Colleen’s Blog

It's simply one of the oldest and biggest problems in sales...how does a salesperson get their calls returned? You've probably encountered this problem before. I don't anticipate this age-old issue becoming any easier in the near future. The truth is, there is no magic key or phrase or intro or any other "quick trick" that will guarantee a returned phone call 100% of the time. Because let's face it, if there was a magic formula...sales would be easy!

Mike Tyson once said, you know, everybody has a set plan they're going to use until they step in the ring and they get punched in the face. It may be a strange reference when talking about sales but it's more applicable than you think. We get punched in the face proverbially of course with every sale call we make, meaning a question comes in from left field that we weren’t prepared for, the prospect or the customer says something that we weren’t prepared for and being unprepared is a terrible mistake to make in sales.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what makes a successful salesperson and I realize that one of the key components of all the top performers that I talk to is resilience. They are absolutely committed to keep going even in the face of adversity.

Interesting observational research moment today during my session at Dreamforce. In a room full of 400 sales professionals, I made the case that there is no more B2B or B2C and that all selling was B2All. I stated that "the way I buy shoes, is the same way I buy $1 million dollar telecom equipment for my business." There was a visceral reaction. People in the audience older than me, (let's call them 50+) shook their heads in disagreement. People in the audience younger than me smiled and nodded enthusiastically. After the session ended I had the same responses as I spoke to people.

I'm live at the largest tech show in the world this week. That can only mean it's Dreamforce! With 160,000 registered attendees all working in or in support of sales, Dreamforce is not only the largest tech gathering but the largest sales support gathering in the world. The main themes this year are Be Your Best and Be a Trailblazer. Here is what that means to me:

I have been spending a lot of time in workshops so far this year and the number one thing sales reps ask me is how you move beyond the pricing objection and here is what I’m discovering.