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Sales Performance Boost for Top Salespeople – Part Two

Sales Performance Boost for Top Salespeople – Part Two

My husband was stuck in our home elevator for 75 minutes. The inside elevator door latch had no hinge for him to grab and my attempts to remove the outside door hinges failed. A community police officer couldn’t budge them off either. And the eight firemen, who repeated all the same steps and more, could not free him from being stuck between floors.

#1 - Top salespeople recognize that a step back can be overcome by a step forward.

As a salesperson have you ever lost one sale, and then another right behind it? Or have you ever procrastinated on activities like follow-up or delivering a proposal or giving a presentation?

Maybe it was a situation of dealing with objections and you felt like you weren’t making any forward movement.

It may at times seem that all your efforts to help your prospect buy are going nowhere. Still you continue to take inspired action expecting positive results in the long run, by calmly taking a step back and looking at how you can entice your customer going on from this point.

Much calmer with about an hour having passed, my husband asked me to get the smallest screwdriver I could find so the firemen could hand it to him through the two inch opening between the bottom of the door and the floor landing.

#2 - Top salespeople stay focused on the customers needs.

By staying in touch with sales prospects, it may seem like you are not moving ahead. However, if you have your eyes on developing the sales relationship more than getting the sale, you will eventually move forward in the sales process; it is inevitable.

Assuming that as a salesperson you bring sales skills, product or service knowledge and excellent personal relationship skills, it could be just a matter of time, more the customer’s time, that you indeed have a new customer.

When you stay focused on the customer, you are most assuredly going to find a solution you can sell and they want to buy.

I did not hear my husband’s request for a small “Philips head” screwdriver, so two trips to the garage became necessary, and caused a delay in getting him out of the elevator.

#3 - Top salespeople that can distinguish hearing from listening, do more listening.

Listening is so critical. In an October 2005 article I wrote, there are 6 key “hearing aids” to listening. (Visit http://www.prostrategies.com/newsletters/eNewsOct05.php to read this article.)

My clients often miss key or operative words in either their own self-talk, which they speak aloud with me. At times we may debrief a client conversation and we find that they may have also missed key or operative words with them as well.

With listening you will know how, when and what to respond to. If you only ‘hear’, you may miss valuable key phrases.

My husband fit his hands in the smallest of spaces to unscrew four screws of the latch box that was a foot above him. Then with a push on his end, a tug from the fireman on the outside, his smiling face was looking up at all of us. A couple of the firemen reached down and gave him a lift out of the stuck elevator.

#4 Top salespeople stay the course.

For salespeople, there is practically no better skill than focus and persistence.

Focus on helping to solve the prospect’s problem. This is different than focusing on merely getting the sale.

Persistence includes staying in touch with the prospect. In a recent survey, 80% of salespeople reported they find their follow-up skills are a hit or miss process. This behavior is inconsistent with persistence. So knowing how to follow-up easily, strategically and without feeling like you are bothering someone, is a key to the success of increasing your sales results!

Lessons learned, 1- take a step forward for every step back, 2- stay focused on the customer, 3- listen instead of just hear, and 4- focus and persist with each prospect.

Top salespeople do all of this and more. Move yourself into higher sales by adopting these beliefs and actions.





Sales Performance Boost for Top Salespeople Part Two - To learn more about this author, visit Patricia Weber's Website.

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George Ludwig
George 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

Dave Kurlan
Dave 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

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website

David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

John Brennan
John Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website

Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website


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Patricia Weber
(Visit Patricia's Website) And if you are an introvert who wants to learn the truth about introverts and let the negative myths dissolve, grab a Free 32 page excerpt of Debunking Negative Introvert Myths! Stop letting yourself be labeled as: anti-social, shy, aloof – and even unaccomplished. Patricia Weber, 20 years sales training and business coach helps introverts, shy and even reluctant to sell extroverts who want to accelerate their sales results! Follow blog, FREE radio shows, podcasts, FREE teleclasses at Blog for Business & Sales Tips for Introverts & Shy from America's Business Sales Accelerator Coach for Introverts, Shy and Reluctant.

Patricia Weber is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
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