Recognizing Buying Signs
If you were to poll all of your customers as to why they bought from you, they would respond with a variety of reasons. What follows are the most common reasons why people choose
Welcome to the Sales Gravy blog, where salespeople and sales leaders get better every week. We publish new sales training articles and podcast episodes three times a week, covering prospecting, cold calling, objections, negotiation, and leadership, written by Jeb Blount and the Sales Gravy trainer team.
If you were to poll all of your customers as to why they bought from you, they would respond with a variety of reasons. What follows are the most common reasons why people choose
The greatest obstacle in making a purchasing decision is fear. When it comes to selling, you better handle the prospect’s fear or it will handle you. Fear of making the wrong decision. Fear that
One advantage that salespeople posses is this; aside from being a salesperson, you are also a consumer and a prospect, enabling you to better connect with each prospect you speak with. Think about
Selling is the art of creating new possibilities and solutions. Salespeople are responsible for the creation rather than the controlling of solutions for their prospects. As such if you are a highly creative salesperson,
Over the years, I’ve discovered that when sales people tell me that they have prospecting on their “to do” list, what they really are saying is that they “intend” to prospect. When sales people
Certainly, these are unprecedented times, but fundamentals are fundamentals. When you stray from them, you get into trouble. When in trouble, return to the fundamentals and return to consistent and sustainable sales success. In
‘The more we try to maintain control in our lives, the less freedom we create for ourselves,’ illustrates one of the many paradoxes in life. While we may strive to maintain control over our
Here’s the secret to boosting your confidence today; make confidence a choice. Wait, I know what you may be thinking; it sounds too easy. It has to be more difficult than this. Well,
So here’s the scene: Large corporate sales convention in the company’s training center in Washington State; over 250 sales reps flown in from all over the country; Sales directors, V.P.s, sales managers all running
A Top 20% closer is an expert at asking questions, layering those questions, questioning the red flags, etc., and at the end of a prospecting call or presentation, they call can tell you exactly
Just because the media says that the economy is sliding downward does not mean that your sales will be affected. Your mental mindset plays a tremendous role in your success. While it is difficult
Most sales people live a hurried life and time is of the essence. While we agree that in sales, time is money, there is a cost for polluting our bodies with so much junk food that
If their objection is truly a legitimate one, their explanation will provide you with information which will help you address it. The simplest techniques can be so effective. I heard a call where a prospect
These 7 tips will help you maximize your sales, generate better leads, and create long lasting customer relationships. Cold calling potential prospects can be frustrating and hard. Whether you are doing it in person or
You must be proactive and have a plan set in place when you reach a prospect’s voicemail. Voicemail – your best friend and your most frustrating adversary. On one hand, it allows you to
“Go through the ‘no’s’ and hang ups until someone finally says, ‘yes.’” Ecch! No wonder so many people hate cold calling.” Getting to ‘Yes’ During a Cold Call “Rejection comes with the territory. If
Social engineering is asking for information from people that will help other people and the organization as a whole. One reason that most “cold” calls fail and result in rejection is that sales reps
“Go through the ‘no’s’ and hang-ups until someone finally says, ‘yes.’” Ecch! No wonder so many people hate cold calling. “Rejection comes with the territory. If you’re going to cold call you’re going to
There are several reasons for inaccurate sales forecasting, however, the two below are the most common I see when working with sales organizations. Monday mornings start off with sales meetings and the infamous sales
Jeb Blount and Karen Briscoe discuss the Secrets of Fanatical Prospecting and the Key to Success on the 5 Minute Success Podcast.
Rejection is an inevitability that we all face and a powerful key to finding success in sales, business, and in life, is to become rejection-proof. In this video, Jeb Blount, CEO of Sales Gravy, and
Sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and others can be powerful tools to help you prospect more effectively. In my new book coming out this September, “High-Profit Prospecting,” I share insights every salesperson needs to
I promise that it is almost NEVER about price. But, if it is, here is what probably went wrong. You jumped to what you were selling instead of focusing on the issue they needed
Objections are not deal killers. Sometimes, they are deal enablers, helping the salesperson to understand the buyer’s real needs and requirements. Zig Ziglar was the best-known sales trainer in the world. The man from
If you want to be a consultative salesperson, a trusted advisor, and a Level 4 Value Creator, then you have to tell the truth. It’s your truthfulness, your candor, and your willingness to help
Every successful sales person has a list of habits that form the core of his or her work. While the particulars vary with each individual or product line, many are universal. The following tangible,
The most dangerous lie that salespeople tell themselves (and anybody else who will listen) is that they lost the opportunity with their dream client on price. Salespeople—like all other groups of people—lie to themselves.
The process is that thoughts become actions and actions produce results. So the equation starts with the thoughts. So the key to success is to start with and control the thoughts that we have.
Most sales people live a hurried life and time is of the essence. While we agree that in sales, time is money, there is a cost for polluting our bodies with so much junk food that
Pay attention and adapt your style to that of your prospect and customer. I work with great salespeople and the most successful know how to connect with a variety of buyers. Salespeople are taught
The best way to measure sales productivity is with leading indicators—the KPIs and metrics that predict future revenue and let you fix problems before sales dry up.
Most sales team meetings fail because they aren’t actually about selling. Mike Weinberg says the fix is simple: stop running status updates and start running meetings that make your team more aligned, more energized,
Jumping in to save a rep’s deal feels like leadership, but it trains your team to call you instead of solving problems themselves. Real sales leadership means coaching the rep, not closing the deal
If you want to know how to scale a sales team, document your sales process and prove your close rate before you add headcount, then decide whether your next hire is a leader or
Most sales forecasts fail for a reason no CRM can fix. Sellers stop telling their leaders the truth the moment honesty starts costing them something.
Summary The most effective sales compensation strategy for getting a small team focused on high-value complex deals is to layer a significantly higher reward on those deals without reducing incentives on transactional ones. Pair
Summary When the market shifts, your salespeople are not going to figure it out on their own. That’s your job. As a sales leader, your responsibility is to see the change coming, get ahead
Summary: Most sales managers confuse empathy with sympathy and pay for it in team performance. Jeb Blount breaks down the real difference, why listening first is the most powerful coaching move you have, and
Summary: Q1 is feedback, not failure. Top-performing sales teams use a Q1 sales strategy review to assess whether they have an execution problem or a focus problem, then make targeted adjustments heading into Q2.