#sales advice Tag

The Myth of Uniqueness: Understanding Buyer Perceptions of Uniqueness When selling accounting systems to mid- and large-sized corporations, I made it a point to start every engagement with a conversation—not a presentation. My goal wasn’t to sell features; it was to understand how the buyer’s business operated, what challenges they faced, and how they measured success. These early discovery sessions were invaluable. I would begin by asking a series of probing, open-ended questions, such as: What type of business do you operate, and what’s your typical transaction volume? How many people are involved in your accounting processes? What are your biggest challenges...

01 December, 2025

Sales pros, meet your opponent – decision anxiety. This condition may be defined as the persistent, overwhelming stress and fear associated with making choices and the potential negative consequences.  It is your silent deal killer! The key decision-maker in your deal is paralyzed by fear that she will make a bad decision, which will harm her career, and, even worse, make her appear incompetent to the CEO and her peers—potentially leading to public humiliation. Or perhaps the committee making the decision is afraid of making the wrong recommendation to the executive sponsor.  Again, the fear is related to consequences for their...

06 November, 2025

Most Sales Training Is Wasted U.S. companies spend nearly $70 billion a year1—about $2,000 per sales rep2—on sales training. Yet much of this investment is wasted. The content is often outdated, the delivery methods are ineffective, and sales managers rarely reinforce what was taught. Despite poor results, many executives continue to fund these programs, accepting a weak return on investment. The Retention Problem Relevance isn’t the only issue—retention is another major challenge. Gerhard Gschwandtner, the highly respected founder of Selling Power and the Sales 3.0 Conferences, cites research showing that “84% of traditional training content is forgotten within three months if it isn’t...

25 August, 2025

Why “Do Nothing” Is Your Toughest Competitor in Enterprise Sales Automobile dealers know a painful truth: when a customer says, “I’ll think it over” and walks out, they seldom come back. That’s why dealers pull out every tactic imaginable—stalling by keeping your keys, bringing in the sales manager, applying wave after wave of pressure. They understand that the most significant risk isn’t losing you to another dealership. It’s losing you to indecision. That same silent assassin—the decision to do nothing—is what enterprise sales professionals face every day. In my book, Above Quota Performance, I argue that the #1 competitor isn’t another company....

19 August, 2025

A key decision-maker may ask, "Why should I purchase your product or service?" during or after the sales presentation. This question presents an opportunity to convey the concise value proposition. Although this inquiry can disrupt the flow of a presentation, it can be advantageous if approached in a constructive manner. Rather than interpreting this question as confrontational, sales pros should view it as an inquisitive challenge—an opportunity to clarify the rationale for further engagement with your company. Assure the buyer that you appreciate their question and are not offended. The question "Why should I purchase your product?" is usually not intended as...

12 August, 2025

I am a big fan of Major League Baseball and specifically of the Chicago Cubs. Have you ever noticed that many offensive rallies happen after one team has two outs on its opponent?  My wife has repeatedly pointed this out to me, and it’s true. An analyst examined data on baseball games for 2019 and found that an astonishing 37.5 percent of all baseball runs are scored after two outs, compared to 24.9 percent with no outs and 37.6 percent with one out.1 Why is that? Do pitchers relax more when there are two outs? Or do the batters improve their...

29 July, 2025

Pizza is my favorite food, although I have had to reduce the number of occasions that I dine on it due to my recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. I enjoy all styles of pizza, including thin crust, stuffed crust, Detroit-style, New York-style, and Neapolitan. My favorite is pepperoni pizza. Since I grew up and live in Chicago, I especially like Chicago deep-dish style pizza, a style unique to the Windy City. Did I catch your attention with my opening? I must have because you are still reading. So, what does this have to do with sales? It’s all about quickly relating...

23 July, 2025

After the announcement of our company’s acquisition, a sales pro began packing his belongings and would quickly exit the office. He previously worked for Dun & Bradstreet, which acquired our company. Given his previous experience with the acquiring company, where he misbehaved upon leaving after his employment was terminated, he anticipated that he might not be retained and began preparing to leave immediately. (He had also lied on his application and did not disclose this to us.) Throughout my career, I have worked under various managers and in multiple companies. I worked for managers who were incompetent, lazy, mean, unreasonable, terrible,...

30 June, 2025

Here is the scenario: You developed a lead into a qualified opportunity, held meetings to demonstrate your value proposition, answered questions, arranged customer visits, and crafted a return-on-investment case that impressed the Economic Buyer. The buyer's interest grew, leading to calls for more information, workshops, contract requests, and training queries. They analyzed your solution, asked their questions, and examined the alternatives. Then, you were informed that your solution was selected from among the several they were considering. However, the deal suddenly stalled, your contact is not returning calls, and the opportunity remains open.  Has this happened to you? Your contact informed...

06 June, 2025

When pursuing a prospect in the sales cycle, it might seem advantageous if there is no competition. Indeed, discovering a lead and completing the sales process without the threat of a competing supplier can be less stressful, as no competitors are highlighting potential shortcomings of your company or product. Such scenarios are uncommon and should be celebrated when they occur. This has become even rarer since the pandemic, which has made access to prospects more challenging. However, competition can sometimes be beneficial in closing an opportunity. This may sound counterintuitive, so allow me to elaborate. An essential aspect of ensuring that time...

06 June, 2025
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