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Savvy Selling Columns - ARCHIVE

Savvy Selling Columns

Most RECENT Savvy Selling column

Wisdom from 25 Years in Sales (November 2, 2007)
After six wonderful years writing for BusinessWeek, I'm moving on to new challenges. I'll leave you with some important lessons I've learned

ARCHIVE - Savvy Selling Columns
( BusinessWeek has published 125 + of my Savvy Selling columns. Here are the last few year's worth.)

Improving Your Selling Skills:

Out of the Corner and On to Your Team (October 19, 2007)
Direct sales is a tough gig for someone with no experience. What should you do when your boss plants a "Dunce" on your sales team?

Use Your Super Selling Skills (October 5, 2007)
If your sales could use a jolt, here are eight techniques to help you identify your superpowers and put them to good use

The Upside of Change: Increased Sales (September 21, 2007)
Seven strategies to help you use changes to your advantage by being a better salesperson and a better sales-team leader

Explaining What You Sell (September 7, 2007)
The products you sell or the company you represent may not be familiar to a prospective client. Consider these tips on how to get your message across

Get Motivated to Do More With Less (August 24, 2007)
A Colin Powell speech got me thinking about force multipliers. Here are five ways to get more done with what you already have

How to Rebound After Losing a Sale (August 10, 2007)
Develop and execute a follow-up plan to evaluate why you didn't get the order. You'll polish your skills and ultimately close more business

Using Fido to Clinch the Sale (July 13, 2007)
Try talking to prospective customers about their pets. It can be a great way to make a quick connection

Using Accessories to Upsell (June 27, 2007)
To boost your sales and profits with existing customers, consider adding a few extras to your product lines or services

Getting Past the Gatekeeper (June 13, 2007)
Barriers to new customers range from wariness of salespeople to workplace restrictions. To reach these potential buyers, prove your relevance

I Repeat: It Pays to Repeat Yourself (May 17, 2007)
Offering your customer the same information in different ways can help get your message across and close the sale

The Pitch for Speed (May 4, 2007)
If "time is the new money," consider these six time-saving benefits you can offer to prospective customers on your next sales call

The Two-by-Four Closing Question (April 27, 2007)
Selling is a series of steps. One way to convince customers to take those steps is to whack them between the eyes with a simple question

Overcoming Clients' Six Biggest Fears ( April 5, 2007)
Successful salespeople acknowledge customers' questions and worries, then use the answers to close more sales

Fear of Selling (March 15, 2007)
Don't let it stifle your sales potential. Here's how to keep eight common phobias from holding you back.

Great (Sales) Expectations (February 15, 2007)
What a seller intends to deliver and what a buyer anticipates to receive can vary widely. Here's how to head off potential problems

Company Tours: A Personal Way to Sell (January 19, 2007)
Giving prospects a tour of your business facilities could catapult your sales proposal to the top of the heap and win the order

Spin Control for Salespeople (December 15, 2006)
You can prevent bad buzz and encourage positive word of mouth by following these seven steps when dealing with prospects and customers

Dealing with Sales Disasters (December 1, 2006)
Playing good defense on sales calls means being able to quickly recover from a mistake and close the deal

You're Never Too Young to Sell (November 2, 2006)
Here are 12 ways to develop your skills and overcome prospective customers' concerns when you're starting out in sales

A Cold-Calling Classic: Handling Handouts (October 19, 2006)
Every company needs new customers. Here are 5 tips to be better at cold calling - and what to do when prospects ask for handouts before they buy.

It's Not Just About Sales Goals (October 5, 2006)
Six strategies to help you persevere while you're working to achieve a Big Hairy Goal

Listen Up for Better Sales (September 14, 2006)
To improve your selling, improve your listening skills.

Softening Them Up (Overcoming the Price Objection) - (August 24, 2006)
Nine fresh ideas to overcome the price objection.

Five Ways to Build Customer Trust - (August 3, 2006)
Building trust builds sales. Here are 5 paths to more customer trust.

Classic Selling Mistakes - (June 30, 2006)
A refresher course on some basic sales techniques like don't push or insult your customer.

The Case of the Reluctant Customer - (May 19, 2006)
If you sell any type of professional services, here are ideas to overcome the objection "I think I should do it myself."

Dreaming Up the Perfect Sales Pitch - (May 5, 2006)
How well do your sales presentations compare to this perfect sales pitch?

Lose Customers the Easy Way - (April 21, 2006)
A funny sales adaptation of "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" to remind you how easy it is to lose your best customers.

How to Increase Your Customer Base - (March 3, 2006)
Successful sales programs require strong referral systems AND continuous marketing. Learn how and why.

The First Task - Respect Yourself - (February 17, 2006)
If you want your customers to respect you, teach them.

From Tales to Sales - (February 3, 2006)
To improve your selling, use more stories along with the necessary facts. Stories are more believable, memorable, visual, portable, attention-getting and more!

Prioritize! It's a Matter of Urgency - (January 20, 2006)
To sell more, analyze all your selling duties by how urgent and important they are and focus on those that are urgent AND important.

From the Mouths of Babes - (December 16, 2005)

Getting Prospects to Say "I Do" - (November 18, 2005 )

Anatomy of a Sales Strikeout - (November 4, 2005)

Cultivating Your Turf - (October 21, 2005)

A Hands-on Guide to Staying in Touch - (October 7, 2005)

Giving it Your Personal Best - (August 19, 2005)

The Holy Grail of Sales - (August 5, 2005)

Face-to-Face with a VITO - (July 1, 2005)

Nervous Before Your Presentation? - (May 20, 2005)

When Customers Want Kickbacks - (May 6, 2005)

The Art of Managing Expectations - (April 22, 2005)

David vs. Goliath, the Rematch - (April 14, 2005)

Laugh All the Way to the Bank - (March 4, 2005)

What Counts: Need, Money, Urgency - (February 18, 2005)

When Value Means More Than Cost - (February 3, 2005)

Networking With a Laser Focus - (January 21, 2005)

Snooze Your Way to Success - (December 17, 2004)

The Goldilocks Strategy - (November 19, 2004)

The Pen Is Mightier Than the Word - (November 2, 2004)

Balancing Family and Work

Relationship Rules for Salespeople (July 27, 2007)
To improve your relationships with both customers and family members, maintain a balance by sticking to one set of standards

Keep the Big Picture in Mind - and Heart - (July 21, 2006)
Six simple lessons for all working parents to help balance selling and family, learned the hard way.

Creating a Legacy to Treasure - (July 22, 2005)

 

Growing Your Business

Selling Deep vs. Selling Wide ( June 1, 2007)
Do you want to sell to more customers or sell more within your current accounts? Both approaches have advantages

Keeping the Chorus in Tune (March 1, 2007)
If different departments are pushing different messages, customer confusion will result. Here's how to build harmonious teams

Four Reasons to Thank the Competition (February 2, 2007)
It can you help you better define your product or service, improve on it, energize you, and educate potential customers

Selling Strong in the New Year (January 5, 2007)
You can align your annual sales goals with your personal goals to sell more effectively using this six-step planning guide

Sales Incentive Plans: 10 Essentials (November 17, 2006)
How to create a plan that works for both sellers interested in earning more and business owners and managers pushing for profits

Eight Career Paths for Salespeople (September 28, 2006)
Solid sales skills can translate to success in eight different career paths. Here they are.

Selling in a New Place -(June 16, 2006)
Once you've decided to move your business to a new locale, here are ideas on how to resume profitability as quickly as possible.

Great Employees Make a Great Business - (March 31, 2006)
To increase sales, you must first attract, hire and retain great employees.

A Primer in CRM - (March 17, 2006)
There are several considerations in choosing a CRM but don't forget your customers while doing so.

Finding Your Way on the Web - (September 23, 2005)

Keeping Customers Reliably Satisfied - (June 3, 2005 )

The Recipe for Sales Success - (March 18, 2005)

Click Your Way to a Sale - (January 7, 2005)

Holiday Gifts That Score with Clients - (December 3, 2004)

 

Building Connections with Your Customers and Employees

Connections that Close Deals - (June 2, 2006)
Two new books on building connections with customers.

Pull Together -- Or Fall Apart - (December 2, 2005)

Why Connections Trump Contacts - (September 9, 2005)

The Write Stuff for Selling - (June 17, 2005)


Do you want more ideas and information on how to grow your sales?
Click here to check out my sales tools.

 
 

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