Of Virtual Selling

Podcast: Download The Audio | Non-Flash Playback

Skype, GoToMeeting, Apple FaceTime…there are so many ways for us to virtually connect with prospects!

Face-to-face selling for many organizations has given way to these methods. It’s convenient. It’s inexpensive. Prospects and salespeople both are actively gravitating to these methods to connect.

GoToMeeting is a terrific resource.

Some challenges confront us when we connect virtually. Facial expressions and body language give us cues in face-to-face meetings. In virtual meetings we have to listen for verbal cues. Misunderstanding and miscommunication are quite common even when the technology works as it should.

Recently I’ve encountered sales presentations that broke rules necessary to complete a sale. Our objective should always be to create a happy customer! How can we accomplish that if we can’t provide a degree of happiness during that crucial prospecting phase?

The cell phone - more often than not our weapon of choice.

A few days ago I read this article online at Inc. Author Geoffrey James writes about 10 common mistakes he thinks salespeople commit in face-to-face selling. It’s helpful to use his article as a template for discussing the common mistakes made during virtual selling, too.

Some salespeople lack proper communication training. If we’re going to become masterful at selling, we first need to be superior students of selling. The primary component of masterful selling is masterful communication.

Go back and check out these recent video shows on selling:

Build Rapport Before You Start Selling

Talk Less, Sell More

Salesmanship Starts With Finding Out How To Best Serve

Should You Use Humor In Selling?

Spread the word about the podcast if you know somebody who’d find it helpful.

And lastly, would you take a few minutes to leave me a review over at iTunes. That’ll help others find the podcast.

Thank you for listening,

 

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