Howard Maslich is the president and founder of Specialized Training Services, a consulting and training firm specializing in sales and management productivity and effectiveness since 1976. The firm conducts public workshops and corporate programs, provides ongoing support, and reinforcement through its customized training/coaching, based on evaluation. Executive Briefings are available for organizations and associations. Howard is a former psychology professor and has personally trained and coached more than 5000 professional sales people. Clients have obtained results ranging from 10 to over 1000% revenue growth after participating in one of the long term coaching and training programs that Specialized Training Services, Inc. offers. wnysalestraining.com
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Phone #: 585-413-3053
Howard has written 6 articles for AdTalk
Lao Tzu wrote, “He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.” What that means for us in the sales world is, If you need to sell more, increase your value. To increase your value, develop your strengths.
On the face of it, that’s a pretty easy concept to grasp. It’s almost axiomatic. But, when you’re working the territory or managing a team who is out there daily looking to increase sales, actually applying that principle becomes a difficult task.
What’s the worst possible sales situation you can imagine? Sales are down and no one on your sales team seems to be willing or able to take the responsibility.
Is this problem really totally within the sales force? Or, is it just as much a problem with the sales managers? Do they enforce sales force accountability? Do they even know how? Perhaps it is time for some specialized training in sales force accountability!
Setting expectations in your relationships with your clients or potential clients can spell doom to your sales process right from the start! Setting expectations is one of several behavioral disasters that you might be engaging in, thinking that it’s the best possible thing you can do without realizing the potential for disaster that comes with expectations.
So, what’s wrong with setting expectations? Isn’t it fair to have expectations that my customer will want to buy my product or service from me? I’ve spent a lot of my time just getting to know this customer and analyzing what his needs are and how I can meet them. He and I have gone over his process and I’ve discussed with him where my services and my products are going to help him grow and prosper. I’ve given him the pitch and now I want to close the deal! What’s wrong with that?
Cold calling the old way is a painful struggle. But you can make it a productive and positive experience by changing your mindset and cold calling the new way.
Have you ever encountered that very wobbly sales person who so desperately attempts to sell you their product? As a consumer, you probably just answered yes to the above question and consequently, as a salesperson you just discovered how to increase your sales.
Most management teams don’t have a clue how to interview a sales candidate. I’ve seen them waste precious time reviewing their job history. I’ve seen them put candidates through hypothetical situations, and attempt to pass judgement on whether candidates have sales ability despite the fact that most of them don’t know how make that determination!
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