August 30th, 2010
Being proactive in sales is imperative to achieve success. Conversely, waiting for the phone to ring—being reactive— is a surefire plan for failure. By taking concrete actions, you can reach a particular outcome or goal.
Brainstorm the areas where you could you become more proactive in your day-to-day sales endeavors, but always remember that activity for activity’s sake is never the answer. What common problems or challenges do you encounter that you could minimize by taking action sooner? Which of these problems are you ignoring because it isn’t your responsibility?
Remember…a problem is at its smallest when you first discover it so the more proactive you can become by taking the initiative, the more successful you will be in anything that you do. This is particularly evident in the sales game where taking the initiative can be the difference between success and failure.
The Sales Advisory Board
Tags: Add new tag, proactive, Sales, sales process
Posted in General, Sales | Comments Off
July 30th, 2010
Great leaders succeed behind their people but take responsibility in front of them. They worry less about becoming popular and worry more about holding their people accountable. Most leaders spend time trying to get others to think highly of them, when instead they should try to get their people to think more highly of themselves. It’s wonderful when the people believe in their leader, but it’s even more wonderful when the leader believes in their people!
“You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.”
— Booker T. Washington
The Sales Advisory Board
Tags: Add new tag, Leadership, leadership wisdom
Posted in Leadership, Sales Management | Comments Off
June 24th, 2010
A topic that often comes up in business, especially sales is the ability to effectively “read people.” Those who are the most gifted at reading people seem to have a distinct advantage over other salespeople. This gift saves them time and makes it possible for them to figure out quickly how to move forward with a prospect.
With this ability or what I call “intangible,” a salesperson can tell if a prospect will act slowly or quickly. How much information as well as what specific information will be required. What will be most important to them, and how they will be influenced. Based on the prospect’s character, a salesperson will know whether they will be open, honest and forthright with their feedback, questions, comments and concerns. A salesperson can even tell if a prospect can be trusted. The salesperson will know what messages and meaning is apparent in the prospect’s body language, facial expressions and hand gestures.
In the days of the ancient philosophers, they began noticing patterns in people’s behaviors and actions. They began to study these patterns and record their findings and observations. Then they narrowed what they discovered into four primary personality styles. In more recent times, recognizing the validity and value of this knowledge, companies like IBM created training programs designed to teach their sales force about the four primary personality types. They determined that if they empowered a salesperson with the necessary tools; they could be me more self-aware of their natural tendencies, strengths and weaknesses which would allow them to gain an understanding of their personal likes and dislikes, needs wants and desires. As a result, they would be able to recognize a prospect’s personality style and the salesperson would be much more in tune with how to adjust their approach to advance the sales process and successfully secure the sale.
The four personality types are:
1. The Driver. 2. The Expressive. 3. The Analytical. 4. The Amicable.
Over the years, many training organizations and individuals have developed their own version of the “primary personality” model. The basic principles are the same, with the only difference being the degree of depth that they may go into as well as the names used to label each personality type.
In general, people are made up of a mix of traits and attributes, but one personality style usually stands out above the rest. Understanding the four primary personality types does give sales professionals a huge advantage in the sales arena. Moreover, those who possess the “intangible” to read people have an even greater advantage.
The Sales Advisory Board
Tags: Add new tag, sales process, selling more business, selling strategy
Posted in Sales, Sales Management | Comments Off
