The same way that you slow down when you are driving and see a yellow light (right?), when a yellow light appears in a sales situation, you slow down, don't you?In the Ninety Five 5 Sales Success System, "Yellow Lights" are possible stalls or roadblocks that suggest that even if you can provide a solution that truly meets the customer's needs, you still might not do business together. Qualifying and advancing an opportunity requires being hyper alert for Yellow Ligh […]

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 […]

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 […]

The desire to get really good at what we do is a powerful force that drives us to make sacrifices and focus our energies in doing whatever it takes to develop our skill sets.   To achieve mastery level at anything, practice is essential.  Just look at the athletes in the Olympics. While there is no denying that there are other contributing factors, such as having the right coach and the right equipment, without exception, practice is the key to their success. […]

Many sales managers have assumed their current role after being a top performer in sales and receiving a “battlefield promotion.” In other words, they are chosen for the role mainly due to their sales ability, not because they have gone through management training or demonstrated leadership abilities in other areas. Some find that they are able to thrive in their new leadership role. Many find it difficult to develop new skill sets and struggle with their n […]

Have you ever heard the phrase that (fill in the blank) is a "natural born salesperson?" What does that even mean?If we buy into the idea that some people have "got it" and other's don't, then if you "have it" you're going to be great if you don't then you're not. There's no such thing as a natural born salesperson. So what makes a salesperson great?What about intelligence? There's zero correlation to intelligence and w […]

A lot of people know Albert Einstein's definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Even if the exact quote is not familiar to everyone, the basic idea behind it has become common sense: If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got. When you think about your own personal goals, it may be obvious what needs to be done to achieve them.  You may need to get to the gym mor […]

As the year's end approaches, I thought it an appropriate time to summarize the underlying beliefs at the heart of the Ninety Five 5 Sales Success System.  Here's the top 5:               Mindset 1: "We both want the same thing."Salespeople and customers both want a: "Solution that truly meets each customer's needs." S […]

If you're not familiar with the "Helping Clients Succeed" content, then let me fill you in on "they don't move."  One of our goals is to first understand the reasons, the motives, that our clients are seeking a particular solution.  We find ourselves often in conversations focused on products and/or services that we offer.  Clients often ask us to tell them, or we simply start out telling them all about the latest, greatest.&am […]

Unfortunately, for many of us this statement is or has been true (in a sense).  The bat is all the details about our products and services.  The client asks… and we beat them over the head with all the coolest things we know about us and (unfortunately) often the “less than cool, but we know the script well” things too.  It’s so hard not to.  They are the ones that ask… they must want to know. Sin […]