MTD Water Cooler

“What?! Work in a straight, commission only position? Are you nuts?” “On commission only, it’s one week you got it, one week you don’t.” “Commission only is more about luck…” “With a commission only…YOU CAN WRITE YOUR OWN PAY CHEQUE AND BE YOUR OWN BOSS!” You have heard all of these sentiments before and the question arises as to exactly…

Read More

We all heard the old adage, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.” However, I often wonder if some sales people truly understand the concept, or feel that it is still relevant when dealing with today’s modern buyer. In a word, YES. From the beginning of time until the end of such, you must understand how to present the benefits, results,…

Read More

I talk and teach constantly about “buyer traits” and how to recognise and deal with different types of buyer personalities. However, over the years I have noticed that sales people also have some distinct traits or selling styles as well. So, I thought I would share this educational, Water Cooler titbit about a few Sales Personality Styles and some of…

Read More

For a quick break from the norm, here is another one of those witty water cooler stories I thought you might find amusing. As always, what follows is just a  story I heard from a sales person, who will remain nameless. Also as before, I do not sanction, verify, agree, or approve of the follow scenario, nor am I suggesting that…

Read More

Most of us work so hard and are so serious about our profession, that I thought, every once in a while, I’ll take a short break from the norm, and expose a bit of the lighter side of our business.  Watch for a few short Water Cooler Stories every now and then, beginning with this one. Handling the Abusive Prospect…

Read More

One of the main questions I get from sales people is what to do when trapped under ineffective, negative, de-motivating or otherwise, bad sales management. Being a sales director myself, I hesitate to align myself with unfounded complaints about sales management. However, being, first and foremost, a sales person myself, I must address this issue. Let’s face it; there are…

Read More

Ok, when the sales person started with your firm, you thought that he or she was a prodigy. You then invested the time and money to get the sales rookie up to speed. You eventually established difficult, yet achievable goals and quotas. A Big Deal Finally, the sales person began to hit the mark. The first few times that happened,…

Read More

For some reason, many sales people still feel that they and the prospect are on different sides of the issue. Many sales professionals today still suffer from the outdated thinking that selling is a battle; a contest. The whole though of “winning the sale” is an obsolete concept. Yet, you hear it all the time, sales people and management talk…

Read More

You can always find a multitude of tips and tricks for sales people. Sales techniques, closing strategies and prospecting avenues abound. However, I have found that usually these pillars of advice pertain to the sales person who has been with their company, at least for some length of time. I am also guilty of this, in that most of my…

Read More

Every sales manager, supervisor, director or otherwise frontline sales team leader, wants to have and develop a great sales force. Everyone wants eventually to have a sales team made up of superstar sales people. We all want that sales crew in where every sales person is a high-level, top performing, consultative, executive-level super sales person. However, I am continually surprised…

Read More