A recent post I wrote on competing and cooperating drew a comment on LinkedIn. The comment suggested that as salespeople we should try to be valuable to our clients, even if it doesn’t include selling them whatever it is we sell. It also suggested that we should be more like … [Read more...]

I have already written about how unhealthy the Request for Proposal process is. It doesn’t work well for the company making the purchase, and it sure doesn’t work well for the company that is selling. Yet we both continue along as if everything is fine. It isn’t; it’s … [Read more...]

A great needs analysis or discovery sales call is a work of art. When done well, a great salesperson can draw out the dissatisfaction that is the necessary motivation and rationale for change. Uncovering that dissatisfaction is often enough to help advance the opportunity. But … [Read more...]

The great game of sales is a competition. It is a zero sum game with one winner and all other competitors necessarily losing. We compete with other salespeople and with other companies. What we are competing for is the opportunity to cooperate with our dream … [Read more...]

I never wanted to be a salesperson. I had a much more interesting plan, and I was truly enjoying myself pursuing it. Before my first sales manager convinced me to go into sales, I was already winning clients. But I would never have called what I was doing sales. I would have … [Read more...]

Threats are sometimes spoken, and sometimes they are implied. Promises are sometimes made, and sometimes you believe promises that can’t be kept. A salesperson can hold you hostage with either . . . if you let them. Hostage to the Performer’s Threats Sometimes high … [Read more...]

If you are a new B2B salesperson, this list is a curriculum. These 9 essential books will help you to build a foundation upon which to build a successful career in business-to-business sales. If you have worked in business-to-business sales for some time and haven’t read these … [Read more...]

From time to time, you may need some help pushing an opportunity over the line. You may come across an opportunity that requires attention from someone a little higher up the organizational chart for your dream client to give you a commitment. But needing help doesn’t mean … [Read more...]