Watching the Olympics over the past few days, I can’t help but be impressed with the amount of passion and dedication that these athletes have for their sport. Their background bios are filled with stories of speed swimmers’ parents driving them to pools at 3:30 in the morning; of gymnasts leaving home at the age […]
Listen!
The salesperson has been working on getting that live meeting for weeks. Finally, she gets in front of the customer. By now the customer is one of two things: they are either enchanted and curious, or they are sick and tired of hearing from her and intend to end the barrage once and for all […]
A Hunting We Will Go!
The Ideal Customer Profile Okay let’s start off with that old Willie Sutton saw: When asked why he robbed banks, the famous or infamous bank robber responded, “Because that’s where the money is.” Which reminds me of some of the sales people we know who are out prospecting for new customers and orders while having […]
Don’t Sell Your Customers, Educate Them
There has never been a better time to pick up new customers. For the first time in years companies are looking for new suppliers…especially domestic suppliers. They want to bring some of their offshore business home. They also are developing new products and are concerned now more than ever about protecting their intellectual property). It’s […]
I’m Late, I’m Late, For A Very Important Date
Here is the good news for North American PCB shops. PCB sales are up 4.7% so far this year. There is more onshoring going on than ever, some of it with extreme prejudice since many companies are now adhering to the new ABC (Anyone But China) mode of purchasing PCBs. New and innovative products are […]
Dinner Is Not A Sales Strategy
“I can’t sell anything right now because of Covid. Customers don’t want to see me, their companies are closed up tight, they are working from home, I can’t take anyone to lunch, breakfast, dinner, coffee, beer, golf. I can’t sell without really seeing customers.” Really? Is this the extent of your sales ability? A lousy […]
Grow With The Power Of No!
There is nothing like rejection to increase your sales! Most of us feel that the worst thing about being in sales is the rejection. The fact that someone does not want what we have to sell. The feeling that someone does not like us enough to want to buy from us can be heartbreaking if […]
Keep Your Prospects Close But Keep Your Ideal Prospects Closer
An interesting question: When do you decide it’s not worth calling that prospect for the umpteenth time? Well it depends on the prospect. If you know for sure that you have exactly what a specific prospect needs, then you will never stop calling on them. This isn’t to say that you call them twice a […]
Customer Retention: The Great Lost Opportunity
We spend much more time and money and effort on attaining new customers than on retaining the ones we have already. It’s true that companies in all industries including ours are structured around customer acquisition rather than retention. In his new book, Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn any sale into a lifetime of loyalty […]
Doing The Right Things In Tough Times
More people than ever are calling me for advice on how to spend their days. Frankly pre-Covid I would have been put off by this question. Really, a salesperson asking how she should spend her days? I would have thought she could have figured that out by now. But now, well, these are not normal […]