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Geoffrey James
Geoffrey James is an author, journalist, and freelance writer. His works have been published in Wired, The New York Times, Men's Health, Brandweek, Technology Markeing, SellingPower magazine and ComputerWorld.
Of all types of sales leads, referrals are the easiest to close. However, many salespeople ask for referrals at the wrong time and in the wrong way. They do this because they don't understand that the reason that a customer would give a referral is because they TRUST the...
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A big company that buys a lot of product from you is not necessarily a good thing. Big companies have a habit of pigeonholing other firms into being suppliers of commodity products.
That way, they can play you off against your competition in order to push prices down. They don't...
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Few areas of selling are more dicey than sales forecasting. So much so that, inside many companies, the process is so broken it looks like this:
Top management needs a story to tell investors, and thus asks the sales manager for a forecast.
The sales manager asks the sales reps what they...
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Many salespeople think there's some big mystery about closing sales. In fact, it's really just a matter of being mindful throughout the sales process, according to Linda Richardson, founder of the sales training firm Richardson. Here's how:
Step 1. Treat closing as a...
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Possibly the worst sales maxim is also the most common: "A.B.C. -- Always Be Closing." Customers don't like it when sellers hammer away, trying to close, close, close. Despite the maxim, nothing creates resistance faster than the old hard-sell.
Here are the 5 "hard...
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Every salesperson knows that the key to developing a B2B opportunity is asking questions that uncover needs and determine whether or not the opportunity will eventually result in a sale.
However, there are four questions that can annoy customers, and thus might better be avoided. ...
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Your sales message should engage your customers and prepare them to consider buying. Here are the three most common sales message mistakes, along with examples of how to fix them.
Mistake 1: Telling the Wrong Story
Every good story has a hero, a goal, and supporting characters. In...
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Customer defections are traumatic. However, while it feels like a disaster at the time, the loss of a big customer is usually a signal that you need to realign your sales and support efforts–and lay the groundwork to win the customer back. Here's how:
1. Get Out of Denial
You probably think...
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