Danger Signals and Warning Signs
Having difficulty making call objectives for a sales call is a sign you’re in trouble. Your job is to bring value to your customers. Another greeting by a smiling face is not a source
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.
Having difficulty making call objectives for a sales call is a sign you’re in trouble. Your job is to bring value to your customers. Another greeting by a smiling face is not a source
How do you think a buyer prepares for your sales call? Some do more than you know. One buyer’s work on rating suppliers’ sales calls gives us insight into how other buyers are scrutinizing
Enter with an open mind, ready to hear what your customer has to say about his business and job. Even though we know what we want to say in our selling message, we have
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I was overly confident that all thinking people would make the same decisions as me. But, the truth is that people’s experiences and values are the lenses through which they view life and it makes
While money is certainly an important ingredient in any incentive program, it should by no means be the only tool in a manager’s motivational toolbox. If money by itself were a sufficient motivation, salespeople
I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of hearing about how bad the economy is. The truth is, many parts of the economy have stabilized and many sectors are on the
So many people still ask me what the secret to successful goal setting is, so I thought I’d share with you one of the basic principles of goal setting. The most effective way to
Over the years I have learned that the sooner price is discussed in a conversation, the more of a focal point it becomes. If you have not fully uncovered your prospects problem and determined
Despite the advice given by so many trainers that being liked by prospects is the key to sales success and to strong client relationships, the fact is that being liked by prospects and
A study done by Marketing Metrics shows that we have a 20-40% chance of re-engaging a former customer vs. a 5-20% chance of turning a new prospect into a customer! Why is now a
As you go about your day today, remember that selling isn’t life or death. However, if you prepare and have commitment, your approach is based on solid core values, and you execute and work
Can’t stomach cold calling? Steal Jeb Blount’s 13 proven alternatives to picking up the phone that build real pipeline and actually work.
When should you ask questions on a cold call? Questions come after you’ve earned the right, when you’re gathering information and qualifying, and they lead the conversation only when the prospect contacted you first.
To prospect for new clients, stop making random touches and run a consistent five-step system. Work this system every day and you gain control of your pipeline, along with the peace of mind that
Salespeople fail at cold calling for five common reasons. Fix them and the phone starts producing appointments again.
Email response rates are collapsing because decision maker inboxes are stuffed with automated, AI-written slop. This is exactly why the phone is more powerful today than it was ten years ago.
Quick Summary Cold calling anxiety is not a symptom of weakness. It’s human and natural to feel fear when you cold call. You are interrupting a stranger who was not expecting you, and everything
Fear of the phone is quietly draining sales pipelines, and the reps who win are the ones willing to stop hiding behind email and LinkedIn and simply make the call.
Salespeople seek a magic window that makes cold calling easy. When prospects answer happy, say yes without a fight, and book the meeting themselves. So, is there a best time to call?
Short Answer Yes, you can make cold calling fun, and it is worth doing, because the reps who enjoy the phone are the ones who stay on it. Fun is not a personality trait
Leverage Friday afternoons for phone calls to people you haven’t been able to connect with or with prospects who are tied tightly to a competitor. It happens every summer. The number of sales appointments
What you want to do is offer value in your visit or demo, and then leave it up to your prospect to decide if it’s worth taking your call or visit any further after
On this episode of Sales Pipeline radio, Matt Heinz and Jeb Blount discuss emotional intelligence, Sales EQ, and Fanatical Prospecting. You’ll be surprised to hear Jeb’s opinion about how sales and marketing should work
It’s evident that time is a critical factor in completing sales, building and keeping the relationship. Given that, what strategy does your dealership have in place to shorten the time it takes to close
The only asset you have that is in limited supply is your own time. When a slow customer takes up too much of it, you lose. The time you’re spending with them is preventing
At the end of the day, you want to make things as easy as possible for the prospect, not turn them into your admin. Last week I received an email from a very friendly
The key to any sale is getting your prospect to tell you how to sell them. If you can do that, you’ll make your job much, much easier. Today it seems to be harder
Too often we get so focused on what we produce or deliver, that everyone in the company loses sight of the real value of the product or service. Aligning everyone in the company to answer one question can
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
How to Lead the Pack The past year was very challenging for many sales managers, but now we need to look ahead. Have you increased your sales targets? How will you ensure that your
Motivating Your Sales Team Can Be a Challenge For a sales manager, motivating your sales team is a never ending battle. Here are five simple strategies for sales team motivation. Everyone has a set
The worst trait of ineffective sales leaders is that they believe that they’re more important, smarter, and more competent than the people working for them. In leadership, one principle stands above all. You need
There is hardly a leader on earth that doesn’t yearn for accurate, predictable sales pipeline forecasting. The good news is that there are three elements of sales forecasting, that when mastered, will give you
Every Sales Manager’s Real Priorities The reason coaching is so important to sales is that the more you develop your sales team, the better your sales team becomes. There are dozens of tasks and
Examine Leadership Before Sales Skills If you hired reps who you believed could sell, and who proved that they’ve been successful selling in the past, then the first place to examine when your reps
For leaders, questions are king when it comes to coaching and training. Learning and practicing effective questioning skills is central to effective leadership. There are five rules for asking the right questions, at the
Reduce Bad Sales Hires With Better Interview Techniques It’s easy to make bad sales hires – we’ve all done it. However, with a few tweaks to your interviewing techniques you’ll improve the probability of
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been more than guilty of falling in love with the tallies on the sales report. I’ll read the report and assume that those whose names line up