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 […]

Sometimes people ask a question in way that makes it clear that only one possible response is acceptable. Am I right or am I right? When someone is convinced that they are the smartest person in the room, they project an attitude that "it's my way or the highway." This unwillingness to compromise stifles collaboration.  It's painfully obvious to others when there is no interest in their opinions. It becomes clear that it doesn't matter what th […]

Sales Leaders who are trying to help their salespeople have different conversations with their customers should consider how they can have different conversations with their sales teams.The same principles for creating value for customers applies to leading teams.Mindset 1: "We both want the same thing."Think about how you can create win-win scenarios with your team so that is clear not just that if they win, you, but also that if you win they win.  Emphasize shared […]

Sales leaders, how often do you coach your team on uncovering and handling client objections, concerns and doubts? It's a crucial part of having quality opportunities in our pipeline, yet many of us don't take the time to make it part of our regular management routine. At Ninety Five 5 we refer to these as "Yellow Lights" because unless we slow down and address them we will more than likely lose the opportunity (after needless wasting time, money and effort) or be i […]

You might suggest the purpose of a sales presentation is to entertain. And while that may be amusing, I'd suggest that this is not the purpose.You might say it's to educate. And while that might be interesting, I'd suggest that this is also not the purpose.The purpose of a sales presentation is to enable a decision. In other words, to enable the customer to make a good decision in their own best interest during that meeting.In order for them to make a good decision dur […]

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 […]

Often artists employ the use of a "model" to create, in their art form, what the model is in reality.  We can do the same!We have many options when choosing a model.  Literally anyone or anything can model for us.  Look around… what can you see that  just might inspire you to create, to mold, to shape, to paint… to change?Selling is ART… AND Selling is Science.  There are many sales "science& […]

During meetings with customers, they may identify some missing information that they say they need.  It is often instinct to immediately fulfill their request.  You may try to provide them what they are looking for right away -- and if we do not have it available on the spot, we'll promise to get it to them as soon as possible. It is worthwhile to pause a moment and try to understand the reason for their request before taking action.  For exampl […]

Have you ever heard the comment: "It's just a status meeting, we don't need a call plan. We are just going through a bunch of items." I've heard it. For today's post I thought it would be a good exercise to walk through what some of the Call Plan elements might look like for a status meeting. I'll leave it to you to decide if it provides any value to your customer interactions.Let's first establish what we mean by a status meeting.  To m […]

I was just in Greece.... the Temple of Zeus and the Parthenon were amazing.These impressive and beautiful structures were constructed with simple tools wielded by masters.Piece by piece they put these amazing edifices in place and thousands of years later… they are still standing. They're not anywhere near their original condition, but they're still here!Our effectiveness is built the same way. It's not a sprint -- it's the steady progression towards a wo […]