The Tragedy of “No Decision Made”

Depending on the research you read and believe, the number of buying journeys ending in “No Decision Made,” is around 50-60%. Think about what that means. Sure, we’re disappointed—it’s a lost opportunity for us. We may have invested a lot of time, resource, and energy in competing to win the decision from the customer buying…

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When the Customer Doesn’t Respond the Way You Want Them To

This afternoon, the phone rang, I picked it up, “Hi, this is Dave Brock.” Clearly, there was a sales person on the line, she said, “May I please speak to Dave?” (You can see this call going south already.) When I responded it was me, without taking a breath, she launched into a 97 second…

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Want Your Sales Pitch to Stand Out? Follow These 4 Tips

As a busy entrepreneur, I receive dozens of emails in my inbox daily, mostly from people who are trying to pitch me on their products or services. I move the majority of them into the trash without even giving them a second glance. But every once in a while, I get a gem of an…

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There Are No Silver Bullets

It seems every day I encounter someone looking for a silver bullet: “How do I get my prospect to see me, what’s the one thing/trick/technique you recommend that causes prospects to want to meet?” “What is the best technique to overcome objections?” “What is the way I can get my customer to select our solution?”…

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The ABC of Selling

I learned the ABC of selling from a vacuum cleaner salesman. What he said was, “Always Be Ready To Close The Deal.” I call it the ABCD of selling… Always Be Ready To Close The Deal! The ABC Of Selling While some may think that the ABC of selling means you are always ready to ask for the close,…

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Design Your Sales Calls for Success

Some years ago, we did research on the effectiveness of sales calls and meetings. We focused primarily on meeting on qualified opportunities, not prospecting calls. The results were shocking, though not surprising. We found sales people tended to make 30-50% more calls than necessary to close. I suspect that number is far larger today. In…

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Embracing Objections

I just saw the term, “Objection free selling.” In fairness to the person raising the issue, I didn’t read the article, so I’m not certain the premise or his position. It was the phrase that caught my attention, making me flashback on my own history of dealing with objections. At one point, I feared them.…

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Our Products Are Becoming Commoditized!

It seems every product, regardless of how complex, is destined for some level of commoditization. In virtually every industry, we look at products and solutions that were very complex. These require great product knowledge and extensive work with the customer to help them understand the product and its application. Over time, as products get greater…

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The Hidden Sales Productivity Drain

Regardless your level, look at your weekly calendar. Unless you are a total dolt, I can guess what it looks like: Your time is completely filled, often with overlaps in meetings, some with multiple things scheduled at the same time. The demands on your time exceed what you can schedule—and you do a lot of…

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