Successful salespeople are often experts at differentiating themselves from the competition. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s vital because if the prospect has no way of differentiating between sales people, they’ll default to their tried and true method, price. Poor and mediocre salespeople are the ones that cut their price and try to low ball a deal. Successful sales professionals avoid the situation and when circumstances place them in that battle, they usually walk away. So as a rule of thumb, if the competition is doing it, do something else. (more…)

When a child has a bag of candy dumped in front of them, he or she does one of two things. When it’s offered to them without supervision they gorge themselves on it until there is nothing left, which usually causes big problems for their stomach. The other option is that they turn their nose up at it because it’s not the kind they like. Not only are they upset because they don’t like it, they’re upset because they thought they had a great treat coming to them and are left with a worthless pile. When someone is supervising them they can discover which candy they prefer and be given a reasonable amount. In the end, it’s better for the child as they get the treat they like but don’t suffer the stomachache later. Prospects often need to be handled in a similar manner. (more…)

All salespeople should strive to understand the value that their product or service provides and ethically provide it to their clients. Unfortunately, the stereotype of salespeople exists because there are salespeople who use underhanded techniques to convince people to make a purchase. This sacrifices not only what value the product or service has to offer, but also their role as a salesperson. Certainly, a salesperson’s job is to sell, but beyond that, they are building a reputation for themselves and their company. (more…)