Sales & Selling

Tech-Startup Optimism Shines Bright at Launch Conference

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:27:30 +0100

For most small businesses, times are still pretty tough. Sales are slow, regulations are a pain, and raising money can seem like an impossible dream.

But for the entrepreneurs behind the latest generation of technology startups,

The Postrecession Consumer

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:55:42 +0100

The recession has changed a lot of things for good. And when we say good, we mean bad. Everybody has less money and everybody is spending less money. But they’re spending less in different ways, according to a survey by this marketing research firm called Decitica

How Colors Affect What You Buy

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:48:45 +0100

I was on the Huffington Post recently and came across an interesting infographic about colors affect what you buy, and how retailers use it to their advantage in their marketing, displays and other interactions with consumers. The infographic from KissMetrics sites several sources who understand the influences of color.

Shopping Trends Bring Hope for Small Retailers, Too!

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:10:44 +0100

This time of year, retailers hear more holiday sales prognostications than they do syrupy versions of "Little Drummer Boy." But while it's often helpful to get a sense of how and why shoppers are opening their wallets, small retailers typically don't benefit much from those studies -- pretty much all of them focus on the big chain retailers and mega-sites.

The ABCs of Effective Advertising

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:05:18 +0100

If you want your advertising to resonate with prospective customers, it's essential that you appeal to their emotions in some way. Fail to do this and you might as well be throwing money out the window.

Effective ads sell your message, company, or product. They may or may not be creative,

Retailers Use New Tactics to Turn Holiday Browsers into Gift Buyers

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:37:04 +0100

Discounting is not the only way to draw customers and influence them to spend this holiday season. Increasingly, smart retailers are using psychology. They’re taking steps in their stores to increase the mood boost people feel naturally when they’re buying for others and turn holiday shopping into a truly pleasurable experience.

Use Twitter to Promote Your Business at a Trade Show

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:44:52 +0100

Twitter, with more than 100 million users worldwide, may be a fun, quick way to communicate thoughts and whereabouts to your friends, but its most amazing value for businesses is as a public relations communication tool, one that is especially effective when used at trade shows.

With 140-character announcements, sometimes with attachments included,

Building Credibility with New Clients

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:06:41 +0100

How do you transfer credibility from your previous job to your new one? And, what are the steps to establish yourself from the ground up? If you inherit clients when you change jobs, it's important to start building your credibility and effectively pick up where someone else left off.

Whether you are new to sales or have moved into a new sales position, a new job is an opportunity for you to make changes, learn new skills, and open new avenues of business.

If you inherit clients when you change...

Establishing Key Business Relationships through Online Social Networking

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:03:19 +0100

Social networking is a familiar business practice for most sales professionals, and with the exception of being technology based, online social networking isn't much different. The critical difference between online and off, however, is how much easier it is to connect with total strangers. The power of online social networking for professionals lives in the user's ability to connect with anyone, anywhere, with the click of a button.

Simply put - online social networking is an enabling technolog...

80 Percent Syndrome: The Harmful Habit That's Hindering Your Sales

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:00:32 +0100

Working in a complex selling environment means that competition is high and your sale relies on the approval of multiple decision makers. In this environment, it is likely that customers already have a description of your product from your website or your competitors and may even have people on their team rooting for the other side.

This situation presents a perfect opportunity to benefit from a well-built relationship. Customers need assurance that you understand their needs and that you are mo...

Boost Your Close Rates with a Joint Venture Approach

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:57:10 +0100

As a sales professional, you have likely walked away from a lost sale wondering what went wrong. Your inability to understand why they didn't choose your solution may have led you to blame the price or assume that your competition had an unfair advantage. Miller Heiman developed a model that gets rid of the mystery and eliminates the blame game. With this system, you can make sure that you're always aware of your customer's challenge - giving you a competitive advantage and allowing you to accura...

Sharpen Your Customer Focus Efforts

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:54:37 +0100

Are you truly customer-focused in your selling activities? Answer True or False to the following questions to evaluate whether or not you are taking advantage of all of your opportunities to be customer-focused.

During each sales call, my customer talks more than 50% of the time.
I connect in person or by phone at least once a quarter with every customer.
I sometimes ask questions where I'm afraid of what I might hear.
I have relationships and dialog at the highest executive level wi...

23 Questions You Should Ask When Building Your Marketing Strategy

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:52:11 +0100

Ask 10 professional service firms to see their marketing strategies and you will get an interesting mix of answers. You might get a fifty page document that would get an "A" in any business school class. Some firms might give you a few pages on the tactics they plan to implement by month or quarter. Many firms would say, "Marketing strategy? We're working on getting it down on paper this year."

Does this plan make good business sense?
Do I know where you are spending time and money, and why y...

Got Marketing? Align for Enhanced Results

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:48:36 +0100

A sales cycle can be a lot like putting together a puzzle, except you don't know what the final picture will look like. Sales and marketing departments provide individual value, but aligning your sales perspective with their marketing view can generate a better visual.

Cold Calling Works: You Just Do It Wrong

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:44:24 +0100

Just those two words together — cold-calling — put many people far away from warm and happy. Given that it's so much fun for so many people, and that I have heard a number of times recently that the last nail has been banged into the cold calling coffin, why is cold calling still even on our radar screens?

Because it works.

"It doesn't work," you say? Well, in one sense I agree with you: there are a million ways to do it wrong and fail. Fail at something enough, and it's easy to dismiss the...

Client Relationships That Produce Results

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:41:51 +0100

No doubt you know the features of your product like the back of your hand. But beyond the bells and whistles, the low price, or your fancy suit, the fact remains that customers make the decision to buy based on what they believe your product will do for them.

Do you have the right relationship?

Top-performing salespeople know that to effectively close a sale, significant time must be invested in building an open, trusting relationship with the client. The rapport you establish gives you a solid f...

From Poor to Perfect: Launching a CRM

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:38:21 +0100

The Setup: The Situation - Not the Software

Everyone in the office is talking about it. Excitement, nervousness - when is it going to happen?

"I heard next week."

"No, it's going to be after the holiday."

You enjoy the buzz. After all, it's all about your project: you're bringing the firm from that old, crummy, quirky database program to the shiny, brand new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application.

Unfortunately, all that buzz comes with additional pressure. Pressure to quickly de...

Wildly Worried or Happily Coasting?

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:34:19 +0100

Many people are closely in tune with the aches and pains of their body, knowing when a doctor's visit is necessary and when chicken soup and cough medicine will suffice. Speculating what condition your body is in based on the symptoms helps you take the proper course of action to get relief.

The sales profession is very similar. Top-performing salespeople perform brutally honest assessments of what their gut feeling is telling them about their current opportunities, with answers falling within t...

Staying Top of Mind (Without Being a Pain In The Neck)

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:29:12 +0100

"And if you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with, love the one you're with, love the one you're with, love the one you're with..."
- Stephen Stills

Why does it seem that our clients (and prospects) too often take the advice of seventies rock stars when selecting their professional services providers? Perhaps the following story will shed some light.

I recently conducted research for a client on how often their past clients wish to be contacted by their professional ser...

Get In Step with Your Customer's Buying Process

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:26:48 +0100

Learning the Steps

In the sales arena, as on the dance floor, misperception can really put a salesperson off beat. Like any dance, navigating through a sale depends on how well the two parties understand each other.

Prospects searching for solutions can go online for information (accurate or not). You may not be aware of just how much they know about your company and your products.

Dancing in Unison

A sales professional must recognize that the buying process is often moving long before the se...