Posted on Monday, June 29, 2020

Creating a Simple Sales Activity Tracking Sheet

What distinguishes average salespeople from top-performers? Regardless of education or experience, success is directly tied to self-discipline. Above all, top-performing salespeople know their numbers.

Tracking sales activity might not seem fun. It doesn’t give you the euphoric feeling that closing a deal can; tracking your numbers doesn’t have an immediate pay-off. It can take months (sometimes years) before you’ll reap the rewards of it, but if you want to rise to the top in your industry, then you have to know your numbers.

Here’s the good news: keeping track of your sales activity doesn’t need to be complicated.

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Posted on Monday, May 18, 2020

Sell with Empathy (Especially during a Crisis)

I’ve heard this from a lot of salespeople lately: How do I still sell right now? I know trying to sell during a crisis has put us all in uncharted waters, but we have to keep moving forward.

This current crisis feels different because COVID-19 has affected everyone. But we can still learn lessons from other nationwide tragedies (the aftermath of 9/11, the Great Recession) or the more common regional natural disasters and industry-specific downturns that can be devastating for our clients.

We can start selling again. But we need to approach it the right way.

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Posted on Monday, May 4, 2020

Running Virtual Meetings Effectively

Our world has changed so quickly in the last few weeks. We’ve had to adapt to a whole new way of doing things—in business and in our personal lives. One of the biggest hurdles many people are facing is running virtual meetings.

It may be completely new to you, but you can prospect, sell, and lead meetings over video conferencing services effectively. There are a few keys to adjusting to this style of presentation. Once you master those, you’ll be off and running!

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Posted on Monday, March 2, 2020

How the 4 Stages of Learning Can Help You in Sales

I live by the idea “Always Be Learning.” One of my favorite authors, Stephen Covey, calls it “sharpening the saw.” In short, knowledge is a lifelong journey to engage in continually, not a destination to reach. I teach the 4 stages of learning at the beginning of every single coaching and consulting relationship.

A lot of people don’t understand why they’re not growing. The answer is always that they need to be learning more. No matter what you need to learn, there are 4 stages you’ll progress through each time you encounter new knowledge. Understanding them is key to mastering the knowledge at hand.

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Posted on Monday, February 3, 2020

Using the Tie-Down Close Effectively

If you’ve ever watched Law & Order or any of the other criminal junkie shows on television, chances are you’ve heard an attorney shout the words, “Objection! Leading the witness.”

Leading the witness isn’t allowed because it can sway the testimony to the attorney’s benefit. It can almost be a way of putting words in someone’s mouth. It’s known as a tie-down, and the principle behind it drives one of the most effective closing techniques in all of sales.

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Posted on Monday, January 13, 2020

How to Become Referral-Worthy

Many of us rely heavily on referrals to find new leads for our pipelines. Therefore, nurturing referral relationships is one of the most important things we should be doing on a daily basis.

But are you taking for granted that these people will keep sending business your way? You may think you’re satisfied with the number of referrals you’re getting now, but what if you’re leaving more on the table than you realize? Or what if there was a way to get better quality leads? Wouldn’t you want to know how?

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Posted on Monday, January 6, 2020

5 Ways to Stay Motivated All Year Long

When we approach the start of a new quarter, thinking about the status of our goals for the year is only natural. And it’s completely normal for motivation to come in spurts. It can be hard to stay motivated throughout the calendar year.

But if we allow ourselves to get knocked off track, there’s no hope we’ll ever establish a pattern of setting goals and crushing them. So how do I do it? With five easy steps.

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