"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 …
salesmanship
Setting Expectations
Setting prices, or setting expectations, is always difficult. We feel that if its too high people won't buy. I found a great formula in Seth Godin's blog this week. That's where I found a quote that I immediately tweeted out (giving him credit of course). Here is the quote: "Charge enough that you …
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: 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 …
Simple Selling Formula
What is the fastest way to a sale? Could you provide a formula if you were asked? Problem + Promise + Path = Success Sales professionals are problem solvers first and foremost. If you keep this simple formula in mind as you work with your prospects, I assure that you will get to the sale …
When do you pick up your marbles and go home?
When Steven Covey spoke of seeking a Win-Win solution, did he mention compromising on principals? No, he spoke about showing your adversary how we both benefit by implementing a solution. If you are certain that a RED solution is the right one, and you are negotiating with someone that firmly …
When is it a good time to fire a customer?
We all have been faced with a situation where we are dealing with a customer that we want to get rid of. Yes, I am talking about deliberately firing a customer for various reasons. Either they are slow pay or no pay, have unreasonable service requests, just over demanding, or a myriad of other …
Does your bush have thorns, or roses?
So often during coaching exercises I hear my clients say things like: “That prospect won’t buy because of …” “They will say no because of …” “They use my competitor, and they are always lower priced than us” I like Abraham Lincoln's quote here: "We can complain that rose …