Matthew G. Sikich II is The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Sales Training". You can find complete information on Matthew G. Sikich II and his products by visiting The 5 Buying Habits.
You can be a salesperson who is a thermometer or a thermostat during a down economy. You can gain control of your beliefs and actions if you are more like a thermostat. And that is what these top seven secrets depend on: you being more like a thermostat.
Secret one in quick review, “Step away ... Views: 853
If you live in the U.S., at the end of October you'll be preparing for a stream of young children to come to your door on Halloween. One by one or in groups of friends, they'll ring the bell and shout, "Trick or Treat".
To avoid having them actually play a trick on us, you bribe these ... Views: 852
For more than a decade I have the opportunity to interact with thousands of salespeople and I have discovered a few myths that many of them have fallen prey to. Here are just a few.
1. Buyers are liars. I’m constantly amazed how many salespeople use this expression. Do people mislead ... Views: 851
What does it take to be successful in sales? Certainly effort, hard work and dedication is important. An excellent understanding of the sales process is also essential. But it’s more than that. The most successful people I know have a slightly different outlook than their coworkers and ... Views: 850
When September rolls around, parents all across the country gleefully take to the stores, loading up their carts with all the supplies their little darlings will need to make it through the coming academic year. After all, school is a really busy time, and to do well, you need to be ... Views: 850
Goal setting - it's so easy and yet it's so hard. It has to be hard because so few people do it.
Some people did it and don't do it now. Even people who have set goals in the past and have achieved them no longer set goals for themselves.
I find it mind-boggling.
There is an old Gaelic ... Views: 850
Going for that all important sales interview can be really awe-inspiring. The way you sell yourself in an interview will obviously be a good gauge as to how you can sell yourself in the field. So how can you make sure those last minute nerves don’t stop you giving your optimum performance and ... Views: 850
During my 25-years in corporate sales life I sold both products and services. Sales people who inform me that they sell a service and that is more difficult than selling a product and it is a different sale, constantly approach me. I ask them how their business is going and they usually say – ... Views: 850
In my thirty years of selling, my sales have never had a downturn during a recession. Have I ever experienced a sales slowdown ever? Of course! I’d be lying if I told you anything else. But I’ve never had this happen during a recession. As a matter of fact I STARTED my business during a downturn ... Views: 849
My silent fish tank was no more. Enough water had evaporated to make the filter gurgle. It was highly annoying and I knew I wouldn’t be at ease until it was silent again, so I filled the tank.
Did I fill it to satisfy a want or a need? Does it really matter? Probably not.
The gurgling tank ... Views: 849
Are you still playing your sales game the same way you did three years ago? Are you doing the same things you have done for years? Are you struggling and can't figure out why? Are you having the same success you enjoyed in the past? What are you doing to change your "Game"?
Why Change?
I was ... Views: 849
In June of this year, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asked President Obama to declare Fresno County a federal disaster area. The White House has not yet responded to Governor Schwarzenegger's request. Requests for presidential disaster declarations are much rarer for droughts than for ... Views: 849
As the economy continues to regain strength, sales managers are still struggling to get the most out of their current sales staff especially after the many cutbacks of resources during the recession. After research of over 1000 sales reps over a 2 year period, only slightly more than half of the ... Views: 848
Long-term investment sales success requires a buying atmosphere. In a buying atmosphere: you both know why you’re meeting, you both feel comfortable and share open communication, and you’re both focused on one thing; the best outcome for the customer. It takes pre-work to create the most ... Views: 847
There is no one-thing that makes a sales leader great. But, there is definitely one thing that can make them poor - an inability to coach and develop their employees.
Tell a salesperson to go sell and he will struggle for a day, teach him how to sell and he will sell for life. Ok, so that is ... Views: 847
When you open your appointment book does it look like your bank account? Empty! Can you sit in your office for hours on end with no interruptions in the form of phone calls from potential prospects and suspects dropping in? Feeling as lonely as the Maytag repairman?
Well, at least ... Views: 846
If you aren’t moving forward you’re moving backward. You want to grow and that means you need to attract more prospects. You’re scared to limit yourself to a specific group of people, or you simply don’t know how to narrow the field. One way to ensure your rapid growth ... Views: 845
No matter how much you try to ignore that fact it's still blindly ruthful.
You say I don't have my own business--I work for someone else.Then in this case your paycheck depends on whether the people you work for sell anything or not!
You say-- as my father did, that "God will provide". And ... Views: 844
I have been involved in sales in one way or another for what feels like my entire life. I got my first sales position working in a chemist, when I was only ten years old. The wily old pharmacy owner knew that the people, who came in to his pharmacy, were there to buy prescription drugs or other ... Views: 843
When you come across the phrase the art of the soft sell, you might focus your attention on the word “soft.” You might not even do this consciously; many salespeople don’t.
And based on this unconscious focusing, you may lead yourself to believe that the difference between conventional ... Views: 843
All sales managers know it takes more than the gift of the gab to make a great salesperson. There are many characteristics to be taken into consideration in a prospective employee, if goals are going to be met, business relationships are going to be effective and sales pitches are going to be ... Views: 842
“Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.” John Gray penned this phrase many years ago to help men and women communicate more effectively. Since this book was written, it has been determined that both genders not only communicate differently, they also buy differently too. Learning how to ... Views: 842
I was at an event recently and one of the scheduled speakers failed to turn up. Never being short of something to say or a desire to help other business owners I volunteered to do a 10 minute 'open floor.'
When asked what the most pressing sales challenges in the room were, One of the other ... Views: 842
But this solution is a new addition in the history of books as they contain the solutions for the problems of all types. You can have a solution for all your problems if you have this manual with you. Due to types of help these manuals have gained popularity very easily and it has been well ... Views: 842
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is trying to go for the close too soon. Now I don’t literally mean asking for the sale. What I mean by going for the close too soon is that you jump to your solution or outcome too soon in the sales conversation ruining any chances you have for ... Views: 841
Unless you’ve been in the distant wilds and away from business presenting for some time, you are familiar with selling at a whiteboard. Discover what most experts won’t tell you: the very best times to appeal to you audience and sell more with less effort.
Today’s PowerPoint saturated ... Views: 841
Sergio Garcia probably can't teach you much about selling. As a matter of fact, you can probably teach him more about selling than he'll ever need to know.
But there is something about Sergio Garcia and the game of golf, which if applied to the game of selling, can be very instructive for ... Views: 841
Years of economic muddle! That was the title on the seminar brochure I received recently. As I survey some of the forces flowing through our economy, and witness the way in which they impact my clients, I have to agree. Unfortunately, these forces have brought a cloud of confusion to CEOs and ... Views: 840
Presentation skills training is critical to sales success. Whether you are new to sales or an experienced pro, great communication unlocks doors. Learn 7 master keys to get faster sales, bigger sales, and build strong relationships with loyal customers.
Selling and presentation skills ... Views: 840
One big sales tip. When working with your prospects and customers focus on their needs and their customers' challenges. That's where the ideas are.
One big sales tip. Imagine you sell shower curtains and shower rods to hotel chains.
You call on hotel chains. You want to be different. Your big ... Views: 840
Far too often a generic sales presentation is the be-all and end-all for a busy sales team. A single presentation is supposed to work in any situation for any audience. But, let’s face it…does this really work?
How can one sales presentation do the heavy lifting for every situation and every ... Views: 840
In 1999 Neil Rackham, one of the authors behind the sales bible, SPIN Selling, co-authored “Rethinking the Sales Force”, in which he posited that worldwide, the number of professional sales people would be reduced by 50% within 10 years. It’s been 11 years and whether that prediction has come ... Views: 839
What can you say about a minute? That is what can you say about a minute other than it being 60 seconds.
Well, what you decide to do with that minute can have a profound effect on your sales career.
If you want to be successful, which I'm sure you do, then you must realise that every ... Views: 839
One of the things that we get asked the most about at the Sales Management Mastery Academy, especially by those members that are in sales but want to get promoted into sales management and move their career forward and start managing and supervising other sales people is, “How do I ... Views: 838
When people participate in our sales training courses we first ask them a series of questions to find out “where they are coming from.”
We asked over 1,000 salespeople, “How do you feel when you are prospecting?”
Over 96 percent agreed that they were felt anxious, stressed, under pressure, ... Views: 838
Plan your Day the Night Before
To this day I always plan my day the night before. My head does not hit the pillow at night, before I have arranged all my appointments for the next day. I chart every move I will make the next day, detailing who I plan to meet face to face, who I will call, who I ... Views: 838
Catastrophes come from out of nowhere. Massive thunderstorms can roll through a region without a moment’s notice, knocking out power and phone lines. An iffy meal at a local restaurant, and you have a staff member flat on their back with food poisoning. Open up your sales materials only to ... Views: 838
Executive Overview
Experienced sales managers are always on the lookout for new sales representatives who, among other attributes, possess good people skills and are pleasant to be around. There are two fundamental reasons they should select incoming sales representatives who have sound social ... Views: 838
Years ago voicemail was all the rage. There was no e-mail, so people tended to honor and even return their voicemail messages. It was a good time...
But that's history now. Email has changed everything, and people now hit the delete button on their voicemail messages the instant they hear ... Views: 838
How To Stay Up, Even When You’re Down.
This past weekend I was going through some old newsletters when I came across a letter that might help you to deal more effectively with the recession and the tough times you're facing.
So - enjoy the updated version of my Mt. Everest Newsletter.
Sixteen ... Views: 837
If you are involved in sales, and who isn't, you know the terms, techniques and tips for attracting potential customers, creating the desire to buy, gaining trust, closing the deal and maintaining relationship.
Each step in the process is critical to the desired outcome: productive and ... Views: 837
Setbacks are your opportunity to make powerful comebacks. Throughout your working years as a service business owner you will experience adversity from both internal and external forces. If you lack persistence and determination you will crumble and lose it all.
With persistence and ... Views: 836
Efficiency of sales training can be weighed easily in terms of turnover of the company after training. Marketing people of any company is driven by numbers. It is no doubt that these sales people are important part of any business. Moreover if the company do not get proper support from other ... Views: 836
People ask me all the time what I think makes up a qualified lead. It's simple, I tell them. There are five things that every Top 20% producer knows when he or she hangs up the phone with a prospect.
Know these five things and chances are real good you're going to close this prospect. Leave ... Views: 836
You need to set the tone and set out a vision of where you want the team to head, over-performance from a sales performance standpoint. As far as leading and motivating, it comes down to individual tactics and techniques that you need to use with each one of your sales people because they are ... Views: 835
Like in kickboxing, sticking to sales basics can help even the most introverted or most reluctant salespeople stay focused. Whether it is a side kick, front kick or knee thrust, all kicks require focus and attention. Isn’t that just perfect for a salesperson who tends to be reluctant at some ... Views: 835
Is your head trash piling up?
The term “head trash” came up during a conversation with a colleague and he used the phrase to describe the mental garbage that affects the performance of most sales people. Head trash is a collection of limiting thoughts or ideas that prevent you from taking ... Views: 835
Unless you hold a mirror to your face each time you speak with someone, you really have no way of identifying what messages and signals the listener is receiving. This, by the way, applies not just to face-to-face sales calls, it applies to telephone conversations too. You see our face tells ... Views: 834
How many times have you heard the old adage, “The customer doesn’t want a drill, he wants a hole in his wall”? While I may disagree with parts of that phrase, one thing is for sure… if you want to increase your advertising effectiveness, you have to stop selling what YOU want the customer to buy ... Views: 834
Believe it or not, social networking isn't the next best thing... You are! It's the personal connection that still seals the deal.
The Internet, social networking, and other breakthroughs in technology have fundamentally changed the way we do business. New technology drives communications, ... Views: 834