John Brennan Articles

Guest post by: John Brennan
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Adapting to Technology and the Internet

You win more customers by adapting to social media and the Internet. LinkedIn is a social media site that is essential for prospecting. LinkedIn enables you to get a personal introduction to prospects through your network of professional contacts.

Increase Revenue through Sales Call Coaching

Revenue per sales rep will increase when you improve their selling skills through coaching. Coaching is a process to close the gap between the current and desired performance. It is a system of sales development that allows people to learn through discovery, guided discussion and performance feedback. And it is a partnership with your sales reps to help them improve their knowledge, attitudes and skills.

Seven Rules for Writing Winning Proposals

If you want to win more business you must write better proposals – regardless of the size of the sales opportunity. Shipley Associates, a business development consulting firm wins 80 to 85 percent of their proposals by using best practices in proposal writing. Improve your writing and your win rate by applying the following seven rules:

Qualifying your Prospects

Qualifying your customer is the process of determining their interest in your value proposition, their budget and their decision-making process. Do they have the Money, Authority and Desire (MAD)? They are not fully qualified unless they have all three. One of the ways you can determine if they are MAD is simply to ask. Here are some qualifying questions that work.

Telemarketing: When to Use it.

Telemarketing can be a powerful tool to generate and nurture leads, process orders, keep data current and improve the efficiency of all your sales and marketing activities.

How to Choose a Value Proposition

What sets your product, service and company apart from your competitors? What value do you provide and how is it different than the alternatives? Your value proposition is the foundation of your entire business and the offers you take to market. When your market clearly recognizes (and appreciates!) the value you provide, it’s easier to generate new prospects and guide them to buy. Now … what if you don't have a clear value proposition? Well, it takes more time and money to show prospects why they should choose you. And as a result, you often end up competing on price – a tough position to sustain over the long term.

Involving your Team in Decisions

As a manager, you have come to realize that decision making is a major part of your job. Some decisions have become second nature, and some require a bit more thought, but you’re able to handle even the toughest of them without much difficulty. As the dynamic of the work place changes, however, decisions will more often be made by teams rather than individuals. Managers will assume the leadership positions in this team decision-making process.

CEOs who sell gain clarity on competitive strategy

CEOs of Nike, Intel and Sun are becoming more involved in the selling process, focusing on tailoring products and services to meet the demands of their top customers. And it's more than just a ceremonial visit. These CEOs are overcoming objections and negotiating deals, giving them an intimate understanding of market pain and the value they may (or may not) provide.

Build Bench Strength through Personality Assessments

The value of any personality assessment comes in using the insights it provides along the entire continuum of a career. The test itself should decipher an employee's underlying needs with emphases on sales rep hiring, development, opportunities for growth, behavioral coaching, team building, conflict resolution, succession planning and diversity training.

How to Shorten your Sales Cycle

Does it seem like it takes forever to close new business deals? You’re running strong campaigns, generating plenty of leads, seeing a flurry of sales activity. But even though your sales reps are consistently following up, prospects just aren’t ready to buy. Your sales cycle used to be 4 weeks, but now it’s 6, 8 or even twelve. And the longer it gets, the harder it is to hit your goals.

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About the Author: John Brennan

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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.
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