The iTunes Store's newest app, Ninety Five 5 Sales Flashcards, debuted today in a bid to help sales professionals master key conversation responses to commonly asked questions. The app is free and can be downloaded here.Why should you download this app? Because success in sales (as with most things in life) is determined by practicing a deliberate, repeatable set of skills – over and over – until mastery is attained. Practicing key conversation responses helps […]

I am an engineer, at least that's the program I graduated from at university. I never thought I wanted to be in sales. Sales to me involved people playing golf, building chummy relationships and some fast talking. I liked creating technology solutions to business problems. However, after being exposed to the "Helping Clients Succeed" sales methodology I realized sales is exactly what I wanted to do. Not only that, I wanted to help other people get better at sales. Along […]

What do you think when a salesperson says, "Trust me"? Most people reach for their wallets to make sure they are safe. A lot of sales improvement systems focus on techniques, such as closing questions.  Everyone has heard a salesperson use assumptive questioning to try to get you to make a purchase, such as: "When would you like to take delivery?" If they do give you a choice, it's usually between two options that both favor them: "When w […]

Ever known anyone who has grown a reputation for asking so many questions about a task you'd like them to do – that you simply decide that whatever value they potentially could have provided is not worth the cost of enduring their thousands of well-constructed questions?These kinds of people simply wear me down with endless clarification/qualification. They seem extraordinarily comfortable defining their job responsibilities so narrowly that it can fit through the eye of […]

I had the privilege recently of speaking with Carol Poulsen, EVP and CIO at Co-operators Insurance, to find out what works with salespeople and what drives her crazy. The Co-operators Group Ltd., founded in 1945, is a Canadian insurance cooperative owned by 45 members including co-ops and credit union centrals. It is one of the largest wholly Canadian-owned multiline insurers, offering auto, home, life, farm, travel, and business insurance as well as investments. They have revenues of […]

Changing the culture of a large organization is a significant challenge that requires leadership.  Lasting change starts on the individual level, with the leaders, before it can carry over into their teams and then permeate throughout the organization.  Any type of significant change, including personal transformation, starts with getting leverage – understanding why the change has to happen.  Applying that leverage, so that something can be moved f […]

There seems to be a tendency for people to dwell on negatives, what went wrong, rather than identifying what went right and identifying ways to build on success.  For example, when a sales manager talks to a salesperson about a customer meeting, they may start out by pointing out something did not go so well. When they ask a general question, such as, "How do you think it went?" the salesperson will often start with something negative -- something that they […]

This time of year, enthusiasm is all around us. School has started again -- parents and even some children are excited about that. The NFL is starting. You can tell some people getting really fired up. When you are around a group of enthusiastic people, it's hard not to get swept up in the emotion. I went to a college football game this past weekend where nobody was just sitting down quietly watching the game. Here in Texas, even high school football creates a huge frenzy.Enthusia […]