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January 6, 2019 - Quenching Your Customer’s Thirst for Value
By Michael Leimbach and David Yesford
Selling water to a thirsty person should be easy, right? Not so fast. Salespeople often miss the big opportunity because they fail to expand the conversation beyond making the simple sale. Many times customers need more than a simple answer to an immediate problem—they need a way out of the desert. learn more
February 1, 2018 - Filling Your Pipeline with the Right Kinds of Prospects: Part 3 of 3: Right Message, Right Person
By David Yesford
Identifying the "right" prospects to target is only part of the sales prospecting battle. The key to gaining access is to present the right message to the right person. But to achieve access the salesperson needs to create a relevant message that is compelling to their target prospect’s business. If a salesperson can’t uncover your customer’s problems and needs they don’t stand a chance at selling them a solution. learn more
January 26, 2018 - Filling Your Pipeline with the Right Kinds of Prospects: Part 2 of 3: Convert Your Strong Suspects to Good Prospects
By David Yesford
How can I determine a Strong Suspect from a Good Prospect? People buy for their own reason, not yours and therefore, experienced salespeople know that there needs to be evidence of obvious mutual benefit in a potential sales relationship. When salespeople make the link between what the customer needs and what you have to offer, it becomes easier for salespeople to invest their time into only targeting the strongest prospects. learn more
January 22, 2018 - Filling Your Pipeline with the Right Kinds of Prospects: Part 1 of 3: Target the Right Suspects
By David Yesford
The most successful salespeople know how to identify a good prospect. Instead of playing a numbers game, they ask, "Which companies are most likely to be good for us?" By knowing their ideal customer, salespeople can make earlier go/no-go decisions and invest their time in a smaller group of companies most likely to offer good business opportunities. learn more
January 27, 2016 - Successful Sales Enablement: Bridging the Gap between Strategy and Execution (As seen on Selling Power blog)
By Wendy Mack
In working with sales organizations around the globe, I have found that everyone wants a piece of the sales force. Internal functions such as marketing, training and development, R&D, and sales operations all have information they want to get out to sales. When these functions aren’t working together, the result tends to be costly chaos. learn more
April 7, 2015 - Accepting the Role of Romeo
By David Yesford
Be careful; it is easy to be drawn into accepting the role of Romeo, but if you do, you know how it ends! How do you move out of the expected roles of customer and vendor with well-defined roles and expectations to a side-by-side dialog that supports your customer’s expectation of value? learn more
February 3, 2015 - It’s Not What Happens to You, but How You React to It
By David Yesford
“Thanks for the $25.” Learn how you can use "self talk" to get past the negativity of sales rejection, and create a positive approach that achieves results. learn more
September 26, 2014 - RFPs… So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance!
By David Yesford
“So you’re telling me there’s a chance. Yeah!” Sound familiar? You probably recognize these classic lines from the movie Dumb and Dumber, starring Jim Carrey as Lloyd Christmas, the eternal optimist. I’m not saying all requests for proposals (RFPs) are like this, but it sure does feel like it sometimes. learn more
August 26, 2014 - This is My Best and Final Offer!
By David Yesford
Over the years, my travels have often taken me to India. Some of the most fascinating experiences I’ve encountered while there have occurred at the Indian markets, including one particular experience at the Dilli Haat market in the central part of Delhi. learn more
March 12, 2014 - Don’t Go Into the Woods! Horror Stories from the Sales Field
By David Yesford
It is a damp night, fog rolling in. A wolf howls as eerie music plays in the background. A woman appears, blood on her hands. Alone and scared, she stumbles out of the house and down creaky stairs, looking out across a wide yard. At the edge of the yard is a dark entrance to the woods. The woman looks around, then heads slowly toward the woods. If you are sitting in the movie theater, what are you saying to yourself, maybe even yelling at the screen? “Don't go . . . Don't go into the woods!” learn more