Cases in Sales Management: Coaching the Self Doubter
Joe has been Tom’s manager for the last 2 years. Tom is a hard worker; “every time I go out with him we have a full and busy day”. Tom has an excellent understanding
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.
Joe has been Tom’s manager for the last 2 years. Tom is a hard worker; “every time I go out with him we have a full and busy day”. Tom has an excellent understanding
It’s crunch time and your sales are down, what can you do? I faced a similar situation in 2003. As VP of Sales of a Canadian pharmaceutical organization we faced the SARS crisis. Access
One of my clients analyzed their sales figures and discovered that more than 80 percent of their revenues were generated by fewer than 20 percent of their customers. They strategically choose to improve their
Send notes and cards to anyone with whom you do business or anyone with whom you would like to do business. Your relationship to people and their level in an organization will determine the
There are advantages to an automated system. It saves money in salaries and benefits. It prevents old-fashioned phone tag by allowing people to leave detailed messages in their own voice with clear and correct
Don’t you wish that along with those bizarre directions on how to set up and use your phone—the ones written by the people who designed the phones and therefore already know how to use
Do tattoos and body piercing belong in business? There seems to be an increased number of people with tattoos on their body and a variety of body piercing. Body piercing used to be limited
As a media crisis trainer, Ms. Hoffman advises her client to figure out what their audience will be wearing and to go one step above. The same rule applies in all areas of business.
The same overall rules apply to women’s work attire as apply to men’s. Business clothing is not a reflection of the latest fashion trend. A woman should be noticed for who she is and
If you choose to vary your business attire depending on the day’s schedule, make sure that you are prepared for the unexpected. Have a change of clothes at the office. And remember that it
Many of my clients tell me that their sales team are made up of a bunch of service people or farmers. The challenge in difficult times are that new customers are risk averse to
The key to success during a downturn, aside from surviving, is to further entrench yourself with your existing client base and at the same time look for ways to penetrate and position your product
On this fun episode of the Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount is joined by the incredible social media influencer and successful real estate agent, Alexander Zakharin. Jeb and Alexander discuss that when the going
What Are You Waiting For? Just Send The Text Text messaging is a largely undiscovered gold mine where prospecting is concerned. Follow these tips for leveraging text as a prospecting channel and you will
The Real Truth About Prospecting? It Sucks “There is no easy button in sales. Prospecting is hard, emotionally draining work, and it is the price you have to pay to earn a high income.” –
Ever wondered how you can get the attention of that elusive, hard-to-reach prospect you’ve been chasing? You know the one. The big fish that is your ticket to President’s club and a huge commission
Putting Aside Time Every Day to Prospect Will Keep Your Pipeline Full Kaizen is a theory that developed in Japan after World War II and revived the country, their spirit, and their commerce. It’s
The Cold Calling Conversation Dilemma You’ll need to elevate your conversations to get busy prospects to talk to you on cold calls. When you approach a new prospect, whether by email or cold calling,
Video messaging is hot and it is a core component of effective prospecting sequences because it works! At Sales Gravy we love using video messages to grab the attention of prospects. Our favorite tool
How To Open A Prospecting Call Besides being very busy, your prospects probably get a lot of sales calls every week, and many of them from your direct competition. So why would they want
Email or Telephone: Which one do you use more for prospecting? The question should not be the number of people you can contact. The question we need to be asking is, “What is the
Steal this trial close technique and exact scripts to motivate buyers to make decisions and act without making big price concessions.
Salespeople fail at cold calling for five common reasons. Fix them and the phone starts producing appointments again.
Most salespeople are looking for the secret edge that will move them to the top of the sales ranking report. The truth though is that there isn’t just one thing that separates top performing
Short Answer How honest should you be in sales? Completely. The moment a customer catches you in even a small lie, like fudging how long a meeting will run, they have every reason to
The best pitch I’ve ever heard about didn’t have a single slide. It had an ax, an elevator, and a crowd that had no idea what was about to happen. The sales storytelling techniques
Sales complacency is the silent performance killer that sets in after winning — and the only defense is returning to the fundamentals that built your success in the first place. Key Takeaways When Success
Quick Summary Reading buyer signals means recognizing the behavioral and psychological cues prospects send before they ghost you, and using that information to keep deals moving toward a real decision. Key Takeaways Listen to
When results drop and motivation fades, the fix is to increase your prospecting activity above your normal baseline, not wait until you feel ready. More calls create more conversations, more conversations create more opportunities,
No matter your industry or deal size, mastering how to negotiate in sales comes down to seven rules that protect your leverage and win more profitable deals.
In today’s world, people have a very strong belief in their weaknesses and an even stronger belief not to “brag” about their strengths. Yet, winning teams win because of the strengths of all team
As individual contributors top Sales Professionals have the luxury of only thinking about themselves. They can selfishly protect their own interests, act as lone wolves, and win at the expense of others. But as
What would happen if existing and future leadership programs were centered around a results-based model of leadership instead of a competency-based one? Think for a moment of a leader you appreciate or admire. Then
It’s not a question of if you should spend money on training, the question is how much will you spend on training. While you’re planning the budget for your organization don’t forget to include
During the last several years, three megatrends have increasingly gained speed, yet very few people actually discuss them or understand how to deal with them. Trends are evident in business. The fashion industry, for
Learn to say “No” thoughtfully and respectfully with the focus on creating a high-performance sales culture. Are you limiting your sales team and the ability to increase sales by not ever saying “No”? Sometimes,
Bullying behavior creates a hostile work environment. Eventually, word will spread about you being the bully boss. With technology, the spread of bullying in schools continues to make front-page news. Schools, corporations, and parents
Sales managers are charged with leading the sales team. Salespeople watch the leader, like kids watch parents, to see if words and actions are congruent. I recently read Stephen M.R. Covey’s book, The Speed
Small business owners who devote time to rethink how they are providing solutions (products or services) to better meet the wants and the needs of their customers will usually stay ahead of the flow.