Professional Selling Skills Training: Holiday Gifts

It’s the time of year for me to rant and rave about excessive holiday gifts! There’s nothing wrong with giving somebody a gift of appreciation for their business. However, what upsets me is when a sales person gives a gift that is excessive in value or taste to what the customer is used to receiving or may expect. There’s no need to feed the frenzy of trying to "out-do" everyone else in terms of the monetary value. Remember, the real value of your gift is in the meaning behind it - a true appreciation for their business.

Professional Selling Skills Training: Customer Service is Sales Service

Providing great customer service is something we all talk about, yet I am shocked at the number of times I encounter sales people who fail to demonstrate it during the sales process. I often see them only giving great service as long as the sales process is moving along. Then, as soon as they encounter a roadblock from the customer, they shut down. Many sales are made, and more importantly, many great long-term relationships emerge when the customer has the chance to really see what the sales person is made out of. There’s no better way to demonstrate this than by continuing to exhibit a high-level of service, even when the sales call has stalled. Yes, it takes time, but nobody ever said sales would be easy or quick.

Sales Training Tip #155: Allocate Your Time By Size

Make sure you’re allocating your day based on the size of the sales opportunity, not on the individual demands of a customer or prospect. It’s too easy to get caught up doing activities that might be very important but, ultimately, bring you little, if any, sales.