…and what you can do about it. “Sales is the best career option for people who hate to actually work.” I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve heard various forms of that statement. It really is true. Selling as a profession isn’t about “work”.  It’s about relationships. It’s about connecting with another human, finding a way to solve their pain, and making yourself available to solve that pain in a manner conducive to increasing revenue. When I managed retail…

You can never stop learning. Many salespeople believe that they’ve learned everything they needed after undergoing some company training. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many people who excel are self-taught. They expand their horizons all by themselves and go above and beyond without being told to do so by anyone. These people are usually the ones with the most drive, willpower, and motivation to succeed. The more you know about selling, the more likely you will excel at…

Psst, here’s a secret… Great Customer service is the ONLY way to get more referrals. Just look at Comcast. They’re notorious for having the worst customer service ever. You could wait months and months to get your Internet service hooked up. Some even say that the only way to get Comcast to do anything is to complain on Twitter. Even then, you’d need a big Twitter following to have your complaint noticed and taken care of. Now, Google Comcast. How…

Have you ever spent loads of time training your salespeople, only to see them constantly make mistake after mistake? Did they even listen to you when you were showing them how to do their jobs? How on earth did you manage to hire such an incompetent group of people? Hold on. It isn’t always their fault. It could be yours. Maybe your training hasn’t been paying off. Maybe there’s something missing during the sales department activities. Maybe you’re not helping…

Seeking out leads is like fishing. You’re the fisherman, your product is the bait, and the leads are the fish. A cold lead is a fish that swims right by your bait without even acknowledging it. Maybe it doesn’t know that the bait is there, or maybe it just doesn’t care. To get a cold lead to bite, you have to constantly dangle the bait in front of its face until it shows any interest. A hot lead is a…