One of the Most Important Sales Techniques is not a Technique Intent Trumps Technique The intent behind sales techniques determines their effectiveness. Sales techniques used without an ethical underpinning will be seen as tricks or manipulation. No buyer wants to feel manipulated, so it’s important that the intent behind sales techniques is that they serve the buyer’s and the seller’s best interests. In the Software … Read more
The Need Diagnostic: How Buyers Decide This post continues the discussion on how buyers make decisions that began with How Buyers Decide Part 1 The Need Diagnostic The single most important sales skill is the Need Diagnostic. The general principle: People have needs but don’t want to be vulnerable, so people hide their needs, even from those who can help. In order to complete a … Read more
Brain Science and Decision Making: How Buyers Decide in B2B Sales Brain Science and Decision Making: How Buyers Decide in B2B Sales If we understand how buyers decide in B2B sales, we can facilitate the process to the benefit of both parties. Brain scans let us see how buyers decide Neuropsychologists believe that emotional and rational parts of the brain may be more closely intertwined … Read more
How to Close a Sale In the buyer’s journey, the gap between Analysis and Action is frequently left untraveled. Many shop. Few buy. It is not hard to understand why I am often asked how to close a sale. How to Close a Sale: YES is nothing without HOW In order to cross the gap from “shopping” to “sale” the buyer and the seller must … Read more
The Software Sales Star Coaching Model The Key to Maximizing Sales Performance Management for Software and SaaS Sales Teams Someone once told me that that only a few professions require constant motivation. Athletes and salespeople fall into this category. Leading a sales team is not very different from coaching a football team. People tell me they got into sales because: “I’m a people person. I … Read more
The Hardest Consultative Selling Skill Asking the Tough Questions From Safe to Real Consultative selling means acting like a doctor in your area of specialty. Consultative selling requires us to move from that which is known, intellectual and safe, to that which is unexamined, emotional and vulnerable At the amateur level, we move along the surface and get more facts. Many salespeople do not … Read more
Sales Motivation: Quantity vs. Quality For many software and SaaS sales teams, increasing sales means increasing demand generation. So, we try to motivate salespeople to prospect to fill the front end of the sales funnel. Quality vs. Quantity Organizations try to motivate salespeople by “holding them accountable.” Sales Managers push for MORE: more contact time, more outbound calls, more quotes, more demos, and more proposals. … Read more
Leading salespeople can be like herding cats. Great salespeople have very strong and independent natures. I’d like to count myself in that number.
I’ve learned that the key to leading effective sales team meetings is knowing how to motivate your audience. This is where the Sales Star Coach Model comes in.
When Antoine Dénériaz, who won the Olympic downhill in 2006, was asked at the finish line what the key to his success was, he replied: “When I ski, I think about skiing, not about medals.”
