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Overcoming sales stalls
Business owners, CEOs and VPs of sales often ask, “How do my salespeople overcome stalls and objections?” My answer is, you’re not going to get past them if you think in a traditional sales way. If stalls and objections come up all too often on sales calls, bring them up before your prospect does. Many […]
Best of CoBiz: The world’s most powerful sales tool
What is your most powerful sales tool? Your website? Your video brochure? Your multi-media presentation in 3-D? While all of these can support your message, the answer lies much closer to home. YOU are your most powerful sales tool. It’s not so much what you say as how you say it that influences other people. […]
Chef Laura: Secret sales magic trick revealed
Behold! Nordstrom is where I learned this sleight-of-hand. I pulled an Al Bundy and did a stint in the shoe department. This magical maneuver works like a charm with shoes, and it might work for your company’s widgets/services, too. Before given free roam of the showroom, I shadowed the store’s...
In sales, size matters — so how big is yours?
Think about a time when an egotistical sales person tried to convince you to buy something or try to sell you something you didn’t need or want. Did it inspire confidence? Were they listening to what you were saying? Was the trust level low or high? Chances are you walked away rolling your eyes a...
Breaking Bad’s winning formula
Watching Breaking Bad, I rarely (okay, never) knew where it was going, but I hung on for dear life. From the first episode, I trusted that I was in the hands of a professional and that it was all going to come together like a perfect puzzle at the end - yet leave me with that not unpleasant feeli...
In sales, it pays to tell it like it is
Lies and mistruths damage the ability of sales people to communicate with their clients. They also result in a complete communication breakdown that is difficult or impossible to repair. It amazes me how some salespeople will stretch the truth, mislead the customer, misrepresent their company, pro...
Believe in success
Your beliefs, positive or negative, have more impact on both your personal and professional success than any single element. Many salespeople possess extensive knowledge of their product and have great sales skills, yet their sale performance is average at best. Other salespeople with little product knowledge, very few prospects in their pipeline, an inability […]
The value of silence
Now this seems simple and hardly worth mentioning – at first. But it’s really the bacon double genius-burger of customer-handling advice. Let them vent. Listen – but don’t try to fix anything. Maybe they just had a fight with their dry cleaner or got a traffic ticket on the way over to meet with y...
The new consumer decision journey
There are now many ways and times to reach the consumer through an integrated marketing approach. However, it’s not as simple as putting out different messages and reaching them. You must be much more involved with your target audience and meet them where they are researching, with the right messa...
The single most important trait for sales success
How is it that some people consistently manifest and turn their dreams and ideas into actions and achievements, while others dream, think and plan, but accomplish very little? There is a huge difference between thinking and doing. Dreaming and thinking lead you nowhere. Doing the work and taking a...
Secrets to creating online content that gets noticed
Consumers these days are smart! Not to say that consumers five years ago weren’t smart, but they didn’t have access to the wealth of information available with the simple click of a button or swipe on their mobile device. So don’t get tricky with your messaging or try to pull the wool over consume...
Chef Laura: Going to The Source
Philadelphia has Reading Terminal Market, San Francisco’s got the Ferry Building, and who could visit Seattle without a mandatory trip to Pike Place Market? Now it’s Denver’s turn to jump aboard the long-standing yet super-trendy culinary-mecca bandwagon. The Source, located in the RiNo district,...
