As an executive or salesperson representing a small company, learn to approach big company executives with confidence. These are people whom you don’t know, who are very busy, and who are difficult to get in front of. It’s natural for even seasoned professionals to feel awkward in their presence, and I’ve worked with many […]
Fears, we all have them but as a sales professional, how do you overcome this fundamental emotion? Join us as we uncover practical ways for sales professionals to address buyer fears in a genuinely empathetic way that always puts the customer’s best interests first.
Today B2B sales is much more professional, technology has played a major part in many of the changes we have seen. Remember that you are ‘Selling Outcomes’, listen and learn, tell the truth.
I’m pleased to introduce my good friend Joanne Black, referral selling expert and author of No More Cold Calling™ and Pick Up the Damn Phone with today’s guest blog. You know how much Whale Hunters reject cold calling to whales–so here’s one great alternative. Why does anyone pay for a trainer at the gym? All the equipment is there, […]
Today’s post is about preparing for the tough questions. Sometimes you are tempted just to hope they won’t ask questions for which you don’t have a good answer, but that is a path to disaster. Everyone involved in the presentation needs to know WHO will answer each tough question and HOW the team will answer […]
I’m writing a series of posts on “10 reasons to rehearse (and how)” focused on preparing to deliver a group presentation for a large account sale. [Introductory post here] In my scenario, your team has been invited to present in person after the prospect has evaluated your proposal or RFP response, but it’s the same even […]
I have the privilege today of being a guest blogger for Jim Keenan, A Sales Guy. My post is called What Do Kevin Hart, Aristotle, and Jim Keenan have in common with your sales strategy? It’s my response to Jim’s post about the “Grammar Nazi’s”. And yes, it is about sales process and especially strategy. […]
A few weeks ago I wrote about Nimble, a really good (and simple) social media CRM tool which we use at The Whale Hunters–read about it here. Today, I’m pleased to refer you to my first guest blog post at Nimble–4 Simple Secrets of B2B Social Selling. I’ll be writing a blog for them each month, […]
In my continuing series on brand differentiation, today’s post focuses on the value of case studies in building your brand. Prospective customers really like to read compelling case studies about how your customers have engaged with you and achieved certain desirable outcomes–more money, less hassle, greater efficiency, higher profit margins, higher quality, etc. But case […]
In my continuing series on differentiating your brand, I’m writing today about references and how you can develop them as a powerful way to stand out from your competitors. I’m not talking about testimonials from happy customers here; I wrote about that idea yesterday. References can be distinctly different from testimonials in positioning your brand […]
I’m happy to recommend a new book by my friend and colleague Nancy Bleeke–all about how to have “collaborative conversations” with your prospective customers. As you know, Whale Hunting is all about collaboration, and the “Hunt” stage is very focused on the nature of the conversation–what we’ve called Progressive Discovery and Progressive Disclosure. This book […]
Is timeliness an important part of your service? A good way for small companies to differentiate is by using their agility and flexibility to deliver goods and services faster than their competitors do. The more complex your service, the more a timely delivery may be a great selling point Of course, you have to be […]