Selling Through The Slump: An eBook

I was asked by my friend Charlie Green representing The Customer Collective to contribute to an e-book that was just published. I recommend that you download it, read it and use it.

Selling Through A Slump: An Industry-by-Industry Playbook

A Guide by Salespeople for Salespeople on How to Sell Your Way to Recovery

Download this Free eBook

Selling in a recession is tough. And simply doing more of the same is not the way to survive, much less thrive, in a recession. There are important dos and don’ts in times like these. This eBook is your industry-specific roadmap out of the economic slump.

Selling through a Slump: An Industry-by-Industry Playbook brings together sales strategies and best practices from 11 top sales experts from 11 distinct vertical market sectors, ranging from retail to health care to telecom—because one size doesn’t always fit all. The practical tips and experience-based wisdom here aren’t just limited to any single industry, though. Regardless of your market sector, you’re bound to find value in this arsenal of great sales ideas.

Get access to exclusive tips on how to sell in a recessionary market, from renowned
sales experts like Jill Konrath, Charles Green, and Dave Stein. We know you’ve
got questions—this eBook was created to give you answers.

Click here for valuable sales strategies from experts in every industry:

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Charles Green, Founder and CEO, Trusted Advisor Associates Selling for Accountants and Consultants

Mike Wise, VP, Insurance Technologies, IdeaStar Incorporated Selling for Insurance Agent

John Caddell, Caddell Insight Group Selling in Telecommunications Markets

Skip Anderson, Founder, Selling to Consumers Sales Training Selling for Retailers

Mike Kujawski, Founder, Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing Selling to Public Sector Clients

Matt Homann, Founder, LexThink LLC Selling for Lawyers

Anne Miller, Founder, Chiron Associates Selling Media

Dave Brock, President and CEO, Partners in EXCELLENCE Selling to Manufacturers

Jill Konrath, Author, Selling to Big Companies Selling in Services

Anneke Seley, Founder and CEO, PhoneWorks LLC Selling in Health Care

Click Here to Download

(A simple registration is required)

Brought to you by The Customer Collective and Oracle CRM. Welcome to the conversation.

Avoiding IT Salespeople

Is this how your customer sees you?

Paul Lanigan is the Sandler franchisee for Ireland.  I’ve been reading his newsletter for a while.

Paul posted a recent comment about an article published by ZDNet UK entitled, Top 10 reasons to avoid IT salespeople. Whether you work for a tech company or not, you need to read this article.

It’s not often we get such uncensored feedback from our customers.  I didn’t take this lightly.  I hope you don’t either. 

Here are excerpts from each of Sally Whittle’s ten reasons. 

Your Customer Is Learning How to Kick Your Butt

Getting sales leaders to understand the importance of a strategic approach to sales performance improvement is often an uphill battle.

So, when I get in front of a group of sales leaders, one of the things that I say to grab the participants’ attention is, “Somewhere in another building on the other side of town, there is a trainer in front of a room full of your customers’ purchasing and procurement managers, teaching them precisely how to kick your butts.”  I can predict the reaction.  It’s always the same.  The look of physical distress with a reluctant half-smile—like someone whom, just after they swallowing something really bad at a dinner party, is asked by the hostess, “I hope you’re enjoying the food.”

Then I ask, “How many times can you see this same bullet in articles and presentations and brochures and on websites about selling, and NOT take a long-term, strategic approach to sales effectiveness?”

Buyers are tougher than ever before.

Do you want to know what your sales people are up against?  Take a look at this page and we’ll see if you’re right. 

Sales: Is it Art or Is it Science?

That’s a question I’m often asked about business-to-business selling.

I define science (in this application of the word) as the ability and willingness of a person to follow a set of processes in order to carry on the business of day-to-day selling. Examples would be formal planning, the use of checklists, dependence upon research, vigilant qualification, etc. Traditionally, people who demonstrated such behavior have been labeled left-brained.

With that in mind, then art (again, as applied to selling) is the ability to excel at such things as interpreting nuances in a customer’s behavior, effectively responding to a question with relevant examples (and diagrams), making decisions based upon gut feel, counting on instinct and acting upon hunches as a critical success factor. That’s typical right-brained behavior.

In my experience, and in the opinion of many sales experts I trust, successful business to business sales people depend on 80 to 90% science and only 10 to 20% art.