What Have Your Salespeople Been Listening To?
What Have Your Salespeople Been Listening To?
I've also been hearing about deals that have been delayed, requests for lower prices, appointments cancelled because projects were being put on hold, and closed deals getting cancelled. What have you been hearing?
The worst part of hearing a lot of this talk is that it doesn't take long for B and C players to believe it, become demoralized and expect to fail. You can't allow that to happen. All of the discussions with your salespeople must be positive, must be about what you can control, and must celebrate something. Is the economy lousy? Sure. But business is still being conducted, and even in companies where there are spending freezes, they are still making purchases. In reality, there is no such thing as a spending freeze except for being something that top management tells bottom management.
While some of the things your salespeople are listening to are conditions that can't be countered, most of the things your salespeople are hearing can be! How much of what they are hearing is convenient, easy excuses, something prospects hope your salespeople will understand and buy into? How many of the prospects are simply bluffing? How many of these stalls, put-offs and objections can be overcome with more effective sales processes, better strategies and more powerful tactics? How many of your salespeople are actually equipped to sell in an economy as difficult as this one?
While it's easy to fall into the trap of telling your salespeople what you need them to do, most aren't capable of doing more than they've done before, against greater competition and resistance, without changing something. So what would need to be changed? You'll have to evaluate the sales force to find out but there isn't a better time to do that!
What is your opinion?
What Have Your Salespeople Been Listening To - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.
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In my position as a sales development thought leader and expert I get to hear what many salespeople in many industries are encountering for resistance. In the last few weeks I've heard way too much about deals getting suspended due to spending freezes. Have your salespeople been hearing this?
I've also been hearing about deals that have been delayed, requests for lower prices, appointments cancelled because projects were being put on hold, and closed deals getting cancelled. What have you been hearing?
The worst part of hearing a lot of this talk is that it doesn't take long for B and C players to believe it, become demoralized and expect to fail. You can't allow that to happen. All of the discussions with your salespeople must be positive, must be about what you can control, and must celebrate something. Is the economy lousy? Sure. But business is still being conducted, and even in companies where there are spending freezes, they are still making purchases. In reality, there is no such thing as a spending freeze except for being something that top management tells bottom management.
While some of the things your salespeople are listening to are conditions that can't be countered, most of the things your salespeople are hearing can be! How much of what they are hearing is convenient, easy excuses, something prospects hope your salespeople will understand and buy into? How many of the prospects are simply bluffing? How many of these stalls, put-offs and objections can be overcome with more effective sales processes, better strategies and more powerful tactics? How many of your salespeople are actually equipped to sell in an economy as difficult as this one?
While it's easy to fall into the trap of telling your salespeople what you need them to do, most aren't capable of doing more than they've done before, against greater competition and resistance, without changing something. So what would need to be changed? You'll have to evaluate the sales force to find out but there isn't a better time to do that!
What is your opinion?
What Have Your Salespeople Been Listening To - To learn more about this author, visit Dave Kurlan's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Understanding the Sales Force - Objective Management Group, Inc. is the pioneer and industry leader in sales force evaluations and sales candidate screening. Spearheaded by leading sales industry expert, Dave Kurlan, Objective Management Group, Inc. can help you measure sales effectiveness, execution and potential.
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