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Archive for June, 2010

Wake Up Call


By Bill Bartlett

I have been doing a lot of traveling during the last two months. In spite of Chicago’s brutal weather and some minor inconveniences, my flights and hotel reservations have gone remarkably smoothly and I have experienced a high level of customer service.

I had, however, an out-of-the-ordinary encounter at my hotel last week. It was late when I checked in and the woman who registered me was unusually chatty. During the 15 minutes that it took to register me she expressed enormous curiosity about my company and the sales profession in general. At the time I didn’t think much about it, left a wake-up call, and retired for the evening. I don’t require much sleep, but I do sleep soundly so when the phone rang at 5AM, I was startled to be awakened by a personal message from the woman who checked me in the night before. (more…)

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Why Do the Colts Go to Training Camp?


By Matt Nettleton

On July 30th of this year, the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts will go to training camp. This will signal the start of a four week period of intense practice designed to force the players to focus on what they need to do to improve their ability to play football. But it seems like a waste of time to me, after all–most of these players have spent at least the last eight years of their life working on their craft in highly competitive games. Plus, the Colts have won more than any other professional team during this time. What on earth could these people think they are going to learn? (more…)

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Call Higher or Die Slowly


By Ken Edmundson

In today’s environment we have to stop acting and looking like beggars with briefcases and begin to recognize that the name of the game in 2010 is taking business away from our competitors. Let the others wrestle it out at the procurement department and with the low-level influencers.
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Before You Approach a Prospect, Consider the Lifetime Value of the Relationship


By Ken Edmundson

If your sales objective is to make the sale regardless, get the biggest order possible and structure the best deal for your company, then your entire focus is really on you. (more…)

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As a Salesperson, Are You a Thoroughbred or a Greyhound?


By Ken Edmundson

If I asked you casually in passing, which would you consider analogous to your sales style – being a greyhound or a thoroughbred – you might pause and consider the characteristics and traits of both, and after pondering, see value in both. It might be a difficult choice on the surface, however, if you look more closely, you would reconsider. I was listening to a minister recently break it down in an interesting way, so let’s consider his analysis. (more…)

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Are You Charging Too Much or Too Little?


By Ken Edmundson


Why do people buy milk or bread or cereal or soda at the gas station convenience store when those items are far less expensive at a grocery store? Obviously, they have a need for the items. More importantly, buying at the convenience store is quick, and you guessed it, convenient. And “quick” and “convenient” represent value. They fill up with gas, run in and pick up the items they need, and they’re on their way. No hunting for a parking space. No grocery carts to dodge. No long checkout lines. (more…)

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Going From a Typical Salesperson to a Trusted Advisor in Three Easy Loops


By Ken Edmundson

Recently I was working with a company’s executive team, reviewing the progress we had made together to solve a longstanding, difficult problem which had stunted their growth for years. It was rewarding to see their excitement as we reviewed the results of our efforts together. It was a good team meeting and an encouraging feeling to share our successes. I should have left well enough alone, yet I recognized that the true learning and best growth had not gone far enough, so I posed three follow-up questions: (more…)

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How Sales Pros Can Change Their Mindset


By Will Crist

What happens the first time you try a new selling  or management technique? It’s usually uncomfortable and doesn’t go as smoothly as it did in the class/coaching session or how you imagined it would go. Often you come away feeling bad. There are physiological reasons for this discomfort and awkwardness.

When you see or hear something new, your brain goes through a conscious process of evaluating whether that new behavior has any potential payoff, and you form an expectation of what might happen next. It’s the “self talk” we all do to weigh the pros and cons, and then comment (to ourselves) on how the new idea is like, or not like, something we already know about(whether good or bad). Most of this happens in the unconscious part of our mind. (more…)

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A Simple Trust-Building System That Works Every Time


By Will Crist

The other day, people in the training center were discussing how they go about building trust. The group shared lots of ideas, and every idea they shared would probably do the trick. When all was said and done, we had a list of about twenty things people could do to build trust. (more…)

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The Changing Face of Training


By Bill Bartlett

Today’s business is focusing on something that champion athletes have always known: the right combination of training and coaching will help achieve greatness. It’s not enough to have a superior product or service. You must have the skills to get that message across to your prospects. Training imparts the knowledge critical for success in today’s competitive economy.
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