Today's blog is a story that I love. I've heard it from numerous people, but the one that tells it the best, is my favorite story-teller, Zig Ziglar. Zig Ziglar tells the story of Emmanuel Ninger. In 1887, Ninger walked into the local grocery store to buy turnip greens. He gave the clerk a …
Sales
The 3-steps to any type of sale
In last week's blog "What type of Pencil do you use", we mentioned the sales process. To refresh your memory, we wrote: "Sales come to those that have something someone needed when they needed it. They offered value, a solution to a problem, a service that was missing. Success comes when you rinse …
Determining the value of the team
If I were to ask you what the value of this is, what is your answer? Pretty simple - it's $100. A nice crisp brand new bill. You would be able to give me one-hundred $1 bills, five - 20's, or any other combination to come up with the magical $100. Now, look at this picture … What's it worth? This …
What is the definition of fair?
"Fair is when one side gets exactly what they want and the other side gets just enough to stop complaining." - John Dutton, Yellowstone Although this is a great life lesson, it should never be your intent when you are negotiating. What ever happened to Covey's 7 Habits? If Covey had written …
Make this years goal setting process easy
Mondays' have always been my day. I loved them. It was time to put my plan into action. That plan was different every week, but it was the same. It always revolved around sales, accounts, territories, products, management, building the team, internal and external meetings, traveling, putting …
The “Wimpy Syndrome”
This is probably one of the most overused negotiation tactics by buyers and purchasing professionals in history. I call it the Wimpy Syndrome. You all remember “Popeye the Sailor man” and his friend Wimpy. Wimpy always wanted the immediate satisfaction of a hamburger today, with the promise of …
Tips: Closing the Deal
Going into this meeting, you know you have this deal. You have been in this position 10 Time’s, and you have your script ready. Your preparation for that objection is beyond reproach. Just at the moment you were going to say something, the prospect throws a curve. Jose Valverde, Detroit Tigers …
Tips: Are you building fires? or putting them out?
It is the end of a very busy day. You are tired. In fact, you are exhausted. All day long you have moved from item to item on your task list. Things are being crossed off that long list. There is that wonderful pillow, as you lay down ... and a thought goes through your head: “Why am I so …
Tips: How to be a salesperson, NOT an account manager
As a CEO or business owner, you wonder why Sales are not increasing. You have spent money on Sales Training, hired account managers, and review the metrics weekly. What are you missing? One of my functions is to gather information to provide my principals with some level of market intelligence. …
Tip: Hard Work is Irrelevant
If you could design the best compensation plan, would it be based on hard work, or output? I once heard a story about a locksmith. During his apprenticeship, he would take hours to work on a project. His customers would come and see him pour his heart and soul into his work. Quite a few would …