Watching the sales activity of several sales teams lately, I have come to the conclusion that these teams are truly confused about the differences between MARKETING and SELLING. I work with many small businesses where the business owner and/or the small sales teams sell and there is often NOT a marketing department within the company....Read More

Several months back I was sitting in on a sales meeting with a new client, observing her sales team, what she asked of them and what they reported. When asked about the progress on meeting with a particular prospect, one sales rep admitted, with frustration, “I don’t know what his problem is. I just haven’t...Read More

As the topic of probably 1/3 of all conversations and certainly 1/3 of all social media posts, this election is truly remarkable and will certainly be dissected 7,432 ways in the history books. What I think is remarkable from a sales vantage is how these Presidential Candidates are masterful in their communication and the response...Read More

As we wind down summer activities, the nation gets ready to send our children “back to school” which euphemistically means, back to learning, studying, and progressing. I’ve found that this time of year is an excellent time to ramp up my own learning and focus on business growth – both to finish the year with...Read More

A while back, we participated in a great business expo hosted by the local chamber. At The Selling Agency booth, we asked people to “Give us their best pitch” about their business. And . . . we offered to record it for them and email them the sound bites. There was a specific point to asking...Read More

One of my favorite things I love asking sales people about is the worst sales experience they can recall. The stories I’ve heard range from “splitting my pants in a meeting” to “the customer fell asleep during my presentation” or this true story, “I walked in on my buyer making out with my competitor.” Yeah,...Read More

Last week, part 1 of Rocking Your Resolution, we talked about how most Resolutions die a quick and sad death – like a fruit fly circling a banana. WHY? Well there are many reasons, but you can break it down into two main reasons most resolutions fail: 1) You make the wrong resolution 2) You don’t...Read More

Many times I have seen a sales person spend hours laboring over a presentation, packing it full of details, statistics, examples, graphs and graphics, pictures and hope. Yes, lots of hope, that the presentation will be so outstanding and cover every conceivable variable or objection that the customer will fall in love with the product...Read More

There’s a certain comfort zone and preference most people have with the term “Marketing” versus “Selling”. Try telling someone “You’re going to start selling” and imagine what that reaction is versus telling a business owner or employee “You’re going to start marketing the business now.” Which one makes you a little sweaty or anxious? Selling...Read More

If you’re looking for great competitive advantage in your selling efforts, this practice will help you convert more prospects to customers and attract your ideal buyers: Sell to REAL PEOPLE, not ROBOTS. Seems kind of obvious, right? But in our zeal to mechanize the sale process so we can pave the road to riches ....Read More