"I always view problems as opportunities in work clothes."

Why do so many sales professionals become stifled in their achievement levels or plateau before reaching success? Part of the problem is that people too frequently define success exclusively in financial terms while giving short shrift to the other critical dimensions that make up a successful life. Remember, we don't always control economic conditions, but we do have a choice about what we value most.

Unfinished business is a mental burden. Learn how to close the loop on negative experiences so you can lighten your load. In his classic book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, Dr. David Burns suggests writing automatic thoughts after a negative experience on the left-hand side of a piece of paper and then objectively appraising each thought one by one with a rational response. This will help break negative thought patterns and keep them from distorting your outlook on life.

Everyone in sales hears his or her share of no's, but if you've hit a real rut, it's time to take a practical approach. Admit that you might be in over your head and take steps to diagnose the problem. Conduct an audit. What are the major areas in which you might need help? Price objections? Building rapport? Product knowledge? After you identify the problem, seek help. There's nothing wrong with asking the person you report to for extra training in a certain area, or requesting a one-on-one coaching session. Often, the solution is simply to go back to the basics and take it step-by-step.

ometimes you need to address your emotions before you can clear the path to the next sale. Examine the way you feel right now. Is there anything negative you're holding on to that might affect the rest of your calls today? It could be a family problem, frustration with a client, or simply a bad mood. No matter what the source, take a moment to consider whether or not you can simply let it go, and choose to look at the issue from a positive perspective. If this is something that needs deeper attention, set it aside for now, but make a promise to revisit it by a certain deadline. What troubles you today need not hold you back tomorrow.

Do you ever go home feeling that you've spent the whole day doing jobs on other people's to-do lists instead of your own? Do you feel that you're doing more but accomplishing less? When you allow the problems of others to become your own, you're doing volunteer work. Stop accepting responsibility for other people's problems. Instead, help the person define the problem and ask him or her to come up with an idea of how to solve it. Ask the person to accept full ownership of the problem, and schedule a time to check in with a progress report. You might be surprised how well people can do on their own with just this little bit of support.

Dr. Wayne Dyer once said that in order to be good at selling, you have to first fall in love with what you do. "You don't sell your product, because every product in the world has some validity, and there is another product out there that will satisfy the customer's need just as well." What quality do successful salespeople have that others don't? According to Dyer, the answer is serenity. They work for the customer's quota, not the quota their companies set. They're always asking, "How can I serve you?" Whether making a presentation, following up with customers, prospecting, networking, or closing, the difference between your average performer and your top performer will always be enthusiasm. "When you are filled with enthusiasm for what you sell and can convey that, it doesn't matter what product you're offering, the people will want it."

"Not being in tune with your customers is like living in an alternate reality; the way you think your customers feel about your product is not always the same as what your customers really think about your product."

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing. "

Every single day, no matter who you meet in the day - friends, family, work colleagues, strangers - give joy to them. Give a smile or a compliment or kind words or kind actions, but give joy! Do your best to make sure that every single person you meet has a better day because they saw you. This might sound like it is not connected with you and your life, but believe me it is inseparably connected through cosmic law.

As you give joy to every person you meet, you bring joy to YOU. The more you can give joy to others, the more you will bring the joy back to you.

"Successful people are simply those with successful habits."

"To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes, the wise and the good learn wisdom for the future."

The only thing you can’t do is what you’re not willing to do.
The only thing you can’t achieve is the thing you’re not willing to get started on right now.
The only thing holding you back from success and greatness and grandeur is your willingness to do what is hard and messy and uncomfortable.
That’s the truth about achieving life-changing results.
No one is stopping you from anything. No one could stop you if they wanted to.
It doesn’t matter what obstacles are in your way. It doesn’t matter what situation you find yourself in right now.
The only things that matter are your commitment and desire. If you want it to happen and you’re willing to work hard enough for long enough, then it will happen. You will make it happen.
It doesn’t matter what your goal might be.
You might decide that you want to win the Winter Olympics in downhill skiing. That’s possible if you’re willing to put in the time and training and focus single-mindedly on being the best in the world.
You might decide that you want to be a millionaire in the next few years. That’s possible if you’re willing to make the hard choices that making more money demand. You’re going to have to make hard choices and change the way your living.
You might decide that you want to fall in love with the partner of your dreams. That’s possible if you’re willing to be vulnerable and honest with yourself and to work on the uncomfortable side of your deeply personal need to be loved.
Whatever you decide you want to be or do is possible.
There isn’t anything that you can dream up and desire enough that you won’t be able to do. It’s really that simple.
If you want it bad enough and are willing to work hard enough for long enough, you can have it all.
If you look back in the areas in your life when you haven’t achieved big dreams, you’ll probably realize the hard truth that you didn’t give it all you had. You held back.
You became distracted or fatigued and instead of doubling down on hard work you “hoped” and “prayed” that everything would turn out OK.
And it didn’t. And you lost.
Simply because you weren’t willing to do what was hard or uncomfortable for long enough.
The only thing you can’t do is what you’re not willing to do. Which changes the entire conversation around success.
It’s not about the obstacles in your way. It’s about the heat of the fire burning in your soul.
Stoke those flames. Rage on. Fight for you.
Never stop believing that your dream is important enough to keep fighting for.

"If you see it in your mind, you’re going to hold it in your hand."

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"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

"Being smart is an elusive concept. There's a certain sharpness, an ability to absorb new facts, to ask an insightful question or relate to domains that may not seem connected at first."

"Courage is grace under pressure."

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live."

Hope and opportunity go hand in hand for sales professionals. Hope can kick-start a great day, which can snowball into a great week, month, year, and beyond. With the power of hope, you create your own opportunities. Whenever you think you have nothing, stop and reconsider. Hope is something that can't be taken away from you. If you don't feel it, go and find it. Just around the corner from hope lies the opportunity you've been waiting for.

To make sure you're on the right track to success, take time to measure your progress. Compare the goals and deadlines you've set to what you've accomplished. Even if you're behind schedule, give yourself credit for the things you’ve achieved. The important thing is to keep moving forward.  To quote Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., “I find that the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving. To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it – but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.”

"Choice, not chance, determines human destiny."

"These are not dark days; these are great days - the greatest days our country has ever lived."

"The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken."

"The man who chases two rabbits catches neither."

"Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect."

"An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive business advantage."

"I was just pursuing what I enjoyed doing. I mean, I was pursuing my passion."

"Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture."

"All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty about something by blaming him, but you won't succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy."

To allow the Universe to move you in your life to happier and better things, you are going to need to look around you and appreciate the good things here and now. Seek the beautiful things and count the blessings of where you are. Dissatisfaction will not bring the happier and the better into your life. Dissatisfaction roots you to the spot where you currently are, but appreciation for what you have attracts the happier and better to you.

Remember that you are a magnet! Appreciation attracts appreciation!

"All serious daring starts from within."

"Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor."

"I don't think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good."

"Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game."

"If anything terrifies me, I must try to conquer it."

"If we could sell our experiences for what they cost us, we'd all be millionaires."

"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory."

"Think you can, think you can't; either way, you'll be right."

"You can't get a pay raise when you're angry. People will react to the negative energy and will resist you."

"Leadership is getting players to believe in you. If you tell a teammate you're ready to play as tough as you're able to, you'd better go out there and do it. Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you're not giving it all you've got."

"Your greatness is measured by your horizons."

"The miracle is this - the more we share, the more we have."

"Being miserable is a habit. Being happy is a habit. The choice is yours."

"If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at anytime, and you would achieve nothing."

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

"I think luck is the sense to recognize an opportunity and the ability to take advantage of it. The man who can smile at his breaks and grab his chances gets on."

"The only time you fail is when you fall down and stay down."

Remember, if you are criticizing, you are not being grateful. If you are blaming, you are not being grateful. If you are complaining, you are not being grateful. If you are feeling tension, you are not being grateful. If you are rushing, you are not being grateful. If you are in a bad mood, you are not being grateful.

Gratitude can transform your life. Are you allowing minor things to get in the way of your transformation and the life you deserve?

"Everyone wants to be appreciated. So if you appreciate someone, don't keep it a secret."

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight and never stop fighting."

"Those who seize the day become seriously rich."

"You can't do it unless you can imagine it."

"We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will."

I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think."

"A strong imagination begetteth opportunity."

To combat daily tension, concentrate on one task at a time. The habit of thinking about too many things at the same time is extremely fatiguing and stress producing. Try making a list of other things you must do, and then put it aside so that you don't have to think about them but won't worry about forgetting them, either. Stop throughout the day to see if you are relaxed. Are your hands clenched? Is your jaw tight? Such tension will begin to spread throughout your body, so catch it early. Let your arms hang loosely, unwrinkle your brow, relax your mouth, and breathe deeply.

"Knowing thyself is the height of wisdom."

"If you don't drive your business, you will be driven out of business."

"Time equals life; therefore, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life."

"A good marriage is when you're married not to someone you can live with, but to someone you really cannot live without."

"It is the studying that you do after your school days that really counts. Otherwise, you know only that which everyone else knows."

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."

"You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will."

"I might have been born in a hovel, but I am determined to travel with the wind and the stars."

"With prospects having so many choices and easy access to information, how do you become the vendor of choice when they are ready to buy?"
SalesBuzz Answer:
Here's a simple three-step plan to help earn your prospects business while leaving your competitors in the dust.
Step 1: Know Whom Your Targeted Audience Is
Anytime I ask a salesperson "Who's your targeted audience?" and they respond with "everyone", almost always that salesperson is struggling to meet quota.
Even if "everyone" truly can use or benefit from your product / service, there are critical KPI's (key prospect indicators) that will identify higher probable prospects.
You have to know what those KPI's are for your industry.
Here's a few examples of what I mean:

• If you sell fixed asset software - maybe one of your KPI's are prospects within a specific vertical that currently use Excel to manage their assets. 
• Maybe you sell logistic services and your primary audience ships items that need to be temperature controlled. 
• Maybe you sell Kegerators and your targeted audience is high-end luxury homebuilders (and / or buyers) that want a unique bar in their home. 

(The point is, it doesn't matter what you sell, every business has KPI's)
Most businesses will have multiple verticals of prospects, no matter if they sell one specific product/service or hundreds. If you don't narrow it down and get specific, you'll feel like you're lost at sea without a compass.
Step 2: Build Up Your Value, In Their Eyes
Once you've identified and picked a targeted vertical (or two or three) to go after, use a combination of email, LinkedIn, webinars, twitter, etc. to brand yourself (or your company) as an SME (Subject Matter Expert) in your field by offering free advice / help in areas that will matter to your targeted audience.
So for example, if you sell in-home kegs, you could have email newsletters / articles that discuss what the perfect beer temperature is for taste, how to clean your tap with ease, or a special recipe of the month. You could also do an occasional webinar on how to brew your own beer or how to make three unique drinks that will knock your guests socks off!
With today's automated and semi-automated low-cost drip marketing platforms, you can routinely "touch" prospects with valuable information, simultaneously, without picking up the phone.
Offering those kinds of useful solutions while having a strong, but subtle call to action at the end of the webinar or newsletter, will start to drive so many INBOUND requests, you won't have time to sit and ponder about how much you hate cold calling.
But for that to happen, you need to separate yourself from the rest of the competition. And in order to do that, you need to be willing to do what no one else is willing to do to earn your prospect's trust and business. Working with your marketing team (or if you are a one-man band) to have a simple drip marketing process in place, combined with knowing EXACTLY what to say in order to pique your prospect's interest on the phone, will give you a competitive edge that will have you winning more business.
Speaking of knowing EXACTLY what to say on the phone...
Step 3: Know How to Pique Interest in the First 30 Seconds of a Sales Call
Calling your prospect and saying the traditional:
"Hi, this is (your name) with (your company) and we offer blah, blah, blah and wanted to see if I could get a few minutes on your calendar to show you blah, blah, blah" isn't building up value, it's creating a wall between you and your prospects.
When you take the time to build a vertical list of prospects to go after based off of past clients that are happy with your services, you can easily make successful cold calls to NEW prospects by simply saying:
"Hi, this is (your name) with (your company). Reason for my call is we recently helped (competitor 1, 2 and 3) avoid (pain point) while reducing (or gaining) ______ by _____% and wanted to see if we might be able to do the same for you."
Now here's the best part... even if on that sales call attempt, you've identified that right now, there is no need... If you continue to follow the advice given in step 2 above, when a need does arise, you will be the first person they call.

This question has been asked by more than one sales manager.   When do I let a salesperson go?  Have I given the person enough time to succeed?  Look no further for the answer than the hit song from Kenny Rodgers, “The Gambler.”  “You’ve got know when to hold ‘em.  You’ve got to know when to fold ‘em.” 
Here are a couple of tips for knowing when to hold or fold.
#1:   Track and measure sales activity.  When I started in this business over 16 years ago, the first question my coach asked me was, “Tell me about your sales activity.”  I thought the question was a little strange.  I was in the sales training business---shouldn’t he be asking me about my sales techniques?
My coach knew something I didn’t at the time.  A salesperson can control their sales activity.  They can always do “the work.”  Skill building may take more time due to forming new neural pathways in the brain, discarding old habits or breaking through self-limiting beliefs.
If a salesperson isn’t executing a defined sales activity plan, (note the words defined sales activity plan), then you probably have someone that is lacking work ethic, drive or passion for  your product or services.  Time to fold ‘em. 
#2: Coachable.  No matter how long you’ve been in sales, there is always something new to learn.  Coachable salespeople may not be the quickest to pick up sales skills; however, they do learn the skills because they are the “buggers” of the world.  They “bug” their sales manager for advice and mentorship.  They “bug” the top sales producer on the team for input on how to handle specific selling situations.  “Buggers” proactively seek help instead of waiting for someone to make them good.
The “buggers” of the world also take an important next step.  They APPLY the information.  These salespeople are the one’s talking to themselves as they rehearse scripts, objections and compelling questions.
If the salesperson in question isn’t a bugger---time to fold ‘em.   
And one final piece of sales management advice from Kenny Rodgers.

Every gambler knows
That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away
And knowin' what to keep

Don’t gamble on hitting your sales quota.  Know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.

If you want to gain respect, start by respecting yourself. Be your own best advocate. If you beat yourself up by thinking, "I'm just not as good as the other guys," or "I never win incentive contests, so there's no point in trying," then you're not showing yourself the respect you deserve. Adopt a forgiving attitude, and respect where you are in life right now. There are lots of things you can do to improve.

"Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory."

Since I know you want to be successful, it’s imperative that you surround yourself with success. You’re probably familiar with the following quote:
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
If you want to be a successful salesperson, you must do your best to learn from and work with successful salespeople. If you’re learning tips and strategies from poor salespeople, you’re not going to achieve great results. If you don’t currently work with any sellers who are creating positive results, branch out and meet successful salespeople via networking events, conferences and trade shows. The idea is to surround yourself and learn from successful (not mediocre) people.
It doesn’t stop at your immediate network. Here are a few steps you can take to create a success mindset so you can create a prosperous sales career:

• Read success quotes
• Read biographies of successful people
• Read sales books to increase your knowledge
• Watch sales tip videos from top salespeople
• Work with a (successful) sales mentor or coach
• Set big goals that will push and challenge you
• Set timelines to reach your goals
• Listen to success audio podcasts or radio shows
• Go to conferences and events to learn from industry experts
• Believe success is possible for you

Success isn’t about showing up to work each day and hoping for the best. There are real steps you can take to skyrocket your chances of achieving sales success. Being successful isn’t about aiming to just hit your sales targets, it’s about aiming to exceed them…by a long shot!
Take steps to surround yourself with success. Meet successful people but also read, watch, and listen to success inspiring material on a daily basis. It will train your mind to make the most of your current opportunities as well as create new ones. Don’t let your success be a matter of chance, make it a matter of fact!

Almost everyone experiences moments of extreme anxiety. Maybe this is your third month missing quota. Maybe you hit "send" on an angry email. Maybe your company is going through layoffs. Try to remember that you are not alone. Even thought you might be terrified, you are probably not in any real danger. Talk about your fears with someone you trust. Usually, bringing our fears to the surface helps us restore balance and clarity so we can deal with the challenges at hand.

"Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable."

Write down all the great things about everyone you know. Make a huge list of all the wonderful things about you. Compliment people wherever you go. Praise every single thing you see. Be a ray of sunshine to everyone you meet, and make their day better for having seen you. Say "Thank you" at every turn. Walk, talk, think, and breathe appreciation and gratitude.

When you do this, your outer life will change to reflect your inner state of being.

"If you want to achieve a high goal, you're going to have to take some chances."

"Tell a person they are brave and you help them become so. "

"Wake up with a smile and go after life... live it, enjoy it, taste it, smell it, feel it."

Trust is a critical ingredient in sales; people don't buy from a sales rep they don't trust. So how do you establish trust in a world of skeptics? Start by focusing on your credibility, and admit weakness. Prospects know your company and product are weak in some areas. You boost your credibility when you admit to those weaknesses rather than try to sweep them under the table. Even better: turn a perceived weakness into a desired benefit. For instance, if your software doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a competing product, point that out. Then point out how the simplicity of your product boosts usage and data-entry accuracy.

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"The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability."

Our natural state of being is joy, and it takes so much energy to think negative thoughts, to speak negative words, and to feel miserable. The easy path is good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.

"Who has not served cannot command."

"Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm."

"Life is like a game of chess. To win you have to make a move. Knowing which move to make comes with IN-SIGHT and knowledge, and by learning the lessons that are accumulated along the way. We become each and every piece within the game called life!"

"If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it."

"Your greatest asset is your earning ability. Your greatest resource is your time."

Force-feeding works no better with buyers than it does with kids. A prospect, pen in fist, seems almost ready to sign. But hold on. You see hesitation, then a frown. What's the problem? More to the point: what should you do now? Should you backtrack a bit and probe patiently? Or should you try to force the issue with a clever gimmick or trick closing technique? Play it cool. Don't force. Concentrate on the right question to ask to nail down what caused the hesitation.

Self-knowledge is a key to power. Personal awareness is just as important for professional success as technical competence. Self-knowledge gives you the ability to match your working style with those of the people you work with day in and day out, not to mention the styles of the people with whom you're trying to establish relationships. This lets you take responsibility for the effect you have on other people and learn how to change it if the effect is not what you desire.

"Energy and persistence conquer all things."

"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

"Confidence... thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them, it cannot live."

"You are essentially who you create yourself to be and all that occurs in your life is the result of your own making."

"I was taught to strive not because there were any guarantees of success, but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life."

"Think of success as a game of chance in which you have control over the odds. As you begin to master concepts in personal achievement, you are increasing your odds of achieving success."

It’s amazing how far a number of companies and sales teams have come in the last couple of years.
I’m having many more conversations with sales leaders, CEOs and others who are telling me business is outstanding and life is good.
When I hear comments like this, I get scared for one simple reason.
People are not paying attention to what is happening out there, and at the same time, they are benchmarking their success off the dismal results from a few years ago.
Recently, I was talking with the president of a successful company.  His comment was, “We’re blowing away our number this year and next year looks even better.”
He went on to say how he was finally able to recapture a lot of lost profit he had to forgo the last five years.  He continued, saying how his intent was to not do any significant spending in marketing or sales development, due to business being good and his desire to pad the bottom-line.
I hung up the phone cringing over what I had heard and, more importantly, what the president had allowed himself to believe.   He was pleased with his growth, and yet when I compared his growth to the overall growth of the industry he was in, he wasn’t even keeping pace.  In fact, he was losing market share.
Excuse me, but this is like whistling as you’re being lead to the firing squad.
I had a good relationship with this particular executive, so I didn’t hesitate to call him back. He was shocked at what I told him.  Clearly, he had never taken the time to see where he stood compared to his peers.
Secondly, he said it didn’t matter, because his investors were happy and the last thing he wanted to do was stir things up.  He told me how much pain he had been through keeping the investors calm when things were bad. Now he just wanted to enjoy some calm.
This attitude is far more pervasive with companies today than anyone wants to admit.  What is happening is people are comparing today’s success to yesterday’s failure and getting excited, when in reality they’re still getting their clocked cleaned.
If you’re not pushing full throttle even when times are good, what is going to happen to you when things soften?
The best time to be grabbing new market share and new customers is when things are good.  Doesn’t it make sense that if you have a greater market share and more customers when times are good, you’ll be in a better position to weather any downturn?
What I see happening is how quickly we’re forgetting what we just went through.  Two questions you need to be asking:
Am I growing market share?
How much of my business is coming from new customers and/or new products and services?

Be helpful.  When you see a person without a smile, give him yours. 

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts for you will never go any higher than you think."

"You can't talk yourself out of a problem you behaved yourself into."

Many people wonder what separates a top performing sales person from the rest of the pack. In most cases, it's because they apply a number of best practices in their daily routine. Here are 17 best practices of top performing sales people.
1. They set HIGH TARGETS and goals.
Top performers don't wait for their manager to issue an annual or quarterly quota. They set their own goals that are usually more ambitious than the corporate targets.
2. They carefully PLAN their quarter, month and week, as well as their daily schedule.
Too many sales people fly by the seat of their pants and only look at the day or week ahead instead of planning their month and quarter. Look at the big picture.
3. They set OBJECTIVES for every sales call.
It is essential to know exactly what you want to accomplish before you make your call (face-to-face or telephone).
4. They ASK high-value questions that probe to the heart of the issue.
Sounds simple but most sales people fail at this and ask weak, feeble questions. Top performers are comfortable asking tough questions that make their prospect think.
5. They LISTEN carefully to what their prospects and customers say instead of waiting for your turn to speak listen to your customer.
You can ask all the questions in the world but if you don't hear what people tell you won't be able to present the proper solution.
6. They CLARIFY the issue when they are unclear what their prospect means.People often say things that are unclear and most sales people assume they know what their prospect means. Top performers take the time to fully understand by asking "What do you mean by that?" of "Can you clarify that for me?"
7. They WAIT TO PRESENT their product, service, solution or idea until they know exactly what their prospect's situation is.
The majority of sales people jump too quickly into their 'sales pitch' but top performers are patient and wait for the right moment.
8. They begin every sales presentation with a brief RECAP of their understanding of the prospect's situation.
Again, a simple concept but one that is greatly ignored by many sales people. A quick summary of your customers' situation give you the opportunity to ensure that your presentation addresses their key issues.
9. They know how to ADAPT their sales presentation if their prospect's situation has changed.
Making changes on-the-fly is challenging but it is one way to stand out from your competition. Learn how to modify your presentation when customer's situation has changed from the time you initially met to the time you are delivering your presentation.
10. They know how to properly and effectively POSITION their product, service or solution.
The vast majority of sales people fail miserably at this. They talk, talk, talk but usually end up talking about aspects of their product or solution that have little or no relevance to their customer's situation.
11. Their sales presentations FOCUS on the prospect.
Most sales presentations focus on the seller's company, their product, or other trivial information that is of no interest to the customer.
12. They are PREPARED for potential objections.
Top performers anticipate objections and plan their response before their sales call.
13. They always establish the NEXT STEPS.
Decision makers are busier than ever which means they are more difficult to connect with. Avoid losing contact with a prospect by agreeing on the next steps after every sales call. Do this in face-to-face meetings and telephone calls.
14. They FOLLOW-UP after the initial call or meeting.
Many a sale has been lost because the sales rep failed to follow up after the initial call. You cannot rely on your prospect or customer to call you; you need to take this initiative. Set this up during your call or meeting.
15. They PROSPECT continually to keep their pipeline full.
It's not uncommon for sales reps to experience peaks and valleys in their sales. This is usually a result of failing to prospect for new business on a regular basis. Avoid the highs and lows and schedule time to prospect for new business every week.
16. They deal with the DECISION-MAKER whenever possible.Dealing with people who have little or no buying authority is a waste of time. However, many sales people fall into this trap because it is easier to connect with people other than the decision maker. And that may be true. However, in the long run, they end wasting their time because they don't close the deal.
17. They look for ways to KEEP IN TOUCH with their customers. A sale is not a one-time deal. However, you need to find ways to keep your name in your customer's mind to prevent a competitor from squeezing in. Top performers incorporate this into their schedule and make it a priority.

"Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can."

The big question for salespeople is how to adapt equally well in boom times and tough times. Someone once said that there is no such thing as bad times – only inadequate preparedness for change. Our approach to change determines our level of success. It's natural to cling to illusions and sometimes give in to disappointments. But when times change, we must change, go with the flow, and adapt to the new season.

"Focusing on one thing and doing it really, really well can get you very far."

"Dig the well before you are thirsty."

There’s no serendipity in sales.
“Not even that lead that closed after months of no contact happened for a reason?” you ask.
Nope.
Some trigger — prompted or unprompted — brought you back to mind and inspired contact. And while it may seem like this situation is completely out of your control, it isn’t. If you apply a strategy, you can trigger even the deadest of leads to come back to life.
According to  only 50 percent of leads are sales ready, so building relationships for when they are ready is crucial. Furthermore, as we rely less on face-to-face communication, every salesperson must seek other ways to build relationships with new and established clients.
Overcome Obstacles to Build Relationships
Every good salesperson knows how important it is to practice empathy in the sales process. Understanding a lead’s thought process and reservations is a critical skill. However, you should also understand two important things:

• Mindshare: Customers have a limited amount of thought real estate, and you’re competing with other salespeople, employees, family, reruns of “Lost,” etc. The moment you disengage from an active conversation with your customer, your mindshare with him decreases. You must retain mindshare, and something as simple as a gentle “just checking in” can do the trick.

• Defense: Human beings are naturally defensive, so next time you approach a potential client who knows you want something, don’t be surprised if the answer is “no.” Building a good relationship pierces through that underlying self-defense and mistrust. Even a minor piece of personal information — like remembering that his kid was sick during your last call, for example — will work.

 Nurture Leads and Tap Into Weak Ties
Breaking through defenses and maintaining mindshare are all about nurturing leads. Just as tended grapevines will yield better fruit, sales practices that involve constant attention will be more profitable.
According to  lead nurturing can generate 50 percent more sales-ready leads at significantly lower costs — 30 percent, to be exact. So here are three ways you can obtain and nurture leads:

1. 1.      Follow up, and maintain regular contact. You should always establish a desired cadence for every relationship. This contact rhythm can be based on anything from the account’s level of importance to the stage of a particular deal or process.

 Set manual reminders after each interaction based on a predefined interval, or use a service like  which automatically identifies when a relationship is due for a follow-up. Finally, show your client that the relationship won’t end immediately by setting a next step on each call.

1. 2.      Focus on building strong relationships. Far too often, we get caught up in the transactional nature of sales relationships, and empathy gets stripped out of digital communications.

According to personalized emails improve conversion rates by 10 percent and click-through rates by 14 percent, so take a personal interest in your customers’ lives. Record the personal details they reveal, and ask about the things they mention, such as an upcoming vacation, during your next contact.

1. 3.      Remember the value of weak ties. Strong ties — like those with your friends from college and co-workers — know the same people, often hold the same beliefs, and share information rapidly. This causes very little “new” information or relationships to exist among individuals in this core group.

 on the other hand, are filled with opportunities for new connections and information, so you should reach out as far as possible from your core connections to tap into the potential of weak ties.
Build Relationships With a Scientific Mindset
Looking at maintaining business connections from a scientific or analytical perspective allows you to put a process behind the practice. Instead of leaving relationship building up to chance, you can see these efforts as an ongoing sequence of actions with set intervals.
First, give your team a system to easily track and measure relationships. It should rely as little as possible on manual entry and allow the end user to track the overall sphere of relationships. Next, identify a sequence, qualification process, or rating system to track the importance or stage of the relationship. For each “bucket,” identify priority and contact intervals for every customer or lead.
Lastly, regularly examine the health of your team’s sphere of relationships, and set benchmarks for the quantity or quality of relationships at each stage.
Building relationships is all about staying engaged with as many of your key connections as possible, and applying an analytical process allows you to do so in an organized, reliable way. In sales, building relationships isn’t about being touchy feely; it’s about showing empathy and strategically breaking down defenses and obtaining mindshare to benefit your company and put your customers at ease.

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome."

One of the main goals of almost any salesperson is to create more happy customers. The logic is compelling. Since happy customers will give us more of their business, they will refer us to more of their friends and, as a result, we will do better. Plato once wrote, "He who does well must of necessity be happy." That thought brings two questions to mind: 1) How can you continue to make other people happy if you are unhappy? 2) What can you do to be happier?

"The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

"If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability."

"The entrepreneur builds an enterprise; the technician builds a job."

The first definition I was given of selling was transference of feeling about a product, idea or service.” I was told nobody will be more excited than you are about your products or services.
If we got to profile who we did business with we would all pick someone who’s enthusiastic over someone’s who’s not enthusiastic.  And yet this very important “sales technique” is widely ignored.
In my training classes I try to get people to be more enthusiastic. It’s like pulling teeth. Yet, I know what Zig Ziglar said is right. “For every sale you miss because you’re too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you’re not enthusiastic enough.”
I think there are two comfort zone issues everyone must overcome to be more enthusiastic. First, some sales people say. “I don’t feel myself when I’m overly enthusiastic. I am afraid the prospect will think I am faking it”. Yes, there are those of you that are so bad at being enthusiastic, that your customers will see through you if you fake it. The only way to fix this is to keep practicing until you don’t appear “fake”.
The only alternative is to stay where you are. Remember, “a rut is just a grave with the ends knocked out”. If you can’t come up with your own technique to get more enthusiastic, here are two. First, start using words which display enthusiasm. Words like fantastic, tremendous, awesome, wow, great, spectacular, and fabulous. You probably don’t use these words now, but you should write them out on a card and carry it with you. Tape it up in your car. You won’t get your friends and family to punch your cool card for this but you will make more sales.
Second, describe to someone the most exciting thing in your life. Hopefully, you have something you’re excited about. Now remember how you sound. Start using that voice when you describe your product or service.
Next time you’re watching T.V. try to find a commercial where the actors or actresses are unenthusiastic. Trust me they are not naturally that enthusiastic. They do it because it SELLS! We are naturally attracted to people that are enthusiastic. Make it your goal to be that kind of person.
Remember, the word enthusiasm traces its roots to the Greek word “Enthousiasmos” which means “divine inspiration”, “To be inspired or possessed by a god, be rapt, be in ecstasy”. Yes the early Greeks knew the power of enthusiasm. It was so powerful they thought it came from the Gods.
The second comfort zone issue we face is the desire and commitment to change what we’ve been doing for our whole career. So many of us succumb to the effects of enthusiasm everyday but we won’t use the power ourselves.
It is the easiest of communication skills to see but one of the most difficult to embrace. The beginning of the solution to any problem is the recognition of the problem. If you can raise your level of enthusiasm and you don’t, then you have a problem.
Next, develop a plan to change. I’ve given you some suggestions and you can add your own to these. Finally, stick with the plan. If you’re like me and others I’ve known, you will forget or you will get side tracked. That’s natural. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Remember if you act enthusiastic, you’ll become enthusiastic!

Common worries about selling can become distractions that stand in your way. Salespeople who want to take steps to improve the way they relate to customers must remove these mental obstacles. Start by focusing on what you want to get out of each individual interaction with a client or prospective buyer, instead of focusing on what might go wrong. Such thoughts as, "If I don't get this sale, then I'll miss my quota," will only get in the way of your ability to relate to customers and assess their needs.

When we are completely happy, we also feel that we have more energy. That can translate into more productive days and enjoyment of day-to-day activities. Conversely, continual unhappiness and longing to be happy drain us. Although pleasure can lighten unhappy moments, happiness is the result of long-term meaning. Whenever we engage in work that we really love to do, we will always lose track of time and feel an abundance of energy.

"If Google teaches you anything, it’s that small ideas can be big."

"Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves. "

How do I motivate my sales team? How do I retain top sales talent? At the risk of sounding too simple, there are two proven principles that work well in motivating salespeople: recognition and appreciation. Two simple principles often overlooked because execution takes time and attention. Sam Walton once said, "Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth a fortune."
Here are 10 simple methods for motivating your sales team:
Be specific. Many sales managers will say to their salesperson, "good job on the XYZ account." If a sales manager really wants the words to resonate with a salesperson, get specific about what ‘good’ looks like. For example, "I appreciate your ability to read the customer so well. I noticed that you really have a knack for getting the internal team to support your cause. I know you always operate from a place of integrity." When you are specific, salespeople realize you are watching and paying attention versus using tired clichés.
Be focused. Focus is the competitive advantage of the future as society is gravitating towards attention deficit disorder. When you give a compliment, focus and make the delivery of the compliment the only thing you do. This means you are not checking your email, voicemail or Smart Phone. Slow down, look your salesperson in the eye, and focus on showing appreciation.
Give public recognition. Salespeople, by nature, thrive on recognition. Don’t make success a private event. Make a point to compliment your salesperson in front of customers, colleagues and fellow team members. Public pats on the back go a long way. If you have a salesperson that is getting great feedback from clients, ask the customer to write a testimonial letter. This is a win-win for both parties. The first win is the feeling of importance and appreciation felt by your salesperson. The second win is for the customer. (Can you imagine how inspired this salesperson is going to be working for this client in the future?)
Involve the family. Hard working salespeople are often on the road, putting in long hours or entertaining clients at night. Send a thank you letter home highlighting specific contributions and attributes of your salesperson. Thank the spouse for the important role he/she plays by their support and encouragement. If there is no partner, look up Mom and Dad and tell them thanks and congratulations for raising such a great kid!
Make the salesperson the teacher/coach. This falls right in line with public recognition. When you have a salesperson delivering excellent work, don’t keep it a secret. Turn over part of the sales meeting to the salesperson and let them teach and train the rest of the sales team on best practices. The salesperson is recognized for their expertise and the message often means more coming from a peer, who is also in the trenches. It also motivates fellow team members to become an ‘expert’ so they can appear on the next meeting agenda.
Give feedback immediately. Don’t wait until you have time to give the compliment or feedback. Two weeks later does not generate the same response as immediate recognition of good attitude, problem solving or closed deals. (Can you imagine giving a dog a bone for rolling over two weeks after the event?)
Buy some paper. Email is nice; however, a handwritten note means you have taken time to find a card and write a personal note. I have seen cards sitting on a salesperson’s desk, however, have never seen an email propped up.
Recognize something besides sales. How about recognizing a salesperson for the great attitude they demonstrate every day. You know who I am talking about. The salesperson that shows up to meetings on time contributes and helps other members on the team. Give a sales citizenship award!
Create symbols of recognition. Why do people drive expensive cars? Wear big sports rings? The car probably doesn’t drive that much better and some of those rings are downright obnoxious. Both are recognized symbols of success. What symbols of success do you have at your company? Symbols can range from certificates, rings, blazers, jackets or membership dues to clubs. The item is usually not that important; it’s the recognitions associated with the item that counts.
Get the ‘big dogs’ involved. Praise shouldn’t come from just the vice-president of sales or sales manager. Have the chairman, CEO, COO, CFO pick-up the phone to make a congratulations call. As much as your sales team likes you, it’s always nice to hear praise from other sources.
Motivate your sales team in 2014. Observe, appreciate and recognize good behavior.

"I see a lot of opening script ideas and templates pitching a specific solution addressing a specific need. But my company offers solutions which hit on very different pain points. Am I best off opening with something targeted or trying to quickly relay all of our capabilities and hope something hits home?"
SalesBuzz Answer:
"Data Dumping" (relaying all of your capabilities and hope something hits home) on your prospect has a very low % rate of working.
To come up with the right opener, you have to start with the lead source. Where did the lead come from? Was it a trade show? A webinar? Are you prospecting in an industry that you've already done business in?
When you have a range of products / services, you can always get a clue from what the lead source is, as to what "opener" you could use in order to be effective.
Example:
Let's say the lead source is a vertical (meaning, you've sold to other companies in that same line of work... like a school district, a hospital, etc)
Your opener could be something like:
Salesperson:
Hi (prospects name) this is (your name) with (your company) Reason for my call is we recently helped (hospital name 1, hospital name 2 & hospital name 3) avoid/cut/reduce/gain [PAIN POINT / HOT BUTTON] and wanted to see if we may be able to help you do the same...
If it's a webinar lead, you want to focus on what the subject matter of the webinar would do / solve for the prospect, and not the actual webinar.
Bad Example:
Salesperson:
Hi (prospects name) this is (your name) with (your company) You attended our webinar on (subject) and I just wanted to follow up, introduce myself and see if you had any questions.
Prospect:
Nope, I'm good. Thanks.
Salesperson:
Um... Ok.
Better Example:
Prospect:
Hi (prospects name) this is (your name) with (your company) Reason for my call is I understand you're curious about how to avoid/cut/reduce/limit/gain/attract/grow [PAIN POINT / HOT BUTTON] and I wanted to see if we might be able to help you with that...
These are just a couple of examples on how to approach using a better opening value statement for when you offer multiple services or products.

You hear it all the time - if your price is higher than your competition you're told to “build value."  You’re instructed to stress the quality, the warranty, the features, etc.  But your prospects have heard all that before, haven’t they?  Want a better way?
 Let’s face it – if services or products are more or less the same, then prospects will buy from the people they like, know or trust.  Your enthusiasm and belief for your product or service is a big factor in getting your prospects to place an order with you over your competition.  Knowing this, I've often used the following script to not only build value in my product or service, but also to build value in the most important part of my product – myself.  Here's what to say:
 If your prospects says, “I can get cheaper," or “Well the XYZ company has something similar for less money," or anything like that, say:
 “You know _________ I'm aware of all the other options for this (product or service) and I’ll tell you now, if I thought any of them were better for my clients, I’d be working there and selling that.
 “When I got into this industry I did my own research, just like you’re doing, and I looked for the company that not only offered the best (product or service) but also delivered the best customer service and follow-up.
 After all that, I chose (your company) because they give my clients the best overall value and the best experience.  And that means they continue to do business with me and refer new business to me as well.
 __________, if there was a better product or company for you to be doing business with I’d be there and we’d be talking about that.  But there isn’t.
 “Bottom line -- if you want the best overall value, results and experience with this (your product or service) then do what I did – choose (your company) – You’ll be happy you did.  Now, do you want to start with the X size order or would the Y size order be better?"
 This technique builds value in the most important part of any sales transaction -- you and your belief in your product or service.  If you didn’t do research, then let the prospect know why you did choose your company and what you like so much about working there and offering that product.
Adapt it to fit your personality, product and company, and then get in the habit of using it whenever you feel the need to build more value

"Work is not man's punishment. It is his reward and his strength and his pleasure."

The great novelist Leo Tolstoy had more than his share of hardship but found a way to rise above his circumstances, writing, "I believe that life must and can be a constant joy, and the wise person is always joyful." Instead of viewing life as a series of tests or trials, learn to view it as a gift. You don't have to jump for joy when you get a speeding ticket, but most of us would have to admit that the things we worry about really don't matter much in the grand scheme of things.

"Do what is right, not what you think the high headquarters wants or what you think will make you look good."

"If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are an excellent leader."

Persistence and determination together are omnipotent. You never fail unless you quit. Successful individuals have clearly defined game plans, which they review constantly. They know where they are going every day, every month, and every year. Things don't just happen in their lives; they make them happen. Don't let anything stand in your way. Your level of persistence in the face of adversity and disappointment will be a measure of belief in yourself. Associate with people who share your goals and work habits. You must follow the leaders who are the best at what they do.

"Many can argue that reality is as it is, but my experience is that the opposite is exactly true. Reality is ours for the making."

"It's the little things that make the big things possible. Only close attention to the fine details of any operation makes the operation first class."

"The greatest medicine of all is to teach people how not to need it."

"There is deep wisdom within our very flesh, if we can only come to our senses and feel it."

"When you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, the day will come when you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them."

For those of us who have been in sales for longer than a decade, it’s easy to sometimes long for the days when customers waited until they met you (or conducted several phone calls with you) to decide whether they liked you. Back then, we had more control over how prospects perceived us. A firm handshake or warm smile went a long way toward building a strong customer relationship.
Today, we don’t have that luxury. In fact, many customers now assess a salesperson’s likability, knowledge, and authenticity based purely on electronic interactions and that person’s digital presence. Whether it’s how you phrase your emails, what you share in LinkedIn Groups, or which messages you retweet on Twitter, people – customers, prospects, support staff, etc. – observe how you communicate and monitor what you say. And because people buy from people they like, that means your digital presence needs to be as warm and authentic as your real-world persona.
With that in mind, there are six specific email “personalities” salespeople should avoid if they hope to get customers to like (and, ultimately, buy from) them:
Ms. All Business
1) Ms. All Business: You know the type. This salesperson is so focused on quickly responding to emails that she forgets the importance of likability. If a prospect asks a question, this person fires back a brief answer and moves on to the next email.
Mr. Opportunity Knocks
2) Mr. Opportunity Knocks: These are the salespeople who love contacts when they’re a client, but refuse to give those same people a second of their time when they no longer possess tangible value. Sales isn’t always about selling. It’s also about relationship building.
Dr. No
3) Dr. No: We’re all busy, but this salesperson has perfected the art of saying “no.” This cold tendency is generally directed more at this person’s network or co-workers, but Dr. No rarely makes him or herself available for sales ride-along’s, peer coaching or speaking engagements because they’re too focused on their own priorities.
Billy Bully
4) Bobby Bully: We’ve all worked with this salesperson – the type who bullies their support team via email, and demeans direct reports when things don’t get done. This cold approach not only kept reps from getting the help they need, it also alienates them from their support team’s network – including the owner of another company
Corey Coldfish
5) Corey Cold Fish: In an attempt to avoid writing something he’ll regret, Mr. Cold Fish chooses to compose robotic emails, often with underlined headings and bulleted lists. Those messages aren’t just boring, they also make it hard for prospects to tell if there’s really a human behind the email address.
Sara Sweetie Pie
6) Sarah Sweetie Pie: The opposite of Corey Cold Fish, this salesperson often goes overboard in an attempt to seem more friendly and engaging, writing multiple paragraphs where a few sentences would do. Even worse, they adorn messages with LOLs, emoticons, and smiley faces. While it’s good to let loose and show your personality, doing this too frequently will harm your professional credibility.
The key takeaway here is that people buy from people they like. So, be real. Personalize your emails. Be warm and friendly. Help an old prospect out. And always be cognizant of how someone might interpret your messages. While you might understand the context of your tone, it’s not always clear on the other end of the line.

"The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking."

Here are some strategic self-evaluation questions to which successful people always know the answers: 1) What is life's purpose for you? 2) What do you want out of life? 3) What makes you happy? 4) Can you overcome the competition? 5) How can you prepare yourself so that your goals prevail? If you answer these questions, pretty soon a clear picture of what you really want and are good at will begin to emerge. Then you'll be able to choose where you will go with your life and how you will get there.

"Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life."

"The shifts of fortune test the reliability of friends."

"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes in to us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands, and hopes we've learned something from yesterday."

"There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity."

"Time flies. It's up to you to be the navigator."

Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.

"Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire."

Many salespeople operate as lone wolves, but sometimes teamwork is better. Imagine your goal is to open a profitable new account in the face of tough competition. One rep brings home the order within 36 hours with help from associates. The other rep also gets the contract but does it alone in 57 hours. Who's the real pro? As a sales professional, time is your most valuable asset. Be careful not to go it alone too often.

"Eighty-five percent of the reason you get a job, keep that job, and move ahead in that job has to do with your people skills and people knowledge."

It might sound odd, but money is not the root of great motivation. We all share a desire to get better and better at something that matters. Whether you're a great artist, athlete, software developer, or sales professional, you need room to grow. The best way to tap into intrinsic motivation, according to author Daniel Pink, is to take the issue of money off the table and put the focus on the work itself: "The more prominent salary, perks, and benefits are in someone's work life, the more they can inhibit creativity and unravel performance."

You accepted the offer of Vice President of Sales and are now charged with rebuilding the sales team.  They haven’t hit quota in months and the excuses vary from:

• Our product isn’t the best in the market
•  Marketing isn’t generating enough leads
• Our price is too high

Your work is cut out for you in turning this sales Titanic around. Here are three critical steps as master of the ship.
#1: Assess your sales team.  Do you need hunters but inherited a team of farmers?  Do you need farmers because the hunters aren’t taking care of anything or anyone they close?
You can get rid of salespeople or restructure the sales department.  Create a lead generation role for the hunters.  They can throw the deal to the account executives who are charged with selling and closing.   They turn it over to the account manager who services the heck out of the customer and upsells.  Everyone is playing to their strength.
#2:  Create a high performance culture.  Stop yawning….culture makes you money.  Establish a core value of managing results, not excuses.  Let your team know there is always an excuse for not getting the job done.  It just doesn’t happen at this company.  Eliminate excuse makers and elevate goal makers.
#3:  Train and coach.  Your team has taken courses in reading, writing and arithmetic.  They have never taken courses in listening skills, critical thinking or dealing with defensive people. And then you wonder why they aren’t closing more deals.  Hmmm…..who is the problem?  As the famous poet Maya Angelou stated, “When you know better, you do better.”
Take these critical steps and rebuild your team.  You have a new building to design.

"You can't have a better tomorrow if you're thinking about yesterday."

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

"I'm in a sales slump and don't know what to do to get out of it. What action steps can I take to change the situation I'm in?"
SalesBuzz Answer:
Sales slumps are never fun. A bad one can shake your foundations to the core, to the point where you fear that your lifestyle is in danger as the bills pile up with every missed quota.
Here's the good news: Every top sales rep has had a sales slump at some time in their career. Which means, you CAN overcome this.
Your biggest challenge will be to take accountability and to have the commitment to overcome your situation. If the painful feeling of a sales slump outweighs your resistance to change and accountability, do these three things to help pull yourself out of the sales slump:
1) Take Inventory:
Take an honest look at your current pipeline.
Are you calling the same old leads, over and over again? You know the kind I'm talking about... the leads that will take your call because you have a "good rapport" with them, yet they never seem to buy?
I've seen sales people dig themselves into the ground because their fear of rejection was so high, they refused to prospect for fresh new opportunities, and instead, kept calling the same old leads that were willing to shoot the breeze with them, but never buy.
Top sales people know that priority number one is to always have a fresh stream of leads coming in. It's your responsibility to make sure that is happening regardless of what your company is doing. Sure, I feel marketing should be providing sales reps with a constant flow of leads, however, with todays prospecting tools, a sales person should never have to sit and wait for the marketing department to do their job.
Top sales people don't sit and wait. They MAKE. THINGS. HAPPEN.
2) Role-play:
The only thing sales people hate more than cold calling, is role-playing, yet it is the single fastest way I know for a salesperson to see what they are doing wrong on the phone and fix it.
Of course, you will need someone with experience who can correct your mistakes (having two struggling sales people critique each other in a role-playing session is absolutely pointless). So make sure you have a top sales rep or even the owner of your company, if possible, sit in and give you advice. It will be uncomfortable at first, but you will see the pay-off in short order.
3) Effort: Skills + Output = Sales Results.
If you have a fresh stream of leads and have sharpened your sales skills, the last remaining part to the sales equation is your effort.
Time management plays a huge part in whether or not a sales person succeeds or fails. Are you spending your mornings "prospecting" and looking for who to call? If so, you're doing it wrong! Why would you spend time doing non-sales call activities during the only time you have to make sales calls? Before you walk in the door, you should already have your first 20 to 40 sales calls lined up and ready to go.
Your "output" (effort) needs to be kicked up a notch or two in order to get out of that slump, once you fix your sales techniques. Chances are, what got you in a slump was bad sales techniques and/or poor effort. You're going to have to push yourself to get out of it. But you can do this!
One final thing... Remember those times when everything you touched seemed to close? All of a sudden, deals seemed to be coming in from everywhere, with almost little effort? Almost always, that was a result of all the hard work you were doing 3 or 4 months ago. All those calls you made when you were trying to get yourself out of that sales slump. If you don't want to go back to slumpville, make sure you continue to work just as hard when you're on top, as you did to dig yourself out from the bottom and you won't have to worry about ever falling into a sales slump ever again.

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."

"What matters is where you want to go. Focus in the right direction!"

"Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead... You can only see one thing clearly, and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin."

“We all sell something a product, an idea or a service.” When you think about it, every profession is dependent on communication skills.
The best lawyer doesn’t know the most about the law. They communicate the best to the judge, jury and opposing counsel. The best Preacher, Priest or Rabi doesn’t know the most about the Bible or Torah, they communicate it the best to the congregation. The best teacher doesn’t necessarily know the most about their subject but they communicate it the best to their students.
This is my point, no matter what we do our communication skills, to some extent determine our success. I have no idea what grades my doctor made or whether he “passed” the state licensing requirements by one point. I go because he communicates effectively with me. I trust him. Trust is a key element of communication/ sales.
Yet what do most of us, even those of us in sales, think about the word “salesman”? We think pushy, high pressure, con man, Charlatan, cheat, dishonest, crooked, twist your arm, make you buy, say anything to get the sale, good golfer.
Now we in sales have to recognize this stereotype. We have to embrace that on a sales call we are “sub-human” until we gain enough trust to be promoted to “human”. So like other successful professionals, how do we learn to communicate? “You can trust me. I won’t lie to you. I have your best interests at heart.”
You should start with the frame of mind that “I am here to serve you”. In the first meeting with a prospect, if you can focus on the prospect and not yourself, you’ve come a long way towards success in sales. The mindset of “I am here to serve” does two things.
First, it eliminates the unspoken, non-verbal signal we send when we’re there to “make the sale”. Potential customers can see the dollar signs in your eyes. Remember, 60% of what you communicate is non-verbal and when your focus is on your needs first, you send that signal and your customer picks up on it.
Second, if your mindset is to serve, you accomplish a major step in making the sale; that of finding or creating a need. If you’re there to help, you will find it much easier to explain how your product meets a specific need you’ve uncovered. Remember, nobody buys to help you win a sales contest. They buy to meet a want or need of their own.
Another way to get promoted to “human” from “sub-human”, in other words, to improve your communication skills, is to let the prospect (early in the discussion) know others have promoted you from “sub-human” to “human”. The use of other customer’s names and the use of other company names you do business with builds trust and will get you promoted rapidly.
When I was selling books door to door, the Southwestern Company sent me a bumper sticker that I kept on my car for years. I sold that car with the bumper sticker still on it. The bumper sticker said “I Am Third!”
The message I sent myself everyday was God is first, my customer is second and I am third. Putting the customer ahead of yourself will help you get where you want to go.

In selling, trickle-down fear causes all kinds of problems. When the boss trembles, the staff shakes. What's the fix? Keep in mind that there are good times and tough times. Worry never made a worrisome situation better. When you feel threatened by fear, make a list of all the things within your control. You'll find you're better off than you think.

If you have 500 customers, you have 500 friends. Before persuading people to part with their money, you must first earn trust, which means you have to win them over as friends. Making friends is half the fun of doing business. When you're dealing with people who trust you and look for ways to provide mutual value, business becomes a joy. No asset is worth more.

If it wasn’t for the darn customers, business would be easy.  They are so demanding. You can also blame poor sales results on Wall Street, the administration and millennials.  It might be time to stop the blame game and take a tour of your company to see if you are creating raving fans or clients that are raving mad.
Case in point.  A colleague of mine purchased a computer earlier this year and within a week the infamous blue screen showed up.  The computer shut down and she had to return it.  The company actually handled the return fairly well.  They took back the computer and even allowed her to pick out another computer because she didn't trust buying the same model.  Six months later Murphy's Law hit and her second computer from this retailer blew up.
For some reason, this broken computer was handled much differently.  She received a cheery voicemail saying that her computer needed to be send back to the manufacturer because it didn't work.  (Duh)  And it would take about seven to ten days to diagnose, fix and return.  My colleague had purchased the $300 warranty - to prevent this type of hassle.
Let's ask few common sense questions around this scenario:

• Who can afford to be without their business computer seven to ten days?  
• How smart is it to leave this type of information on voicemail?   It's kind of like a doctor leaving a message that the test results aren’t good and an operation is in order.
•  And maybe, just maybe, wouldn't it make sense to jump through hoops to keep this client satisfied because it was her second computer blow-up in six months?  

My colleague did what most people unfortunately have to do to get the service she paid for.  She got upset, pushy and finally got a good customer service person that scored high in emotional intelligence.  She was empathetic, listened and provided the right solution.  She saved my colleague as a client.
Companies focus on winning business each year in order to grow revenues.  It's great to have business coming in the front door.  Just make sure customers aren't turning around and going out the back door.  
Here are two things to examine and do to retain and grow sales.
#1.  Secret shop your own company.   Document everything from the first point of contact with your company.  How friendly is the person answering the phone or...is no one answering the phone?   How are prospects and clients greeted when they walk into your office?   Are they greeted by name or do they feel like they are interrupting the business managers work day?
What's the sales process like from the prospect’s perspective?   Is your sales team consultative or still using outdated trial closes?  “So Mr. Customer, wouldn’t you agree that our product could…..”  Or equally bad is the proverbial product dump.  This is where your salesperson goes into a canned presentation and product dump after the poor prospect asks, “Can you tell me more about your company?”   
How do you deal with returns, billing issues and service after the sale?   Remember, not every customer gets upset and complains.  Many just go away and you never learn why or how you lost their business.   Janelle Barlow, an expert in the customer service world has a great quote.  "Complaints are a gift."  Secret shop to identify and prevent complaints.
#2.  Duplicate companies that create a great client experience.  Zappos, the on-line shoe company, grew to one billion dollars in ten years.  They are known for providing great customer service.  Their focus:  create a WOW factor for their clients.  Order shoes from them, even if you don’t need any, just to experience this WOW factor.
For example, your first shipment arrives overnight, at no extra charge.  WOW!  If you return all nine pairs of shoes, there is no lie detector test asking you if you wore the shoes.  They apply the common sense rule.  If a customer is shopping on-line, he or she doesn’t have the time or desire to shop in a crowded mall.
Zappos also gives their customer one year to return shoes.   They know their customers are busy and sometimes don’t get returns processed in 30 days.  Remember a not so friendly company called Blockbuster?  Yeah, those late fees on movies served them well.
Are you losing customers because of your 'ten day policies?'   Secret shop your own company.  Apply common sense and create a great client experience.    Keep sales coming in the front door and not out the back door.  

"There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophies."

"Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."

There’s been a lot of debate over the last few years about the effectiveness of multitasking.
Productivity experts make the case that trying to do more than one thing at the same time leads to poor results — and half-finished outcomes.
Nothing gets the best use of your attention. Instead of doing more, you actually get less done. And what you get done isn’t game-changing or noteworthy.
Maybe multi-tasking isn’t broken.
Maybe it’s your focus and planning that need a tune up.
If you’re not focused, you’re not going to be achieving your best. You’re not going to produce results that are legendary.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to throw out your multitasking. Maybe you just need to add a better plan — so that you can do better at doing more.
Maybe you need to figure out your focus.
Maybe you need to build a plan to get more things done each day. After all, isn’t a plan the key to being productive?
Here are a few ideas for hyper-tasking your way to outrageously effective outcomes.

1. Dedicate time each week to prioritizing big picture goals for the coming week, month, and quarter.
2. Use reminders to notify you of upcoming tasks due throughout the day.
3. Change your default hour long meeting to just 20 minutes and make sure anyone requesting your time knows you’ll be leaving early.
4. Use task tracking apps like Todoist, Wunderlist, or Asana to get generic tasks done throughout the day when you have a few free minutes.
5. Make it a priority to get everything done that you put on your list done each day. Be religious about not procrastinating.
6. Use your calendar as a “real time” diary of whom you call and what you do in time slots throughout the day. Makes it easier to remember in the future.
7. Use your smartphone technology to dictate reminders, events, and tasks that need to be done as you think about them throughout the day.
8. Block out distractions by turning off notifications when you have an important project that needs your full attention.
9. Use music, a TV in the room, or other background noise to keep your brain engaged while you work on boring business tasks.
10. Use multiple computers or multiple screens to manage different pieces of the project you are working on at the moment.
11. Adjust the size of your “to do” list and the number of appointment on your calendar based on your ability to keep getting things done effectively.
12. Answer, archive, or “act on” your email messages within 30 seconds of reading them. Get them out of your way as soon as possible

Maybe it’s time to plan for getting more things done.
Multitasking, hyper tasking, focusing on what’s important — whatever you call it, the key to being amazing is having an amazing plan.
Just because you do more than one thing at a time doesn’t mean you’re doing less than your best.
It might just mean that your big goals demand that you do more than everyone else around you.
Act like a champ. Be a multi-tasking superhero.

"Ingenuity - plus courage, plus work - equals miracles."

"Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade."

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."

"How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case."

"The beginning is the most important part of the work."

Are you promotable? This question warrants some self-reflection. Salespeople who want to move up through the ranks need the ability to coach and communicate. They must be able to influence others. They must know how to give positive and, when necessary, constructive negative feedback. These characteristics bode well for personal as well as professional growth.

"If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it; every arrow that flys feels the attraction of earth."

"The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be."

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An sales, we’re often trained to become numb to the word “no.” We hear it at the very start of the sales process and, depending on how our interaction with contacts goes, we might hear it several more times before a deal ever closes. In prospecting, we can expect to hear it at least eight times — remembering that a lack of a reply is actually a silent “no” — before we ever get a response. And even that response might be a very audible “no.”

Unfortunately, we don’t just hear “no” from customers, either. Sometimes, it comes from technical experts and managers we work with, too:

No, I can’t come with you on that sales call…

No, we can’t build that solution…

No, we don’t have those resources…

No, we don’t have those skills…

No, you can’t offer that discount…

No, we don’t work with that target market…

No, we don’t want to partner with that company…

The bottom line is that, as a sales rep, you’ll inevitably face “no” every single day — and probably multiple times throughout the day. If you let it bother you, that kind of rejection can beat you down and make you want to start looking around for another job.

Until, you hear the magic word: “Yes.” And all it takes is one “yes” and suddenly you’ve forgotten about all the previous “nos.”

Yes, my boss would like to speak with you…

Yes, you’re right, we should address that issue…

Yes, I would like you to talk with our owner…

Yes, I do want to work with you…

Yes, let’s do it!

Ah, the sweet sound of success!

The reality, of course, is that you’ll always hear “no” significantly more often than you hear “yes.” After all, if you consider that a successful sales rep typically boasts a 25 percent close ratio, that means he or she is still hearing “no” three times before they hear one “yes.” It’s up to you, however, to choose how to handle rejection.

Here’s my advice: Soak up the joy of every yes and recognize the opportunity in every no.

It’s an opportunity to turn a gatekeeper or prospect around and land that first appointment. It’s an opportunity to uncover more details and, ultimately, show a contact why they need to address a particular problem. It’s an opportunity to show your manager the real potential in an account. And, most of all, it’s an opportunity forge ahead and win another sale.

The bottom line is that “no” is in the eye of the beholder. So, how are you going to respond when you hear it today? Will you see potential failure or potential opportunity?

An sales, we’re often trained to become numb to the word “no.” We hear it at the very start of the sales process and, depending on how our interaction with contacts goes, we might hear it several more times before a deal ever closes. In prospecting, we can expect to hear it at least eight times — remembering that a lack of a reply is actually a silent “no” — before we ever get a response. And even that response might be a very audible “no.”
Unfortunately, we don’t just hear “no” from customers, either. Sometimes, it comes from technical experts and managers we work with, too:
No, I can’t come with you on that sales call…
No, we can’t build that solution…
No, we don’t have those resources…
No, we don’t have those skills…
No, you can’t offer that discount…
No, we don’t work with that target market…
No, we don’t want to partner with that company…
The bottom line is that, as a sales rep, you’ll inevitably face “no” every single day — and probably multiple times throughout the day. If you let it bother you, that kind of rejection can beat you down and make you want to start looking around for another job.
Until, you hear the magic word: “Yes.” And all it takes is one “yes” and suddenly you’ve forgotten about all the previous “nos.”
Yes, my boss would like to speak with you…
Yes, you’re right, we should address that issue…
Yes, I would like you to talk with our owner…
Yes, I do want to work with you…
Yes, let’s do it!
Ah, the sweet sound of success!
The reality, of course, is that you’ll always hear “no” significantly more often than you hear “yes.” After all, if you consider that a successful sales rep typically boasts a 25 percent close ratio, that means he or she is still hearing “no” three times before they hear one “yes.” It’s up to you, however, to choose how to handle rejection.
Here’s my advice: Soak up the joy of every yes and recognize the opportunity in every no.
It’s an opportunity to turn a gatekeeper or prospect around and land that first appointment. It’s an opportunity to uncover more details and, ultimately, show a contact why they need to address a particular problem. It’s an opportunity to show your manager the real potential in an account. And, most of all, it’s an opportunity forge ahead and win another sale.
The bottom line is that “no” is in the eye of the beholder. So, how are you going to respond when you hear it today? Will you see potential failure or potential opportunity?