While you may not have recognized it, the last time you ordered from a fast food restaurant or went to the post office, there is a good chance you experienced some type of cross-selling or up-selling. Cross-selling and up-selling are well-established and highly effective marketing practices utilized by a wide variety of industries. Shortsighted salespeople are often quick to suggest …

Why is it that some sales reps consistently earn a six-figure annual income while other reps, putting in the same hours, selling the same products and trained by the same sales manager, struggle each month financially to make ends meet? The answer to this question is painfully simple:  the six-figure sales reps understand the importance of business development and never …

Essentially a sales manager’s primary responsibility is to recruit, train and motivate his or her sales force to achieve peak performance. Of these three vitally important management tasks, recruiting is the least understood and by far the most challenging. If you’re successful during the recruiting interview process and hire a superstar sales rep, you’ll find that he or she is …

The most successful companies and the highest paid salespeople place great value on developing lifetime relationships with their customers and actively look for opportunities to render service above and beyond their customers’ expectations. In today’s competitive marketplace, your customers are aggressively prospected and their loyalty cannot be taken for granted. Customer-focused companies and individuals recognize that relationship building and follow-up service …

The heart of any company can be found beating inside the walls of its customer service department. Providing superior customer service after the sale is a smart business decision that pays long-term dividends. All the money that a company spends on sales training, marketing research, advertising and PR initiatives to attract new customers is wasted if they can’t keep them …

If you’re working hard, but aren’t consistently generating enough sales and getting referrals, chances are it’s a matter of trust! Suppose you could incorporate a few simple yet highly effective ideas into your selling process and substantially increase your bottom line? One of the most critically important and yet frequently overlooked aspects of selling is creating a solid foundation of …

Top salespeople and the most successful managers recognize the importance of nonverbal communication in the selling process and have learned to “listen with their eyes.” They understand that one of the easiest and most effective ways to close sales is to be aware of their prospect’s “buy signals.” Are you aware that your body language reveals your deepest feelings and …

An ancient Chinese proverb reminds us: “To listen well is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well.” While everyone can benefit from this sage advice, these words of wisdom are particularly appropriate for professional salespeople. Would you consider yourself a good listener? Perhaps a more important question might be, how would your customers, business associates, friends and …

When was the last time you asked for the order and your prospect told you that they wanted to take it home and sleep on it? Unless you’re selling mattresses, that’s not the kind of response you were hoping to hear! When frustrated by an unmotivated prospect, regrettably, most salespeople lose the sale by either becoming overly aggressive or they …

I am frequently asked what I think the single most important factor is in determining the success or failure of a salesperson. My response is often met with surprise because most people expect me to say something about the necessity of hard work and product knowledge, or the importance of a positive attitude. While these factors are certainly key components …