We’ve understood for a long time that the distinction between sales and marketing has become indistinguishable – and recently Sarah Archer got me to discuss why I think that is and how my consultancy and training division helps companies overcome that hurdle. We tackle topics like The history of the Mongrel Method and why... Read More
Stop Trying to Extract a “Yes” From Your Prospect– Instead, Resolve the “How” and “When” As salespeople, we are often coached on how to get a prospect to commit. Hearing a “yes” often brings about a huge amount of relief and a sense of crossing the finishing line. It’s become a victory, and a... Read More
SAMUEL SAYS: THE SOLUTION HAS TO EARN ITS VALUE For some reason, handling pricing objections is one of the most dreaded aspects of a career in sales. But those who dread quoting a price, and steel themselves for haggling, haven’t done their work in advance. It can be a very smooth and intuitive process,... Read More
SAMUEL SAYS: THE CLIENT NEEDS TO BE INVESTED IN THE SALES PROCESS Weekends at the vineyard were Samuel’s favorite. They gave him the chance to hit up hundreds of different people for a game of fetch. As soon as they got out of their car in the parking lot, he would drop his ball at... Read More
SAMUEL SAYS: COMMUNITY MARKETING IS MORE POWERFUL THAN CONTENT MARKETING. Gone are the days when content marketing emails are successful. No matter how creative you are, or how intricate your mass mail program is, your clients will know that the email casually addressed to them “Hey Steve, I saw this and thought of you…”... Read More
SAMUEL SAYS: BE CLEAR ON WHO IS AT THE TABLE AND WHY Project management and procurement teams have evolved and completely changed the way purchasing decisions are made. The old-school approach of going straight to the top decision maker or check-signer is obsolete. Today’s salespeople understand that while there may be one person who leads... Read More
SAMUEL SAYS: DIAGNOSIS SHOULD ALWAYS PROCEED PROGNOSIS By jumping straight into a solution or “prognosis” during a sales appointment, there’s a high likelihood you’ll blow the opportunity and lose the sale. A good salesperson will tell you that the majority of your time during a client meeting should be spent in uncovering your client’s needs... Read More
SAMUEL SAYS: MARKETING INITIATIVES NEED TO FOCUS ON THE CLIENT’S INTENT. Data and tools like Artificial Intelligence give Marketing the tools needed to predict their buyers’ behaviors – and that information is what should be used to drive marketing campaigns. So how do we predict our clients’ intent? We look closely at things like: What topics... Read More
SAMUEL SAYS: MARKETING BEGINS WITH MOBILE. Since our society has come to expect access to whatever we want in just one click, businesses that overcomplicate the process alienate themselves. Simply put, if your marketing efforts aren’t mobile centric, then you aren’t serious about client engagement. But you want to be, which is why you’re here,... Read More
Cold Calling is Dead (Finally!) Admit it. No salesperson in their right mind enjoys cold calling. Thankfully the days of whipping out a phone book and calling all the listings under Electrical Supply to see if any of them need your product are long over. But prospecting is still a big part of... Read More
