4 Simple Principles for Writing Highly Effective Emails

According to a widely cited report by the Radicati Group, the average business person sends and receives more than a hundred emails—every single day. And that number is only expected to grow. Undoubtedly, email is a powerful tool for sales correspondence, but when our message is just one of a Continue Reading

Is It Time to Ditch the “Solution Sales” Jargon?

Anyone working in the B2B arena knows that a consultative sales process is a must. It isn’t enough to sell products and services. You have to sell solutions. Salespeople aren’t merely order takers, after all. They’re problem solvers. Right? Maybe not. In an era of increasing customer competence Continue Reading

4 Best Practices for Your Next Win-Loss Review

Would you believe that one of the most important parts of the sales process—the win-loss review—is also the one we’re least likely to do? It’s true, and it’s because it never seems very important to us in the moment. Win or lose, most salespeople—and the companies backing them—are simply eager to Continue Reading

What Is “Business Acumen,” and How Can You Develop It?

We all know the type. You can sense who they are as soon as you walk into a room. They’re the “big picture” guys—people who intuitively appreciate the various moving parts in an organizational system and work toward mutually beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders involved in a business decision Continue Reading

Some Thoughts on Using NLP in Life and Sales

I assume that most salespeople have heard a word or two about Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). However before you make an ass out of us both by assuming that this is another article glorifying NLP as a panacea for all your life (and sales) problems, let me tell you it is not. As one who Continue Reading

Why Silence is a Powerful Sales Tactic

They say it is a beautiful thing when two people can share silence in a conversation…. Unfortunately, most of the time the same cannot be said of the silence that arises in sales conversations. Most sales reps dread even the thought of it and will do anything to prevent it: babble on, repeat Continue Reading

“Could you just tell me the price?”

We have all been there before - in the age old “Could you just tell me the price?” discussion. All seems to be going well between the buyer and the sales rep up until the moment the price is mentioned; suddenly, silence ensues followed by a series of new questions on the part of the sales rep: “that Continue Reading

Stop Pitching and Start Anti-Pitching

Some time ago, I read about the anti-pitch approach of Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO. It caught my attention and I decided to deploy such tactics in my own sales conversations. The results that followed were amazing, ergo this post. To preface… During the 1990’s, the world of tech was seen Continue Reading

Insights From Behavioral Economics To Help You Sell Better

In my article, You Are Not as Rational as You Think – 6 Cognitive Biases Sales Reps Should Watch out for, I wrote about various patterns of faulty thinking that can twist sales reps’ reasoning skills and jeopardize their success rate. On the flip side, sales reps are not the only ones that give in Continue Reading

A/B Testing in Sales vs. A/B TESTING IN SALES

There are two pieces of advice I often hear: The more calls you make, the more deals you will close. Generally, I agree. However, there is one catch here: making a high volume of calls does not necessarily imply that you are doing your job well. It is very likely that it is the opposite! It Continue Reading

4 Unorthodox Persuasion Techniques You Can Test in Your Next Sales Conversation

Academics have been quite diligent in creating, proving and disproving hypotheses on how to persuade people. Actually, the resources invested in some of these studies are incredibly high. Why is so much attention given to this field and who funds this? The answer is simple. Big Business. Continue Reading