We might be addressing others at an important sales presentation, the monthly sales coaching session, or an annual conference. We want the audience to give us their rapt and undivided attention. But that doesn’t always work out the way we’d like.
Sometimes people are bored and disinterested; sometimes they ask challenging questions or push back in frustration. That can be unsettling. Continue reading →
Really. What’s so cold about cold calling anyway?
Some say it’s because the recipient is caught “cold.” They had no expectation you’d be calling, so they’re unprepared, and perhaps a bit surprised. To the supporters of this interpretation, that’s a good thing because catching people off guard can be to one’s advantage.
Another school of cold call definers claim the term refers to the caller’s “obscurity” to the recipient. Since they don’t know who you are, they have no reason to take your call or engage with you. The challenge here is to make yourself more familiar. Continue reading →
The bitter taste of rejection, frustration, and discouragement makes prospecting for new accounts feel like the last thing anybody wants to be doing.
Those negative feelings – or the fear of experiencing them – can have a paralyzing effect on even the most successful sales pros. Fear of failure diminishes our self-esteem, drains our energy, and dampens our forward momentum. Continue reading →
Sales guru Jill Konrath has a lot to teach us about crafting a strong Value Proposition. But her key point is very simple: Your message has to make the intangible tangible.
Whether you’re selling to C-level executives or small business owners, companies want to know how your product or service is going to benefit them — that’s what the Value Proposition is all about. Continue reading →