Warning Signs That Your Key Account is About to Defect!
We all know that in sales, obtaining new business is the Holy Grail. The question is what are you doing to protect and grow the customer that is feeding you today? Whether you call them key or strategic accounts, they are the accounts that are important to you Are you building solid relationships that help […]
Never Negotiate B2B Contracts “On Your Feet!”
In our everyday life, we negotiate “on the run” frequently. Your spouse says, “I won’t be able to pick up the kids from school today. I was hoping you could.” And you say, “That’s fine…but can you pick up the dry cleaning?” Relationships require frequent re-negotiations of schedules, plans and duties to adapt to changing […]
During A Joint Sales Call, Are You A Potted Plant?
Before we started a recent training program on Sales Call Planning and Execution we asked the participants to tell us what they would like to achieve from the training. There was one question that arose from several of the participants. It was as follows: “How do you avoid having people from your organization go on […]
Why Most MedTech ROI Tools Don’t Work!
In the consulting portion of our business we are often shown an exciting new ROI model that has been developed by a medical equipment manufacturer to enhance their ability to close more deals. Its purpose is to show C-Suite level executives why they should purchase their product by quantifying the financial benefits. Each ROI model […]
Negotiating the Complex Sale: What Hospital Procurement Knows About You!
If you sell to hospitals, it is imperative that you understand there is a new normal in hospital strategic procurement. We will use this as a generic term to also include hospital supply chain management, materials management and purchasing. Each of these terms are often bantered about and while they are not synonyms for each […]
How Marketing Can Help Sales Win With Cost Crusaders!
You know who we are talking about. The Cost Crusaders are Strategic Procurement, Purchasing, Materials Management or Supply Chain depending upon the organization. While many of these professionals also focus on value there is a significant portion that are blinded simply by their desire for the lowest cost and they are relentless in this pursuit. […]
Why Last Sales Quarter Was a Miss!
Well, for most of us we are almost halfway through Q-2. As you reflect on Q-1 you may come to one of the following conclusions: Q-1 was a good sales quarter. One down and three quarters to go to make my annual revenue plan. Q-1 wasn’t great but it wasn’t a total bust. I am […]
5 Dreaded Words From Procurement: Your Price Is Too High!
If you have been in sales for more than a week you have encountered someone from Procurement that has told you one or more of the following: “Your price is too high” “I need a discount” “Can you do better?” “Your solution is too expensive” “You’ll have to do better than that to get our […]
Self- Inflicted Wounds in Sales
No one intentionally tries to lose a sale. It’s not uncommon, however, for even savvy sellers to inadvertently self-inflict a wound or two during the sales year. After all, it’s tough to be perfect all of the time. Here is our list of the most common self-inflicted wounds that we see in working with clients […]
Are You The Ideal Sales Representative?
Over lunch during a recent sales training seminar we were asked a question that normally arises in discussions with sales executives or HR managers: “From both of your experiences in managing sales teams and consulting on sales productivity, what are the attributes that embody the Ideal Sales Representative?” Here is how we responded. The best […]
