Sometimes the industrial manufacturing sales world can feel like a high-stakes game of whack-a-mole. Challenges and obstacles are constantly popping up, and more reps than ever are struggling to earn a seat at the table and drive results.
It’s always the right time to implement better practices in sales.
Every so often, we like to highlight stories from front-line sellers and sales trainers to discuss the practical applications of ASLAN’s philosophy and methodology. I recently sat down with Chris White, speaker, sales expert, Founder of Tech Sales Advisors, and bestselling author of The Six Habits of Highly Effective Sales Engineers, to unpack his own experience on the frontlines of selling.
Asking effective, thought-provoking, and open-ended questions is one of the traits that distinguishes high-performing sales reps from the rest of the pack. It’s one of those key sales skills that helps salespeople uncover needs and reveal decision drivers to help their customers make the best choice for their business.
Tis the season! Or rather the end of the basketball season… and we’re excited to facilitate a collision of worlds with a discussion about two of our favorite things: selling and basketball.
As a sales training company, we spend a lot of time focusing our content on the technical side of selling. But we do also like to take a step back and examine the human elements of being a sales rep or sales leader, or a professional of any sort.
What is social selling? We’re going to unpack that today, as well as how that plays into prospecting in this virtual world of B2B selling. Essentially, there are 3 components we’ve identified and fleshed out, that go into doing this well.
Stress management – not a new concept to any sales professional… but still one worth talking about, especially as the new year brings about new business and new challenges.
There is no time more fitting than the start of the new year to reflect on the wins and losses of the past year and set new goals for the upcoming one.
How are salespeople usually described? You typically hear words like “self-centered,” “pushy,” and even “untrustworthy.”
In July 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. took off from New Jersey in his small, private plane and headed for the Kennedy compound on Martha’s Vineyard. Even though a storm was rolling in, he made the decision that it was safe to fly.
In the world of sales, email outreach is nothing new. It’s the most commonly used method of outreach, with 93% of B2B marketers using email to reach their customers. And now, without the opportunity to prospect through in-person networking and at events, the pressure is even greater on email to connect sales reps and potential customers virtually.
Up to this point in the series, we’ve been focused on creating a framework and setting the stage for a drop-the-mic presentation. In Part 3, I want to shift to delivery.
As explored in Part 1, the first step to delivering a killer presentation is understanding the right framework. Here I want to explore another critical element of the perfect performance – controlling the stage.
Combined, over the last 30+ years, I’ve watched and made hundreds of sales presentations. Here’s the most important thing I’ve learned: the best presentation wins, not necessarily the best solution.
During this pandemic, individuals and companies alike have had to adapt and evolve to the changing landscape of business and sales. With the majority of events, meetings, and projects being moved online, managers and leaders have had to get creative.
If you run an inbound sales organization, or if you make a living selling on the phone, you know the biggest obstacle to up-selling happens in the first 15 seconds of the call. Although all “genres” of sales share common themes and techniques across the board, there are some key differences to selling in an inbound, call center environment that we’ll address here today.
I love Cinderella stories – when someone overcomes impossible odds to do something great. It doesn’t matter if it’s an athlete, teacher, rockstar, mom, politician, or accountant, the story always moves me. This weekend I heard a new one.
You are sitting in a coffee shop, or maybe at your cubicle, prepping for your first prospect meeting with sales discovery questions. (At least I hope you’re prepping). You know you need to learn more about their needs, so you begin thinking about ….what? What do you typically focus on?
In our previous post, What’s More Important in Top Sales Training Courses: Measuring Behaviors or Outcomes? we discussed the importance of measuring the effectiveness of sales training courses by behaviors rather than outcomes. In this blog post, we’re highlighting another leading problem with sales training programs: focusing the initiative exclusively on front-line employees rather than involving mid-level and top-level leaders, too.
Over the past two decades, I’ve learned that there is a critical concept in understanding how to close more deals. And it’s perfectly illustrated by what’s on my calendar today: Two calls that couldn’t be more different.
Earlier this spring, we remodeled our kitchen. As we were wrapping up the project, some friends came over to visit. They took one look at our shiny, new appliances and asked: “Where did you get those?”
There’s a distinct difference between sales tools and sales training, but because they often overlap, it can be difficult to know which one is best for your organization.
While it sounds like a quippy little tagline that belongs on magnets and coffee mugs, it’s absolutely true, and you pick up much more through reading than you realize. From teaching you how to organize your knowledge to building subconscious models and connections in your mind, reading shapes our experiences in ways that define our communication styles, our relationships, and our connections.
Have you ever stopped to think what it would take to sell yourself something? I mean to call you during dinner and really have your beliefs changed about a product or a service and get you to stop eating and invest your hard-earned money. Do you have what it takes to sell yourself?
When I look in the mirror (not literally), and think about selling to myself, I learn quite a bit. I'm a hard sell. I'm typically immune to being approached by salespeople in general, and especially bad ones. And yes, I am a sales person by profession. Because of this, I take the art of selling very seriously, and I have a passion for helping salespeople transform into sales professionals. I also am very quick to recognize and reward good salesmanship.
I have rookies, amateurs, and time termites approach me every day, trying to pitch or persuade me. Very few succeed.
So, if I look in the mirror to selling me, what are the fundamentals to gaining access to me?
My wife is a fan of the TV show Biggest Loser – and according to the ratings numbers, she is not alone! Seems millions of Americans tune in weekly to watch fitness experts Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper tone up and thin down teams of overweight contestants.
