In my years of selling, I’ve found one of the most powerful and versatile sales tools is the simple ink pen. Whether it’s a fancy Mont Blanc or a basic blue Bic, the pen can be used for many purposes during your conversations. As we go more and more digital, it's easy to leave our pens in our briefcases or purses. But when you don't take out your pen, you lose a powerful tool that can help you close more deals. It might seem like just a little tube of plastic or metal, but it's secret weapon that has a lot of uses. Why Your Pen Is Still Useful If you are a professional salesperson, you should remember a few key points about your … [Read more...]
The Mantra That Will Make You More Influential: They Don’t Care How the Beer Tastes
One of the nice things about working for myself is that I get to work where I want. That's often my home office or one of the many coffeehouses around Evanston, IL. Or if it's about 3:30 and another cup of tea will make my head explode, it's one of my favorite bars where I can sip a craft brew and work in the eerily dead time between lunch and happy hour. (I love the fact that pretty much every establishment feels the need to have free WiFi). Watching a Sales Call Unravel As I was sitting here at the bar today, enjoying the last drops of this year's Great Lakes Oktoberfest, a sales rep for a local Chicago craft brewer came in. She had … [Read more...]
How Stand-Up Comedy Can Help You Sell and Influence
Do you want to get better at persuading people? My guess is that you do because whether you are a salesperson selling a product, an entrepreneur courting an investor, or a business owner convincing your team about your vision, your success hinges on your ability to influence other people. Luckily, there are shelves and shelves of books (and information all over the internet) on how to be better at selling, public speaking, and influencing others. A lot of them are good, more of them are mediocre, and almost all of them are relatively boring. It makes it a little more challenging to slog through them. So here's an idea of how to … [Read more...]
Make Your Next Business Meeting Better with LinkedIn
You did it. You got the meeting that you've been pursuing for months with a prospective client, business partner, or investor. You've got your pitch rehearsed and your presentation rocks. You've got your best outfit back from the cleaners. You are ready to go. But hang on a second. There's something else you can do - that you should do - before you go into that meeting. What do you know about the person you are about to meet? There's a saying that most sales are won or lost before the conversation ever starts, and that applies to all sorts of business meetings. Spend some time researching the person you are about to talk to. Going … [Read more...]
Your Passion is A Problem (When You’re Selling)
Passion is good - especially when you are running the show. When I meet a business owner or entrepreneur who isn't excited and confident about what they are doing, I know that the company is heading for tough times. There are many challenges for small businesses. Sometimes the leader's enthusiasm and optimism are the key to finding success at the end of the day. Even though it's good to talk to your customers, employees, and partners with passion, though, it can quickly become a liability when you have to sell yourself or your company. It sounds counter-intuitive, but if your main sales tactic is to share your excitement about what you … [Read more...]
The Sales Truth I Learned Managing a Band
When I was a younger (and hopefully cooler) man, I played in a band called The Jesters. I started the band with my friend Jim, and we split the duties - he would work on the music and I would get us gigs. Here's what I learned that would help me sell in every other part of my career: Bar and club owners didn't care about our music - they cared about getting people in the door who would drink beer and eat food. Focus On Their Needs Being a great band was important to us. We spent a lot of time practicing and writing songs. We worked on our stage show to make sure that our fan base would grow and people would come out and see us. But for … [Read more...]
The Joy of Sales Scripts
Over the years I've heard thousands of sales professionals say, "I don't like using a sales script - it sounds so robotic and stiff and it just doesn't work." Actually, let me restate that: Over the years, I've heard thousands of unsuccessful sales professionals say that. Successful sales professionals understand that having a script - a set process that they follow when interacting with customers - is critical. Sales Scripts Create a Repeatable Path Even the successful sales pros who swear they don't use scripts follow the same path with each customer conversation; they've internalized their scripts so deeply they don't even know … [Read more...]