Matthew G. Sikich II is The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Sales Training". You can find complete information on Matthew G. Sikich II and his products by visiting The 5 Buying Habits.
Remembering a customer’s name can improve your sales. However, people in my workshops often tell me that they have a difficult time remembering names. I sometimes think we tend to get too hung up on trying to recall a person’s name, especially if we have only met them once. Like anything else ... Views: 677
While you may not always get what you want, you will always get what you expect! Belief is the most powerful state of mind because your belief system defines and shapes who you are and determines your potential. I believe Henry Ford was correct when he said, “Whether you think you can or think ... Views: 803
I would like you to do something for me.
Take your left and right index finger and point them to your head. The area to point them at is just behind your ears on each side toward the top of the ear. Now if you push really really hard…. No, that might hurt and not be good for you.
But if you ... Views: 833
One is a very tiny number. However, it can have a tremendous impact on your revenues. Here are some ideas to consider:
Make one more cold call every day. One extra call a day equals 260 calls in a year. How many meetings could you set up with this number of calls and how many of those ... Views: 684
What's the most precious commodity in the world? Nope. Not gold. Not platinum. Not uranium. Not diamonds. The most precious commodity in the world is not something you can mine, or harvest, or hoard in safety deposit boxes.
The most precious commodity is something you have an almost endless ... Views: 805
Participants in my sales training workshops often ask how they can better control the sales process. Most people spend the majority of their time talking about their product or service believing that telling is selling. Although they may have been trained to do this, it is an ineffective ... Views: 861
At a recent conference, I was presenting at a session with sales managers and business owners, and the topic of referrals came up. The sales leaders in the room expressed frustration that their team wasn’t asking for referrals, despite the fact that everyone on the team knew that the quality of ... Views: 854
Self-development is a critical component. Here is the transcript of an interview I recently gave that outlines the importance of self-development.
“Let’s start with what seems to be an obvious question…why is self-development so important?”
Business is more competitive and challenging than ... Views: 889
Each and every day as we are building our businesses, we all know the key to a successful presentation is a product being sold to the end-line consumer and/or sponsoring a new person. In an upcoming issue, I am going to write about the difference between making a sale and having customer loyalty ... Views: 753
No matter whose sales system you subscribe to and follow, everyone of them has a stage or step where you propose your goods and services to the prospect. Oftentimes, in our anxiousness to be responsive, and because we believe by submitting a proposal we are actually speeding the process along, ... Views: 1117
Most salespeople have never received a proper education in selling and therefore do not have processes and strategies to use when trying to access and develop relationships with C-Levels and C-Suite executives. In actuality, most learn by trial and error, and errors cause rejections and ... Views: 1768
Cherry kitchen cabinets are gaining popularity very fast in real estate. This is because of the numerous benefits associated with it. A majority of homeowners who have used cherry kitchen cabinets enjoy having these cabinets in their homes.
However, there are valid concerns about using this ... Views: 111
“I’ll think it over and get back to you.” “Sure, we’ll do that someday.” “I need to check with my colleagues.” “Give me a call next month, then we can set a date.”
Tired of excuses? Looking for a more successful way to get others ... Views: 3438
Unless you are in the top 2% of sales professionals worldwide it's pretty hard to create need. Only those who are able to ask questions which surface a subliminal need and then develop that need into want will be able to make that sale.
Sales people should find other ways to identify need ... Views: 1574
Motivating your sales team is just one aspect of the job of a sales manager, but it is all encompassing in that it also includes all of the other things that you do as a sales manager. Sales managers are not only coaching and leading, but there should also be an undercurrent of motivation in ... Views: 973
Having a great closing technique doesn't guarantee you'll close sales. Closing the sale begins before you walk in the door.
You can learn every closing technique there is, however, each one will be more effective if you've taken the time to qualify and present properly.
If you get to the end ... Views: 866
Jamie was listening patiently to his potential customer. George had said what he was looking for, why he wanted it and what would happen if he didn’t solve the problem soon. Jamie was eager to close the deal but couldn’t tell if now was the time to ask for the sale.
Like Jamie, many sales ... Views: 1841
Perhaps one of the greatest myths about selling is the idea that a good salesperson is born not made. Many still believe the old idea that if you have got the gift of the gab, and can talk to anyone at any level, then you could probably sell sand to the Middle East. Unfortunately in the modern ... Views: 2274
Imagine you’ve just thrown a rock into a pond. SPLASH! Ripples begin extending around the point where the rock hit the water. An interesting observation is that the ripples closest to the rock are actually the smallest ones. Then each ripple creates another larger ripple…until finally it ... Views: 1017
Is your stomach still moving? The market opened yesterday with the Dow dropping over 400 points as everyone in the world worried about the economy. Let’s set the record straight. The economy is in trouble for a number of reasons and the only way you are going to fix your economy is to select ... Views: 921
Wouldn’t it be nice to tell donors what to say when they talk about your nonprofit? The Rule of Threes won’t let you control what people say, but it will give you an edge. Use it, and you will be giving them “mini-scripts” that will come to mind when they talk to their friends, colleagues and ... Views: 2595
We live in a quick-fix society so it’s no wonder that many salespeople look for the magic cure or band-aid solution to increase their sales. However, I believe that success in sales follows a basic set of rules.
Fill the pipeline. Many people experience tremendous peaks and valleys in their ... Views: 837
Looking to make your month the greatest ever? Who isn't? Ask any successful salesperson the secret for having great months and they will all say -- positive attitude, creative preparation, and consistent performance.
To succeed month to month, you must execute day to day. Here are 31 creative ... Views: 5964
It does not matter if you are salesperson of the year or if you are in the first week of your sales career, you will definitely come across a period of time where you will encounter a steady stream of 'No Thanks'
During these challenging times it is very easy, despite the salespersons amazing ... Views: 856
It's a great day at Newman Industries today! For the last month, they have been actively recruiting a hot candidate to join their sales team. Today, Steven Harmon agreed to join them. They see him as a true rainmaker. The recruiter and sales manager share high-fives. Mission accomplished! Spike ... Views: 712
When you start think about the sales process, there are three basic principles you must learn and adopt before you will become successful. The first is to be organized. You need to have information on all your clients with all their information. Your schedule for that day should be tied to a map ... Views: 2985
Do You Have Sales Prospecting Woes? Get A Better Strategy!
In sales prospecting, your objective most often is to persuade a new customer to agree to meet with you face-to-face. To gain that commitment, you must convince the prospect that you are someone worth meeting. Every customer’s first ... Views: 719
How Will This Buying Decision Be Made?
Three-quarters of the secret to professional, strategic selling boils down to asking The Best Questions and listening carefully to the answers. Most of the Best Questions have to do with uncovering the crucial, underlying needs your products or services ... Views: 734
The Sales Training Series: Who Is This Customer Really?
A lot of salespeople are good at organizing. Some are even good at sales strategy. But very few know how to use those sales skills to devise an effective, repeatable plan for gaining commitment from customers—a plan that begins to take ... Views: 869
SOS, is known in Morse code as a universal distress signal. For salespeople, a “Save Our Ship,” becomes a “Save Our Sales” distress call. While everyone selling likely has their own SOS, here are five common sales calls for help.
1. Cancelled appointments
Are you confirming any appointments ... Views: 1427
The secret of sales success
There are number of books written in sales and marketing but all the tricks, techniques and methods narrows down to only few principles. You would have heard over and over again that sales in a number game. Do you know why?
Because sales is not about calling 20 ... Views: 488
One of the biggest mirages in sales is the proverbial rubber stamp. Sales people believe that they have won the business, but have left a deal-killer in play.
It's September, also known as back to school time. My neighbors and I escort our children to the bus stop for the first day of the new ... Views: 1058
Most of us have had some sort of training on goal setting.
We discussed that goals are very important. Many studies have proven that goal setting, and writing them down is critical to your success. That is all well and good, but most people do not actually set goal for themselves, they ... Views: 799
Ok. This is false advertising. There is no secret to "overcoming" the price objection. The truth is that the price objection cannot be overcome. That is because it isn't intended to be overcome. It is meant to be resolved through thought facilitation by a sales person. The sales person's role is ... Views: 690
Voicemail is the scourge of many salespeople and yet the number 1 prospecting tool for some of the worlds most successful salespeople. Where does it sit in your sales prospecting armory?
I really am surprised that even the most experienced sale people have never, ever taken the time to work ... Views: 1427
When you look at the calendar at this time of the year, you start to realize that the selling year is almost over. In fact, when you take out the holidays, there are only about 45 selling days left in the year. That is not a lot of time left for your team to qualify for their annual sales ... Views: 1152
On this episode of Sales Management mastery we go into part 2 of our series on the Seven Forces of Sales Motivation. We continue with forces 5 through 7 and further develop our understanding with our psychology of motivating people
As a quick review, we went through the first 4 of the 7 forces ... Views: 1894
There are five buying decisions all prospects make before they purchase a product or service.
Central in their decision making process is the question:
"What will it do for me?"
A salesperson should imagine this question emblazoned across the forehead of every prospect because it is this ... Views: 1311
It’s been said often, “Some folks can’t seem to see the forest for the trees.” Perhaps that’s true in any arena, but it seems that it’s rampant in sales, especially when sales are down. Time after time, when sales start to fall we find sales people becoming ... Views: 1087
At one time or another, we have all encountered an employee who would clearly rather be anywhere than at the store serving customers. It's unfortunate because there are few professions where a person has a chance to make a bigger impression on someone than in retail.
Every day, a retail ... Views: 735
Integrated action seals the deal.
Want to fast-track results in a business development venture? Want to step up your rainmaking timeline? Want to leverage your sales skills, marketing know-how and networking panache? The secret to impacting your success in sealing multiple deals lies in your ... Views: 1089
The Harvard Business Review revealed two staggering statistics in a recent study:
1. 56% of executives consider their sales forces “average, worse than normal or catastrophic”
2. 85% of salespeople wish they were doing something else
This poor performance and dissatisfaction comes from one ... Views: 815
I talk to lots of entrepreneurs who say they don't like selling and they won't acknowledge this important aspect of their business. They figure that people will just gladly offer them money and they won't have to ask for it.
Most of these people are also struggling to make ends meet because ... Views: 1125
Becoming self-employed can be liberating, exhilarating, frustrating and terrifying. Often all at the same time. Most entrepreneurs I meet know they need to be doing marketing. They just often lack a clear sense of what marketing is, or they have no idea where to start. Here are the seven ... Views: 2129
We all make mistakes when selling our product or service. Here are the most common mistakes people make. I have to admit I have made many of mistakes listed in this article even though I have been teaching this stuff for almost a decade. I hope you can learn from them.
1. Allowing a prospect to ... Views: 759
I have been a sales trainer for more than twenty years and every year these two questions come up repeatedly: "What are the top things that I can do to make more sales?" or "How can I be successful in sales?" Rookie sales people always ask these questions, but nowadays in such a highly ... Views: 1216
If you are like most organizations, your marketing budget has been squeezed and squeezed as customers become tighter with their spending and competitors become more and more fierce. This means that more and more, the return on marketing investment needs to be measured and maximized.
As ... Views: 727
In our previous article, we looked at the extremely interesting study by Nielsen who measured Consumer Trust in Advertising Channels. Essentially, they looked at the various ways that a business delivers its message to prospects, and determined the degree to which that prospect trusted that ... Views: 639
Far too often a generic sales presentation is the be-all and end-all for a busy sales team. A single presentation is supposed to work in any situation for any audience. But, let’s face it…does this really work?
How can one sales presentation do the heavy lifting for every situation and every ... Views: 823
Ask most people to describe a sales person, and likely as not, you'll find yourself deluged by words like "huckster," "snake oil peddler," "fast talker," "con artist" and, of course, "untrustworthy," "arrogant" and "dishonest."
Those of us who work in sales and know ourselves to be fine, ... Views: 1060