Jeff Schneider

Have you ever watched a sports team play – a football team, say – and been so struck by the team’s precision, its effectiveness, and its certainty about who’s doing what, when, that you thought to yourself, “Wow! That is one incredibly talented team”?

The STORY:

“You’re close to making the sale, but I have to talk with some other people,” said Mary, watching for the reaction from Tim.

“That’s good to hear,” responded Tim with a sigh of relief.

Quick! What is the best sales presentation you’ll ever give?

Were you stumped for a moment? Don’t feel bad. It was a trick question.

It’s now been a little over a year since the authorities designated COVID-19 as a global pandemic, and even a year on, we are all still feeling shock waves. Whether your company is large or small, whether you have experienced serious disruptions in your business or managed to avoid those disruptions, if you are a company leader, it is likely that the last year has taken a lot out of you.

The STORY:
“I’m not worried about the Smitherington account going anywhere else,” proudly stated Jim at the monthly account review. “I’m the only one who talks Smitherington’s language.”

“You sure about that?” asked Ed, the sales manager.

When you know you’ve lost the business, what do you usually do?

We have all been in that position. We thought we had something. The deal fell through. We know it’s over. The buyer made a decision. We have to say something. The question is, what? There should be a go-to move in this situation, something we do consistently, as part of a process. So: Does that go-to move exist?

Ask any sales leader whether they want to build a high-performing team, and the immediate answer will be “Yes.” But what are the specific best practices that support this goal? Here are three that we have seen in organizations that are thriving in 2021.

Getting an IOU for everything you do is as simple as telling the customer you expect one.

Have you ever had a selling opportunity that seemed to be headed toward a win -- and then lost the deal when you found out that you and the buyer had different ideas of what was really under discussion?

Congratulations. You’ve put in all kinds of hard work, and you’ve finally created a great e-commerce offering. Now for the big question: how do you make sure the human beings your customers interact with, via phone calls, text messages, and in-person, complement what your customers find online – so that you maximize sales revenue? Here are three ideas you may want to consider.