During the planning phase of your presentation, always remember that it's not about you. It's about them. The listeners in your audience are asking themselves one question—"Why should I care?" Answering that one question right out of the gate will grab people's attention and keep them engaged.
- Carmine Gallo, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs
Topics: Business Skills, Branding, Feature and Benefit Selling, Communication, Sales and Selling
The most compelling selling message you can deliver in any medium is not that you have something wonderful to sell. It is: "I understand what you need." The selling message "I have" is about you. The message "I understand" is about the only person involved in the sale who really matters: the buyer.
-Harry Beckwith, Selling the Invisible
Topics: Business Skills, Communication, Sales and Selling
You need to set your goals and define your limits before the actual negotiation begins. After you know your goals and limits, you can decide on your opening offer. Your goals and limits carry you right to the end of the negotiation, enabling you to decide when to close a deal and when to walk away. The very process of setting limits gives you power in a negotiation, because the process forces you to focus on what else you will do if you fail to reach an agreement. I call that your or else.
-Michael C. Donaldson, Negotiating for Dummies
Topics: Business Skills, Sales and Selling, Negotiation
Being successful at conducting sales conversations is not something that requires loads of training or preparation. Yes, you want to have the right tools on your training tool belt so you can be prepared, but you don't need to hold back from tackling sales success due to your intimidation or the lack of knowing some of the basics of selling. Basically, you just have to keep it simple (like we instructed in the K.I.S.S. ("Keep it simple, stupid!") article about customer service), and you will find it's easier than you think to simply be a sales rock star.
Topics: Rapport, Confidence, Sales and Selling
First, analyze your clients to determine what characteristics they share. One of hundreds of old adages about sales holds true: Identify five common characteristics of your past clients and you'll be able to see the next one walking down the street. You will also see trends that will help you to identify how to reach current and future customers.Topics: Marketing, Sales and Selling
Markita Andrews, at the young age of 13, learned her selling "rules of thumb" when she became a Girl Scouts cookie selling dynamo. She sold more than $80,000 worth of cookies during her Girl Scouts career! What motivated Markita to become the greatest "salesgirl"? DESIRE. Markita learned that the Scout who sold the most cookies would win an all-expense-paid trip for two around the world. She desperately wanted to win this trip.
Topics: Confidence, Sales and Selling