Day: July 1, 2016

The WRONG way: “Well, that’s an interesting question, Bob. You see, it was a warm September morning, and the leaves on the trees outside our Dallas office were finally starting to change color. The smell of lilacs wafting through the lobby was almost strong enough to make us forget about the traffic noise from the…

Depending on the type of product or service offered, many times storytelling can help your existing customers make better decisions about how to use what they’ve already bought from you. And it’s obviously in your best interest to help them do that so they become the most satisfied customers they can be. Here are some…

Even after you’ve convinced your prospects that they would benefit from your product or service, that yours is superior to your competitor’s, and that the price is acceptable, salespeople often face a final barrier that might be articulated this way: “We’ll definitely place an order, but now’s not the right time.” In this situation, salespeople…

Tiffany is a senior account executive at DataServ, a company that helps businesses go completely paperless and manage all their payables, receivables, and human resources processes and documents online. One of the more common objections she gets during a call with a new prospect goes something like this: “I know your system would save us…

These are stories about people who encountered exactly the kind of problem your product is designed to solve. They’re especially helpful if buyers don’t even know they have a problem. Importantly, such a story allows buyers to understand the problem in a more personal, visceral way than just being told, “I’ll bet you have this…

Backroads Active Travel Company When our founder, Tom Hale, was a kid, he wasn’t much of a fan of mass tourism. You know, big theme parks where people are shuffled around in herds and stand in line for hours just for a three-minute ride. He felt like he was trapped in an artificial, sedentary environment…

Although they might not complain about it, most buyers would admit that they wouldn’t respect a salesperson who caved on every special request. But they won’t do business long with someone who never does. The truth is that in disagreements between supplier and customer, sometimes one side has a better argument and sometimes the other.…

One of the things I learned from interviewing professional buyers was that there are two things salespeople can do to immediately earn buyers’ trust and credibility. In the words one buyer used to explain it, “First, tell me when you cannot help me. And second, tell me when you made a mistake before I find…

The major premise of Simon Sinek’s bestselling book Start with Why can be summarized in his statement “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” It should make sense, then, that in order to know you well enough to trust you, a buyer needs to understand why you do what you…