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 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: PLANNING AND DISCIPLINE ARE KEY TO SALES SUCCESS. You’ve heard it a thousand times: Fail to plan, or plan to fail. There’s a reason that adages like this become common – they’re true. I know that as successful sales people, we are the best and brightest, but even seasoned pros need to be... Read More
The best salespeople are storytellers. Seriously. Storytelling is an integral part of what sets apart stellar salespeople from the order takers. To truly connect with your clients, you need to make them the HERO of the story, and I recently had the opportunity to share my thoughts about it on the Sales Training and Coaching Podcast with... 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 The old-school approach of going straight to the top decision maker or check-signer is obsolete.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
Now that automation has changed the role and responsibilities of sales and marketing, how should your managers be spending their time? Sales management is no longer about monitoring and reporting the performance of the sales team and joining them for occasional customer visits. We have seen a dramatic shift in sales and marketing functions over... 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