One of the sales techniques I find most fascinating is the negative reverse. I have come to appreciate it as a tool that can relieve pressure in a sales conversation and help everyone get to the truth a little quicker. On top of that, it can help us approach sales from a place of service. [...]
When it comes to marketing and sales, negotiations, and relationship building in general, the words you choose to use can boost you up or cut you down. The power dynamic of a professional relationship is a tenuous one, and using weak words has an impact on your position. Today, we will talk about about 5 [...]
It is important to have goals for your business. If you have a small business, you have sales goals. If you have a nonprofit, you have fundraising goals. Those goals drive you every day to find people who will support your business objectives. But one of the biggest, most frustrating mistakes I see businesses make [...]
Most small business owners I talk to are not trying to win sales awards. Sales is an aspect of business that tends to be seen as a necessary evil. Very often, it is a skill learned on the fly. And, more often than not, it is a task that comes with discomfort and uncertainty. The [...]
One of the more common questions I get from clients is: “What is the difference between marketing and sales?” If this is a question for you, you are not alone. Marketing and Sales are related, but not interchangeable. For solopreneurs or small teams on which employees wear multiple hats, the distinction may seem irrelevant. However, [...]
If you are a small business owner, the word upsell can be your best friend. It can change your approach to marketing and breathe new life into your sales process, customer base, and confidence. I often find that marketing (and networking) is one of the most intimidating tasks for small business owners. So often, I [...]
It’s easy enough to have a sales conversation with a customer who is ready to buy right now. But, what if the customer standing in front of you is a sale in a week, or a month, or a year? It is important to remember there are multiple factors that go into a customer's decision [...]
For small businesses owners – and especially solopreneurs – personal brand and business brand can have a lot of crossover. Which makes for an interesting question: Where do you draw the line between showing authentic personality in your brand and sharing personal information with your audience? The answer to this question will be different for [...]
Being great at sales is not necessarily about mastering a pitch. As much focus as we seem to put on the “sales pitch,” the sale is often in the listening. It is amazing what people will tell you when you give them an opportunity. In the situations where we can start the conversation with a [...]
You have a small business. You see people walk by your storefront, or you send out an e-mail to your e-mail list, or you have a whole bunch of followers on social media, or you send out a mailer to your whole neighborhood. But you are only seeing a small percentage increase in sales. Is [...]