I'm coaching a great sales person right now. She sells contract product mainly to hospitality and commercial designers. So she is taking my e-course Powering up Your Sales NOW! and had this response when I checked in with her and asked how she was doing? She said she was getting a little frustrated. That it took so much less time making appointments by just calling, showing up and showing product. She said this is taking so [...]
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there were 5 million job openings on the last business day of January 2015, the highest level since January 2001. That's great for the economy, but unfortunately, it has just the opposite effect on sales managers. Sales jobs are a dime a dozen these days, and a quick search through indeed.com confirms this. Currently, there are more than 340,000 openings under the title of sales representatives, with more than [...]
When executives or owners speak with me, it's usually because it is broken. Sales are lagging, some even holding on by a thread. So many companies are suffering in the interior design industry and they are desperately looking for the fix. They've tried everything, but nothing has proven to consistently increase business! I know that's why they really love the idea behind this program. And can you tell me who doesn't want to increase sales, even [...]
Well, I know this may sound almost insanely easy, but you stop WASTING time. That may sound easy, but many sales people still waste a ton of time calling on people who have absolutely NO current business for them and while in front of the client they focus on product, not immediate needs of the client. A typical sales person spends about 93% of the time in front of clients in "non-sales" activities such as answering [...]
I have studied, trained and been a sales person for more than 25 years in the interior design industry. I've sold amazing product and I was good. If I knew then what I have learned over the years, or if I had sales training instead of solely product training, I believe I could have been great! Three of the many behaviors I have observed that create GREAT sales people are: (1) They have a sound [...]
