We all know it is hard out there right now. I have spent the past few weeks taking calls from salespeople who are more than a little discouraged, wondering what is going on. Everyone seems to be looking for answers as to why they aren’t making their numbers. Some of them blame China, some blame […]

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about what to do if sales are slow or down. Since then, things have not gotten much better. I have to agree with what people are saying.  Yes, as far as I can see, things have slowed down in terms of PCB sales. Not only here, but […]

Sales greatest secret, a great salesperson’s greatest challenge. Whenever I am working with salespeople, especially new salespeople, helping them with their cold calling to generate leads, one of the things that always comes up is the question, “What is the best voicemail message I can leave to make sure the customer calls me back?” Honestly, […]

It seems that all of a sudden the salespeople I work with can’t do anything. The calls and meetings I have with them are filled with negative statements like: “I can’t get appointments.” “No one answers the phone.” “Everyone I used to know and work with is gone.” “Nobody wants to see suppliers.” Some companies […]

The best salespeople use techniques they have learned over the years. Some of them are original, some of them have been learned, some have been handed down over the years from one generation to another. Some are interesting, some are a bit hokey, to say the least. When I was a very young sales manager […]

The key to successful salespeople is that they go deep. They go beyond the transactional, the normal steps that salespeople tend to do. Great salespeople have that certain something that regular salespeople don’t have. And customers love them for it. Customers can’t wait for them to visit. Customers hope that they will be asked to […]

Great salespeople generate leads. Man, oh man, I heard it again this week. The fingernail on the blackboard noise of a salesperson telling me, “I am long past finding new customers, what I am now is a relationship manager.” OMG are you kidding me? Really, if these were the old days you’d have your straw […]

The other day  someone asked me what I thought it took to be a great salesperson and once again I gave them a litany of my old standbys. After thinking about this for a day or two I thought it was time to dig deeper. To think about this even more. My answers were trite, […]

Stop groaning! I can hear you saying “no, please, not that again.” Well, sorry it’s time to review this again. Actually, the other day I was having some one-on-one meetings with a company’s sales reps, and I realized that it was time to review the most important part of the entire sales process, the sales […]

Are you hearing any of these statements when you talk to a salesperson about their sales or lack thereof lately? Take a look. Oh, and feel free to add your own. The economy is down and the news said we are heading for a recession so everyone is scared to buy my products. The war […]