I was having a long dialogue with several clients during the past two weeks and the subject of Trade Shows came up. Seems there is concern over the return on investment with participating in trade shows.
So I did a little research to check out what the experts were saying about Trade Shows and got some interesting information.
So, first, trade shows are still considered a valuable investment due to three factors… Continue Reading »
Recently I have seen an increase of the number of requests for “the single best question to ask a customer or prospect” when engaged in b2b selling.
Truthfully, I really do not believe there is one single question that covers everything as sales situations will vary in circumstances.
Yet, there is one question that I always have ready to use with any customer or prospect I’m calling on. Sometimes I refer to this question as the million dollar sales question since it has the ability to open the door of an objective conversation with the customer or prospect.
The question to use is… Continue Reading »
One of the most interesting topics about goal setting and achieving greater results in upcoming quarters is to be tracking specific indicators. Now the truth is – most b2b sales people (and sales management) – are only tracking lagging indicators. Thus, a lack of predictability of achieving any form of serious growth goals and objectives.
Most people are tracking their sales results and possibly their gross margin data, however, these are all lagging indicators. Meaning these data is found in the history statements of what you have done and there is no way to change the past.
Leading indicators are those specific guides or triggers – usually related to your sales process – which then followed lead to certain levels of success. And, tracking your leading indicators every day will lead to greater success and sales results.
I first discovered these leading indicators back in the late 80′s when I was still doing activity based sales (the traditional model of selling). It was a simple system for tracking my personal results. I basically tracked five things – 4 leading and 1 lagging indicator. Continue Reading »
Been doing some observation work with several b2b sales people and have noticed one thing. Most of the sales people need to ramp up their ability to really listen to their customers.
Again the signs are there for us to learn. Our customers and clients actually want us to listen and comprehend and understand what they want and need. It is our job to deliver these results by listening aggressively.
The truth is most b2b sales people are trained or have behavioral styles which are very adept at presenting and talking. Sometimes they can even ask questions after being trained on the Questioning Model of B2B Selling.
However, the question remains – are they really listening to what is being said by the customer?
Often listening is the one skill sales people take for granted. Their expectations are limited to believing they are naturally good at listening. Therefore, there is very little time and effort applied to learning exactly how to actively listen.
How about some b2b sales tips regarding the reasons to learn the skill of listening? Continue Reading »
Okay, how many of you were terrorized by the title of the post?
I will venture a guess – all of your who enjoy the comfortable path of no possible conflict with a customer or prospect.
This is same attitude which has helped to create the commodity pricing environment we all hate – or should hate since our margins are squeezed big time.
What I’m talking about is directly related to the impact of the great recession of 2008-2009. Buyers and sales people alike got scared of making a mistake and the old comfort zone has taken center stage in our b2b sales world.
Yet, some new research on highly successful b2b sales people has come out. In fact, the July-August edition of the Harvard Business Review is dedicated to sharing information about this new research on high performing b2b sales people.
It seems these high performers are doing something different. Continue Reading »
Recently I have observed several sales people doing customer calls and noticed a glaring deficiency in their skill sets.
Quite simply it is the ability to engage their customer with their storytelling skills or in their case a total lack of story telling skills.
The ability to capture the imagination of the customer and quickly engage or engross them into your story will give you a huge competitive advantage over the feature and benefit legions calling on your customer. Continue Reading »
Talk about special situations, selling the first time buyer is one of your biggest challenges as a b2b sales professional. In fact, this is probably one of the more complex situations you will encounter.
Let me add to the complexity of a first time sale. The higher the price, complexity of installation, and possible political risk adds to the difficulties for first time buyer.
Face it, when a buyer has no experience in making these first time buying decisions – what do they use as a point of reference? That’s right, they have NO point of reference and there is a major factor in play – the unknown. Continue Reading »
Really? Nice Voice Mails Get Deleted!
Welcome to the new world of the busy executives and decision makers. Anything not related to what they need or gets their interest is in automatic delete mode.
Most B2B Sales People call a targeted prospect and leave the following voice mail… Continue Reading »
Seems like no one is returning phone calls these days. For that matter, who is actually answering their phones these days?
I know I have experienced this growing trend in the world of B2B Selling. And, at first I believed these people were just plain rude and courtesy had left the building! Well, the truth is there are other reasons – well, some are just plain rude. 
The fact of the matter is important people have no time any more. It’s true. I watched an excellent role play at a recent presentation showing exactly how busy people are these days. So, later, I actually chatted with some of the decision maker types that I know ( some actually called me back and others I met at Chamber sponsored meetings.) to learn what there world is really like.
It is amazing these executives and key decision makers have any time to do anything – which explains why so often actual decisions are no decision and the status quo lives on at their companies. Continue Reading »
First, I want to thank everyone who continues to come to this site. Your confidence is most important to me.
Second, the past couple of weeks have been a challenge for me to find time to write new material for you. Between health issues – flu and minor surgery – and the need to do what you are doing – selling – I have been a little slow in writing new articles lately.
Third, due to the getting back into the main stream of b2b selling I have a few new real world situations to share with you. Plus, I found several things I used in the past – no longer worked. GEEZ! This is real time learning again.
Finally, after running into some new pressures with getting to real decision makers, I got with a couple of the world’s best b2b sales people and picked their brains for new ideas and techniques. And, I learned a number of very cool ideas – which I will be sharing with you in the coming month.
In the meantime, much success to you and thanks for visiting my site.
Voss W Graham
