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 [...]

Cold Calling Fear: Facing the Elephant in the Room

All salespeople feel it, but no one wants to talk about it:  the fear of cold calling.  As  a sales and business coach, I’ve often heard the following comments from salespeople I have coached:

“I feel like I’m bothering people by calling them.”
“I think I need another sales course to get up to speed.”
“I need a [...]

High Probability Prospecting Activity Record

In a previous post, “9 Tips for Prospecting Success” dated 2007/05/23, we promised that we would provide a Prospecting Activity Record to anyone who requested it.  This is now available as a Microsoft Word document for download.  The link is www.HighProbSell.com/Blog_Support
Please note that this Prospecting Activity Record was designed for people who [...]

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 [...]

Prospecting and the Gatekeeper

By Miles Sonkin, High Probability® Selling
If you’re calling business to business, and you’re reaching the administrative assistant, chances are that they know all about what the decision maker wants and doesn’t want.
The concept of getting past the gatekeeper usually ends badly. This article provides a different approach.
Q. When making prospecting calls, the prospect often ‘isn’t [...]

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 [...]

Persuasion is a Great Way to Sell If…

Another story from my observations of top producer selling methods…

Bill Silvers was the top producer for the largest textile manufacturer in North America. He was the second of hundreds of top salespeople that I observed working with prospects and customers. During the first sales visit that I went on with him, he was [...]

The Reality of Selling

Fifty-one years ago I began to study selling — not just because I’m a curious, analytical type, but because I’ve always had a burning desire to succeed. When I was young I learned that big money can be made in sales and I wanted “my share.” Later, I realized that only a tiny percentage [...]

Real Estate Sales Success: With Integrity, Without Stress

We were in a large meeting room in a nice hotel, in a suburb of Seattle. Twelve successful Realtors were attending a Real Estate Sales Mastery workshop. They were an unusually well-dressed group for a two-day offsite workshop.
At our request, one of the participants had borrowed a sample front door and door frame [...]