Easy Closing Starts With Prospecting

Closing is hard when you try to find a way to qualify your prospects.
Closing is easy when your prospects will not allow you to disqualify them.
 
Closing is hard when you have to sell prospects on giving you an appointment.
Closing is easy when the prospect is ready to spend time and money to get a problem [...]

Finding the Sales Position You Want

The fastest way to find the sales position you want is to use methods that are different from what others are doing.  Sales managers want salespeople who are smart and confident enough to apply their prospecting and selling skills to find a sales position.
If you were trained in High Probability Prospecting, then here is an [...]

The Trust and Respect Problem

by Jacques Werth and Carl Ingalls
The two most important decision making factors for the vast majority of people who are making a significant buying decision are:
  1. How much do I TRUST this salesperson?
  2. How much do I RESPECT this salesperson?
How do you get your prospects
to trust and respect you?
Showing your testimonials, reference letters, and independent [...]

Prospecting: Should you research a prospect before you call?

Many salespeople have been taught that they should know as much as possible about a prospect before they make a prospecting call.  Depending on the type of prospects that you are calling, the research could take between five minutes and perhaps forty-five minutes.  All that, for a call to someone who is far more likely [...]

High Probability Selling Workshop Starts Wed 29 July 2009

The next High Probability Selling Workshop starts on Wednesday 29 July 2009.  This workshop covers the High Probability Selling process and a basic understanding of how it works.  There will be one workshop session per week for six weeks, and exercises will be assigned between sessions.   Sessions will be every Wednesday from 10:30 AM to noon [...]

Take Advantage of Information Overload

Information Overload results in the average American being exposed to over 12 million informational messages per year.  The vast majority of those messages get filtered out before they ever reach a conscious mind. 
Five-Step Buying Decision Model, developed circa 1950
AIDCA = Attention, Interest, Desire, Conviction, and Action
Those people that perceive they have a need for the [...]

Human Behavior has Changed; Most Sales Methods Have Not

Human behavior has changed considerably in the past fifty years.  One of the primary drivers has been Information Overload.  In 1975 it was estimated that the average US citizen was exposed to an average of 200 informational messages a day.  By 1984, after the advent of the personal computer, a joint study by a few [...]

Highly Successful Salespeople Do What Unsuccessful People Are Not Willing to Do

Do you really know what the most successful ones actually do?
by Jacques Werth and Carl Ingalls
Most salespeople say they will do “whatever it takes” to make a sale.  They think this means they should work longer, harder, and be more persuasive.  The vast majority of average performers believe in and practice some form of persuasive [...]

Favorable Front of the Mind Awareness

An earlier version of this article was posted on Business Insurance Agents on 12 March 2009.
Suppose you are watching a James Bond movie and Agent 007 says to another character, “Tomorrow I am going to pick up my dream car.”  If you know much about Agent 007, you will immediately have a mental picture of a gleaming [...]

10 Tips for Prospecting Success

by Jacques Werth
The ability to prospect efficiently, effectively and enjoyably will enable you to meet with prospects that need, want and can afford your products and services – now. Your confidence will soar and empower you to develop a consistently superior income stream.
1. Start with a highly targeted telephone prospecting list, consisting of people or [...]

Recession: A Good Time to Sell

We published this article early last year (2008) but it seemed worth revisiting given current events.

What Good is a Recession?
Whether a recession is generally spread across all industries, or localized to just your industry, it is a great time to be selling. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters (3 month periods) when [...]

He’s Got the Magic

I went into five automobile showrooms, all with the same make cars, in order to choose the one where I bought my last car.
My experience at the first four dealerships, after their big toothed smile greetings, each salesperson assured me that I would get the best deal and the best service if I bought [...]