It’s hard to think of a word that triggers more reactivity and drains more trust from conversation than “but.” Notice how often you hear it (and say it) when you’re negotiating or arguing. Notice how this one word changes the temperature and tone in the moment. To prevent the damage that “but” inflicts, the author offers three hacks: 1) Focus on what’s said before “but,” 2) Replace “but” with curiosity, and 3) Stop before the “but.” Each of these moves requires courage, patience, and practice — and the return on investment is impressive.

Salespeople make sales calls. It’s so simple as to be second nature and thus easy to overlook. But the best sellers know each sales call is an opportunity. After all, every closed deal starts with an initial call, but that puts the cart before the horse.

New research from ValueSelling and Training Industry, Inc. has uncovered a glaring gap between the most impactful sales behaviors needed to engage with buyers virtually, and what sales leaders measure today. Surprisingly, winning sales behaviors are rarely measured.

Customer service is the support you provide your customers before and after they purchase your product or service. Offering timely service that consistently meets customer expectations leads to a positive experience of your brand. It helps you build trust and foster long-term relationships with customers to help grow your business.

The past two years haven’t been easy—they’ve shown that true disruption is forced on businesses, not chosen. While every industry, company, and team has been disrupted in some way, no other aspect of the business world has been more affected by disruption than sales teams. Whether it’s growing customer expectations, labor shortages, digital transformations, or market uncertainty, sales professionals are facing more pressure than ever. But there is a solution: creating a connected sales organization.

In sales and business, we call the most effective salespeople a “CLOSER.” Sales can be a position that experiences the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Many people have theories about how the best salesperson outperforms their peers. But I believe that no matter what the salesperson's individual style is, there are attributes all great salespeople share. The good news is that it is possible to develop these characteristics and skills through training, study and hard effort.

For decades, salespeople have been taught that there is only one possible reason for lost sales: that salespeople have failed to defeat the customer’s status quo. Perhaps the customer doesn’t fully appreciate the problem that their solution is designed to solve. Or maybe they don’t yet see enough daylight between their company’s solution and that of the competition. So, salespeople break out their arsenal of tools to prove to the customer the many ways their solutions will help them win. And, when all else fails, they dial up the “FUD” — or, fear, uncertainty, and doubt — to tap into the customer’s fear of missing out.

How can outbound sales reps stand out in a sea of competition? When every salesperson sounds the exact same, it’s time to do things differently. Dale Merrill is a highly sought-after international speaker, sales thought leader, and co-author of Strikingly Different Selling: 6 Vital Skills to Stand Out and Sell More. Dale joined the Predictable Revenue podcast to break down those six skills and how we can use them to drive revenue growth.

This past winter, my daughter learned how to snowboard. So what? Big deal. Kids do that all the time. What made this kid different, though, was how she learned: by watching YouTube videos, talking with friends who snowboard, observing others on the slopes, and then doing it (over and over again).

One negotiating technique you see used all the time is what I like to call the nibble. This occurs after you've shaken hands to close a deal, and just as you're getting ready to sign the papers to make it official, the other side tries to get one last concession on the table.

The fifth edition of Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer report reveals how trust, personalisation, and digital-first experiences are increasingly central to meeting customer needs. Based on a global survey of consumers and business buyers, the report also highlights how customer expectations and behaviours have changed over time.

OK, your sales process isn't working. Now what? Change it. Change anything and everything. There are a billion reasons why you don't sell a product, and when it's a new product, it's a baby-step-and-learn process. There's just no other way.

But there is a list of potential weak points that you, as a leader, can focus on, so you're not wasting time running down dead-ends.

Following the expenditure of resources and time in developing a new product, the next critical consideration is locating customers who purchase it. You may be perplexed about the best way to contact a customer or have difficulty defining go-to sales strategies that produce results. Salespeople use a variety of approaches, tips, and techniques daily to get new leads. New methods are entering the picture as a result of rapid technological advancement.

Customers are, more often than not, willing to talk about your business. When they do talk, the information they share is called customer feedback, and it can help you improve all aspects of your business. In this post, learn exactly what customer feedback is, why it’s important, and discover insight from HubSpot experts about the specific benefits it brings.

Compared with other business functions, sales has a tendency to be less adaptable. At many companies, sales process remain the same for long periods of time. Now, as digitization changes the way many customers buy, sales teams need to evolve continuously. Four practices can help with this shift: Anticipate where customers are going, redeploy resources to match customer behavior, shift emphasis from closing sales to helping customers realize value, and embracing agile decision-making.

Power Boats? The 10 fastest in the world reach speeds of up to 317 MPH.

Salespeople tend to be in a rush to present - before an opportunity is even qualified. Most salespeople are in such a hurry that they completely skip things like qualifying and discovery. And when salespeople do perform discovery they accept the very first indicator they hear and rush to explain how their product or service addresses that indicator,

A sales process is consultative when the stages and actions align with the customer’s buying experience and are defined in terms of the customer relationship. It's only successful when sales leadership and the sales force execute with dedication and competence. That's why a true consultative sales framework has both a process component and a human component. Let's dig into each.

There’s no question that the pandemic brought significant changes to the way buyers and sellers interact. But today, as the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us, sellers are wondering: What changes are here to stay?

Oftentimes our sales strategy is so focused on closing the deal with new clients, that we forget one of our largest potential revenue sources: our existing customers. Past or current customers are already familiar with your brand, products, and sales process, and have built up a significant amount of trust. That’s why it’s up to six times cheaper to sell to a previous customer than a new one.

I'm a baseball guy and a die hard Boston Red Sox fan but I can't bear to watch them right now. They are playing the worst baseball since I was 10 years old so that's going back 55 years! It's not hard to understand why they are so bad because the data tells the story. Their stats show that as of May 9, 2022 their bullpen has 9 blown saves.