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Trigger Events - The Anatomy of Sales Wisdom
When a prospect says or does something it should trigger the salesperson's time machine, bringing him back to an important sales event where something like the current scenario took place before.

But I'm a Sales Guy - The Story of Motivation and Compensation
A Sales VP and his CEO were in the conference room and each time the CEO brought up a problem, we asked the Sales VP to elaborate. Each time he began with, "Well I'm a sales guy so I know this stuff..." Yes and No.

What are Reasonable Sales Management Expectations?
I am often asked which of the various services we provide to companies can be done in-house, by the executive team. Fair question. Answer: All of them. So why would companies use us or others with our expertise? Answer: Because when they try to do it in-house they aren't able to get most of it right:
Kindle - Lessons Applied to the Sales Force
Readers who have purchased the Kindle have totally embraced that device. Some think it's the Kindle, not online sellers, that is the biggest threat to brick and mortar book stores. Read on for the lesson...
Sales is a team effort
Sales numbers and sales processes should be understood and owned by everybody in your organisation. In today’s world if you are not directly in sales you are supporting someone who is. This is why sales really is a team effort. Rather than being just about a feel good factor and great staff alignment, this has practical applications as well. For instance with the ability for customers (or anyone) to find and connect with anyone in your organisation through many difference channels (i.e. social networks, Google, etc.) the whole business needs to be sales fit.
You can't afford to let the knowledge leak out!
The sales rep with superior knowledge is a formidable competitor. That's why you have a Sales Excellence Council in place. (Right?) And that group is charged with identifying the best and newest sales best practices and tools. (Right?)

10 Ways to Better Manage & Motivate Your Sales Team
Ten great strategies for elevating your success as a sales manager and motivator
Focus Your Sales Process on Your Sales Behaviors and Sales Skills, Not Your Prospect’s Behaviors
Would you agree that most sales processes be them 3 step, 5 step, 7 step or even 12 step focus on the prospect or what I prefer to call the potential customer? Given that everybody is focusing on the potential customer and that probably 50% to 80% of all sales targets and goals are not met, would that not suggest a different focus is required?
Automating Your Sales Processes For Success
There's a lot of talk about using technology to automate your sales force, telemarketing, and/or marketing activities, as well as to help your business improve its customer relationships. Find out how to automate your sales processes for success.
Defining a Great Customer Experience
While consulting with a client of mine who was Vice President of Sales for a financial services company, I asked him what he believed his customers thought of his company and how they liked doing business with him. His answer was that his customers loved his company and their experiences were very positive. I then spoke to his sales people to learn more about their existing sales processes as well as other sales-related issues. The sales reps’ feelings were similar to their vice president, although not quite as over-confident and smug. Where they differed related to the fact that they did get some complaints from customers, but not enough for them to believe the customers had anything but excellent experiences with their company.
Don't Demo Yourself Out of a Sale
A product demonstration can be the killer of a sales opportunity. I've seen many a sales call go down in flames because the demo did not address the prospect's main issues and pains. This usually happens when the Sales Process is either out of whack or non-existent. If you’ve been reading some of my other articles, then you know that Sales Processes are like a religion to me. Without one, sales are inconsistent, unpredictable, and frequently unsuccessful. What often happens with the demo is that the sales person tries to show what his product can do too soon.

What to measure to be phenomenally successful in business
We all have to measure our finances, using an approved accounting system. We may hate it, but it is a requirement by law. Thus we all get an accountant to tell us what we did, how much money we made or lost, how much tax we have to pay, and then most of us sigh a collective sigh of relief, and forget about it. Large businesses use the financial figures, to create management accounts that we use on an ongoing business.
Sales Training for the Entrepreneur Struggling to Succeed
Sales training is an entrepreneurial necessity. If your business is struggling to succeed, sales training can provide you with the skills you need to sell. And sales are what makes your business an economic success.

Now is the Time to Master Financial Conversations
While these are admittedly challenging times for many, I still see a lot of sales being made among the companies we are working with. The biggest difference in selling today is the amount of time it takes for sales to close, especially compared to the last few years. But some sellers aren’t feeling any pain – their sales aren’t taking longer in spite of the economy – and yours don’t have to either.
Business and Sales Growth Secrets for 2009
The jury is still out about our current economy. Some say we will be experiencing a mild recession and others say we are on the brink of a depression. It doesn’t matter where you fall in the debate, one thing is certain, business growth is not as easy as it once was. If you have been reading the news headlines, many CEO’s are focused on cutting costs and laying off employees. This does help short term profitability, however these actions are precisely the wrong strategy to take if you want to grow your company in a bad economy. CEO’s who want to increase sales, profit margins and drive new business growth in 2009 should consider the following top 5 business growth success secrets.
Fear Factors in Small Business: Sales & Marketing
Generating new sales is often the most difficult and challenging jobs for small business owners. That shouldn’t be a big surprise, generating new sales is the most difficult and challenging tasks faced by big business as well, which is why they spend billions of dollars every year trying new sales processes, new sales techniques and different customer relationship management approaches.
Value Over Price Preserves Profitability
One way to add value inside of this business equation is to buy a customer's business by offering the lowest Price. You already know that may get you a short-term sell at the expense of short-term and long-term profitability. But, there are more profitable ways to create Perceived Buyer Value, beyond under-cutting your competitor's price.
Managing Sales Motivation - Find the Motivational Drains
Most sales people need motivation. Motivation comes in many different forms. One way to motivate your team is to identify areas that are draining their motivation. This article will help you find the drain and plug it to regain motivation.
Is Selling Simple or Complicated?
Tessa Stowe dispels the notion that selling is complicated and offers advice for finding a simple sales process.
Seven Early Warning Signals of Ineffective Sales
No one is perfect, and no business is either. So it stands to reason that individual components of a business may not be perfect either. Specifically, this could mean your sales department and sales processes could use some tuning as well. Consider these seven early warning signals and see if you can make some improvements in some areas of your business.
Explode Your Sales Success
In the last several years, I have had a revelation about the art and science of sales. The answer to sales success is within all of us. The answer is simple but the key to unlock the answer is elusive.

Explode Your Sales Success
In the last several years, I have had a revelation about the art and science of sales. The answer to sales success is within all of us. The answer is simple but the key to unlock the answer is elusive.

Other sales processes Related Articles

Align Your Sales and Corporate Strategies
When your sales strategy is not aligned with your corporate strategy, your organization can become its own worst enemy. While the sales force may be heading in one direction (e.g., applying their own processes, emphasizing certain product lines, addressing their own objectives) the corporate direction and priorities could be completely different. Of course it’s the customer who suffers the most when these strategies are not aligned. Hence, it is critical that sales and corporate strategies be in sync to avoid conflicts with processes, priorities, resources, and especially customers.
Don't Demo Yourself Out of a Sale
A product demonstration can be the killer of a sales opportunity. I've seen many a sales call go down in flames because the demo did not address the prospect's main issues and pains. This usually happens when the Sales Process is either out of whack or non-existent. If you’ve been reading some of my other articles, then you know that Sales Processes are like a religion to me. Without one, sales are inconsistent, unpredictable, and frequently unsuccessful. What often happens with the demo is that the sales person tries to show what his product can do too soon.

The System is the Art of Your Business
A system is made up of defined processes that are designed to meet an overall objective. The creation of systems and their processes is art.
Role of Leadership in Planning
Executives love to talk about planning… most complain their processes don’t work very well. Harvard Business Review reports that only 11% of CEOs believe that strategic planning is worth the effort. Most planning processes are too complex, and only document decisions already made. CEOs have the responsibility to make their planning processes effective; I believe the key is to keep the processes simple and focused.
Master Your Game: Leveraging "Who" and "How"
As a leader, you will turbo charge your organization when you shift from a narrow focus on processes and results (what you are doing and the results you need to achieve) to transforming the players in your team (who you need to execute these processes). Leaders with great communication skills have the power to shift people's self-perception and improve their potential. When you understand who your people are and are able to assist them to be brilliant in how they undertake the business processes, success will follow.

Sales is a team effort
Sales numbers and sales processes should be understood and owned by everybody in your organisation. In today’s world if you are not directly in sales you are supporting someone who is. This is why sales really is a team effort. Rather than being just about a feel good factor and great staff alignment, this has practical applications as well. For instance with the ability for customers (or anyone) to find and connect with anyone in your organisation through many difference channels (i.e. social networks, Google, etc.) the whole business needs to be sales fit.
8th of the 10 Kurlan Sales Management Functions
Systems and processes are your sales infrastructure - everything that is not your people. A lot of us use the two words interchangeably. So what is the difference between systems and processes?
Sales 2.0 Competencies, Changes, Myths
There has been much talk about Sales 2.0 yet most sales experts can't agree on exactly what it is. But before we can even discuss Sales 2.0, I must confess that most companies have yet to get on board with good old Sales 1.x! Most companies are still selling without formalized sales processes, effective strategies and effective tactics. Most companies still have their salespeople show up, present, demo, quote and wait for the business.
Lead the way
Sales needs to be led from the top and it needs to be on the agenda of the ‘C’ suite, and this will mean from the CEO down, including the CFO, COO, and CIO. Even if the ‘C’ suite never has contact with an external customer (which I strongly advise against) they need to know how to lead, sell in, and support the sales effort. Why? Despite millions, if not billions, of dollars being invested in sales training, CRM systems and the like, many leaders are realising that their frontend processes, backend systems, culture (including those staff who have not traditionally seen themselves involved in sales), and sales methodologies are not aligned with their customers.

Coaching Training Part 3: The 3 Elements of Sales Coaching
To perform at the highest level, a sales manager cannot merely be great manager who drives processes, but never captures the hearts of employees. Likewise, even the best leaders who can effectively collaborate with those on their teams, but never pushes them into the high growth mode of complexity, will not be able to maximize results. It is only when sales coaches are able to effectively manage processes, lead collaboratively, and coach their teams into complexity that they will truly be able to enter the high performance zone.
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