Tips

Uncover the "four elements of sales success": prospecting, creating an ideal client wish list, achieving clarity and confidence in the sales process, and mastering effective negotiation techniques.

Nick Tokman, also known as Sunshine as seen on Discovery Channel's Emmy-winning show, Deadliest Catch, shows you how to succeed with the attitudes, behaviors, and techniques needed to be more successful in finding your passion and choosing a direction for your life. Get the best practices collected from around the world.

Hiring season is here, and it’s you’re chance to show off your skills and really shine. You may be one in a million, but you could be competing with dozens of others to secure the sales job you’ve been dreaming of. The right preparation and an idea of some of the elements that are commonly included in sales interviews can help give you an edge.

Rosita had been behind quota before, but never by this much and never for this long. When her manager, Sam, offered to take her out to lunch, she figured she was either looking at very good news … or very bad news.

“There’s no easy way to say this first part,” Sam said quietly once they were seated at their table, “so I’ll just say it. You’re on probation. You’ve got sixty days to turn things around or we’re letting you go.”

Bad news. Rosita took a deep breath, nodded, and then asked: “OK. Is there a second part?”

“There is,” Sam said, smiling. “Fortunately, it’s a lot easier to talk about. I don’t think any of this is your fault.”

Rosita had no words for a reply. She hadn’t seen that one coming.

During times when both business and training budgets are tight, management often asks what can be done to improve the return on the company’s investment of training dollars.

What scares you about the selling process? Which part of the selling process causes you the most stress? Whatever it is (and maybe it’s nothing at all), deal with it by using Sandler’s Up-Front Contract.

It sounds heretical for a sales trainer to say, "Stop selling features and benefits," doesn’t it? Traditionalists have been preaching features-and-benefits selling for ages. Apparently they think it gets results, but I think it’s a lot of unnecessary hard work. It’s merely a safe way to sell unproductively. At best, it’s arm’s-length selling, and it’s not effective today. Features and benefits do not lead people to make buying decisions. Features and benefits may sometimes confuse the issue.

In almost every buying decision, you’ll work with a cast of characters who are involved in the process. Often, one member of the cast—usually someone at or near the top of the organizational chart—has the responsibility for making the decision. Sometimes, however, a committee of decision makers is involved.

All too often, salespeople focus on the wrong elements in their attempt to increase sales. They turn their attention to the features, benefits, and value-added aspects of their product or service in an attempt to differentiate it from that of the competition and ultimately convince prospects to buy. While these elements may eventually play a part in the presentation (more on that later), it is not the place to start.

When someone says to you, "Don’t worry – I have a system," you may roll your eyes and get ready for disaster. After all, systems are for betting on horses or getting around rules, right? Wrong – a system is an orderly arrangement of elements that can lead to success

Innovative sales management is critical to becoming and remaining strong as an organization. As a sales manager, you have to design your sales network to yield the greatest possible coverage for each segment of the market within tight budget constraints. At the same time, the network must be flexible enough to be redesigned and redirected as priorities and opportunities change.

Ask salespeople to list their least favorite selling activities, and you can count on “prospecting” being at the top of the list. And, the least favorite of all prospecting activities is unquestionably making cold calls.

My Mom was a funny lady and during my youth, she was constantly throwing riddles at me. Some of herriddles came in pairs and the pairs typically had a point. One such pair of riddles has been a huge lesson forme as I have gone through life. Here they are. Riddle 1: What did Tarzan say when he saw the elephantscoming down the road? "Here come the elephants." Riddle 2: What did the elephants say when theysaw Tarzan coming down the road? Nothing, elephants don't talk

Sales isn't for the faint of heart. You don't just encounter negativity on a fairly frequent basis. In many cases, it is your job to sniff it out and address it immediately. Sandler Rule #3: "No Mutual Mystification," deals with an issue that often plagues sales professionals –  "happy ears."

Wednesday mornings are tough enough without our most annoying client calling in with the usual simple problem that he is over-reacting to. We sigh and answer the phone - all while making the facial gestures of a person eating oysters for the first time in their life. WHY does that client seem to be determined to drive you insane? It's your fault ... Every morning the manager from the operations department stops in to tell you how your team messed up his operations this weekend. She is soooo abrasive. You answer in abrupt sentences and quite rudely push her out the door