Looking forward to a fantastic 2022? Better have a plan! This year is almost over. And what a year it has been. No company’s plan prepared a year ago survived. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted businesses both large and small. We learned to work from home. Even crusty old road warriors managed to learn…
Selling today has changed from the pre-pandemic times. But selling has always been changing. The fundamental process we use to win and keep good customers is the same. Because fundamentals are, well, fundamental. How we deal with buyers now is different from years past. So what are great salespeople doing now to be thinking like…
This blog was first posted at Thanksgiving 2019. A lot has changed since then with the COVID-19 pandemic. Business disruption has occurred in all markets throughout the world. Many businesses have failed because of the restrictions necessary to control the spread of the virus. Others have thrived by providing new and innovative services during the…
So maybe you are just joining the workforce or maybe been considering selling as a profession for a while. Or you are an experienced salesperson questioning whether to continue in sales. Let’s look at why people choose selling and what characteristics make a great salesperson. There is the age-old question of whether great salespeople are…
Ouch! I really stubbed my toe that time! Yes, even great salespeople make mistakes along the way to getting the order. And we learn from our mistakes. Sometimes even recover enough to get the sale. The good news is if you are making mistakes you are for sure out there creating opportunities for buyers to…
Lifelong learning makes great salespeople. If the COVID pandemic has taught great salespeople one thing it’s the need to continually learn new selling skills and refine the current ones. Are you keeping current with the latest buyer strategies? How about all the tech for selling? Take A Selling Skills Inventory All of us have strengths…
I am old road warrior sales guy. I spent my 45-year career sitting face-to-face with prospects. Now the sales world has turned virtual. No more morning coffee with my first meeting of the day. Then lunch with another. Followed by a couple of afternoon meetings. Sometimes finishing with an evening meal with a client. With…
Great salespeople focus on providing value to the customer. Building strong relationships salespeople know what the customer values. The value triangle is: Price, Quality, Performance. Customers can only get two of the three. With low price a customer must give up quality or performance (sometimes expressed as “service”). Those buyers who value high quality are…
In this blog I relate my experience in 45 years of successful B2B selling. The fundamental skill to my success is building relationships with prospects and customers. Now I read articles calling for “putting the buyer first” and “delivering value.” This is not new stuff. Ask any great salesperson and they will tell you both…
OK, Crawford, what are you doing here? I thought great salespeople were always honorable. Yep, but there are advantages you have over your competitor they don’t have. So those I consider an unfair advantage because others can’t have them. And they give you a leg up when competing for business. Let’s look at how you…