Colleen’s Blog

Did you just do a double take? Don't close sales...isn't that counter-productive to our sales success? You heard me right. Salespeople should not be attempting to “close” sales with clients. It’s all in the definition.

At this time of year, the weather is warm (for the most part!), sellers are anxiously awaiting their vacation, and they also seem to buy into the idea that making sales is next to impossible.

The best behavior that you can exhibit in order to retain the vast majority of your customers is a healthy sense of paranoia.

This common error costs more sales than most sales leaders are willing to admit. Here's the thing, you could possess the most talented sales team in the world, equipped with sales reps who know how to ask the right questions, overcome objections, negotiate effectively and it will still do you no good if these reps don't ask for the sale. Why then, are so many sales leaders being nonchalant about the fear of asking for the sale? This doesn't have to be a matter of intimidation!

I’m touring Japan for a couple weeks (or should I say eating my way through Japan), and I’ve noticed that the best meals are also the simplest. From the freshest fish, perfectly cooked rice, handmade noodles, a locally, just-picked vegetable, the best meals have a singular focus on each plate highlighting a single ingredient with no ornate sauces, or fussy preparations. In thinking back to my past travels, Mykonos was the same way. The meals we remember the most were simply prepared and focused on the highest quality, local ingredients. Occam’s Razor tells us that most often the simplest solution is the best. And, while this is the case for food, it is also the case for revenue generation. A confused buyer never buys, and a confused seller never sells.

Millennials in the professional world have been a hot topic for the past few years. It seems every second or third article online discusses how to communicate with them, what they seek in an employer and what gets them operating at their peak potential. It makes sense, with more and more of them piling into the workforce, managers and leaders are trying to get a grasp on how to best handle this generation.

Turnover, specifically sales rep turnover hurts your business. How do I know this? I've worked with clients who have suffered some devastating losses because of sales rep turnover.

It's been a long time since I was perturbed about a sales practice. That changed last week at Saks Fifth Avenue with Georgio Armani cosmetics. Congratulations to the brand for forever tarnishing themselves in my mind.

I'm rarely lost for words, but this provocative question at last night's Enterprise Sales Forum in NYC caused me to pause for a few minutes: "What does the fact that most sellers don't call themselves "salesperson" say about our clients' perception of us, and what does this mean overall for the future of our profession?"

Are you or members of your sales team having trouble getting past gatekeepers? I've noticed a trend. In my latest workshops and training working with top sales performers, one issue that keeps coming to the surface is how to get past gatekeepers. It's an obvious struggle. If you can't get to the individual who has the power to buy and sign purchase orders and checks, it's going to be a long and tough road to making sales (and that road can very well lead to a dead-end). So, how can salespeople get past gatekeepers? There are three important points that you need to consider: