Editor’s Note

Many psychologists around the world talk about how listening with your ‘third-ear’ can help you understand the needs and emotions of your customers. Every now and then, you need to get out of your own way to really understand them.

When You Have Just 5 Minutes With Prospects: Five tips for sales success

​If you are on the phone, a webinar, or in person, and you have a few minutes with the executive, what do you say to keep on track and be professional? Here is an invaluable framework. Adapt it to your situation, and boost your confidence and credibility.

Sales and Service Excellence September 2016 Advertisers

5 Critical Sales Management Processes: Building a world-class sales organization

World-class organizations focus on having the best people, processes and technology. Each of these contributing factors helps sales organizations drive sales and achieve their goals. VP’s of sales have shared with me that their number one goal is to build a world-class sales organization.

How To Get Into Your Sales Zone?: Simple exercises

Consider this article as your introduction to the concept of sales zones. Getting into this zone occurs when you accomplished so much or what transpires flows so freely that seemingly many more hours have passed than actually have.

These Three Words from a Teller Caused My Father to Move His Life Savings to a Competitor

Recently, I wrote an article entitled, "Don't Listen to Your Customers – Understand Them." I want to emphasize how important this is by relating what happened to my father at a bank a number of years ago – how their lack of understanding and the use of three seemingly innocent words destroyed the relationship this bank had been building for years.

Checklist For Influencers: Questions for sellers, coaches, leaders, change agents

​Most of you are really good at what you do: As influencers, sellers, coaches, change agents, or leaders, your intuition, excellent skills, and history of success guide your ability to facilitate change for your clients. And yet…. Using conventional models and questions – both designed to drive the predisposition of the facilitator - it’s inevitable that your interactions will have bias, and will unwittingly restrict possible outcomes accordingly.

How To Get the Marketing Skills Mix Right: Building an influential team of marketing leaders

“You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel, couldn’t be truer for marketing leaders. Think about it: You want to change the customer experience that large numbers of people in your company create each day—most of whom don’t work in marketing.

How To Use Your Brain To Sell?: Preventing thought bubbles from controlling your sales process

In today’s ruthlessly competitive markets, the ability to use our brains more effectively is a critical leadership and sales skill. For sales professionals, this requires understanding how our brains work and checking in with them on a regular basis to prevent our built-in biases and assumptions from derailing a successful sales process.

5 Steps To Improve Your Sales Process: Take back your success

The sales process should run according to certain principles, standards, policies, and procedures, which you and your management team have established as the way you want to do business. Examples include how paperwork and money are handled, how customers are treated, and how sales hours are structured.