Money is not a silver bullet to motivating sales people | Lend Me Your Ears
Money does not motivate salespeople; it may some, not all. Meaning increased monetary rewards are not a panacea to incentivizing all sellers.| Lend Me Your Ears
Money does not motivate salespeople; it may some, not all. Meaning increased monetary rewards are not a panacea to incentivizing all sellers.| Lend Me Your Ears
Dear Business Owner, some problems in sales get blamed on marketing—and some problems in marketing get blamed on sales. Few internal battles drain more energy, money, and morale as much as the sales and marketing conflict. Here are 3 common examples—and what you can do about them. (And, by the way, for the uninitiated, marketing […] The post Sales and Marketing conflict – problems Sales gets blamed for appeared first on Lend Me Your Ears.| Lend Me Your Ears
Comfort is dangerous to selling. Your ‘pep talks’, trainings, even repeated “Believe in yourself!” quotes, don’t break comfort in sales. Fear| Lend Me Your Ears
You may not realize it, but your personality type could be influencing your focus as a sales professional in leadership—and not always in ways that help your team hit target. We all come into sales leadership with strengths. But those strengths have blind spots. And blind spots in sales management cost money, morale, and momentum. […] The post Your sales leadership blind spot is costing you-here’s how to fix it appeared first on Lend Me Your Ears.| Lend Me Your Ears
Dear Sales Manager, are you managing numbers or managing people? If your entire sales management strategy fits into an Excel sheet of monthly targets, congratulations—you’re not managing. You’re hoping. But, “Sales is a game of numbers,” you say. True. Also true, is that, not all sales people are motivated by money or targets. Now, as […] The post Manage people, not just numbers – targets are lazy management appeared first on Lend Me Your Ears.| Lend Me Your Ears
Your proposal is not the presentation. If you did not connect with the buyer during the pitch, you will not with your proposal. So, treat...| Lend Me Your Ears
Hawking selling. hawkers offer close, one-to-one attention in an informal environment. Much like missionary work and dating. And see how use| Lend Me Your Ears
You were lied to. The 7Ps of marketing, for which product and price are a part of, aren’t. They are also the 7Ps of finance, of administration| Lend Me Your Ears
Buying means making a change in his circumstances, and the instinctive reaction to change is resistance. It is for this reason that buyers will generally raise objections. Almost always, assurance is what they want in response Chances are that, a lady you are interested in will give this or that excuse for not accepting your […]| Lend Me Your Ears
The tool of communication that the buyer uses to ‘play hard to get’ is called an objection. …The good news is that there is a finite number of challenging objections; they rarely get to ten. Effective sales managers compile appropriate responses for each into a live document and continually have their teams practice them “I […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Objections are the archenemy of the average seller. The inability to handle objections is debilitating to the sales process. I’ll wager that easily over half of your pregnant sales abort because of this handicap “I’ve never heard of you”, the prospective buyer says. “How do I give you my money to invest for me?” The […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Grow your sales muscle and remember the buyer has a problem he wants to resolve with the purchase. With this knowledge, try this… If you acquiesce to every request for a discount, your sales muscle gradually atrophies. You never grow as a sales person; you grow as a price warrior. You score an A for […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Over the years, we have sieved delivering a successful presentation into 5 Rs. Representation, repertoire, research, rehearsal and repetition| Lend Me Your Ears
If you seek to improve your staff's business presentation skills, our Presentation Skills Training in Kenya can help them speak with impact.| Lend Me Your Ears
How would your organization change if every employee acted like a business owner? We can help with our Commercial Skills Training in Kenya.| Lend Me Your Ears
Unlock your leadership potential with our comprehensive leadership training in Kenya. Gain essential skills, empower teams, and lead with...| Lend Me Your Ears
3 reasons why you should help customers make purchase decisions. Avoid 'dirty' word, selling. Align your purpose to buyer. Customer retention| Lend Me Your Ears
Lend Me Your Ears is a Sales Training and Consultancy firm. We are also among the top training companies and HR Consultancy agencies in Kenya.| Lend Me Your Ears
Market development builds credibility and trust. You are not there just for the bouquets but for the barbs too. It pays to develop a market; the more in business to customer selling like a bank or insurance agent does. Market development is focusing your energies in one or two large markets as opposed to scattering […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Persistence and the art of connecting the dots pave the path to success in selling. They are cornerstones of the sales odyssey. Here are two..| Lend Me Your Ears
If they don’t buy you, they won’t buy what you are selling. You are as much a product as the one you are selling. Even if you are the best in| Lend Me Your Ears
Quit showing desperation when selling. Because, instead of a solution, you present a begging bowl. And the buyer treats you as such, and you| Lend Me Your Ears
There are many lessons in prospecting from political campaigning, but I will confine myself to three. First though, prospecting is the never| Lend Me Your Ears
A sales manager who cannot sell is not respected by his team. Sales management without respect is severely impaired. As has been shared here before, sales is not a desk job. The desk job lends itself to structure, systems, rules, policies and regulation in the corporate pyramid. It is thus comparatively simpler for one to […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Is AI coming for your job? That’s the question echoing through boardrooms, sales floors, and WhatsApp groups alike. But let’s be honest: AI isn’t your biggest threat. Your mediocrity is. When ChatGPT launched, a wave of panic swept through the workplace everywhere. Sales was no exception. Reps started whispering about automation. Managers scrambled to attend webinars […] The post AI is not coming for your job— your poor performance is appeared first on Lend Me Your Ears.| Lend Me Your Ears
Good sales people leave for different reasons and when it happens, it usually catches everyone off guard. Jaws drop. Managers shake their head| Lend Me Your Ears
When you run a business the way you would a sales team, the results can be disastrous. This is what the Wells Fargo scandal demonstrated.| Lend Me Your Ears
If you seek to have your medreps quit standing in line and stand out from the crowd, our pharmaceutical sales training courses can help| Lend Me Your Ears
Sellers who focus negotiating to price only, limit themselves and lose the opportunity to show value-especially with new business. “Give us a discount. We are giving you 500 salespeople to train.” Contrary to popular belief, this is not an open and shut case of obvious discount from bulk business. Instead, it’s an opportunity to negotiate. […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Creativity is not nailing it with every experiment; it’s always trying new ways to experiment. Like these 4 sellers I watched as she stood at the parking ticket dispenser dispensing for, and presenting tickets to, drivers as they drove into the mall. Adorned with an infectious smile, she presented the ticket, and a flyer. You […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Close Faster Simplify the Sale. The buyer isn’t asking to get the nuts and bolts of the situation. All he needs is assurance and confidence.| Lend Me Your Ears
But first, what is a sales funnel, how do you create a sales funnel, and what are the benefits of a sales funnel? Contrary to popular belief,| Lend Me Your Ears
Show confidence when selling. “No matter the economy of the jungle l can never eat grass. It’s not pride, it’s just who l am.” What about you| Lend Me Your Ears
Selling has no formula. But, don’t be blinded to ignoring it. In fact, when your sales are dwindling refer to the sales cycle. Very likely...| Lend Me Your Ears
Do you exude personal development in sales, worthy of emulation? To paraphrase the Shawshank Redemption, "Get busy selling, or get busy..."| Lend Me Your Ears
Not having a sales business case is careless investing; in fact it’s not even investing, it’s gambling. A business case is a justification...| Lend Me Your Ears
How important is it to build trust in selling? Changing hastily made commitments raises eyebrows, and breaks trust. So seek first to understand| Lend Me Your Ears
An organization can frustrate and therefore lose a sale because of its processes. Are your internal processes losing our company sales? It...| Lend Me Your Ears
The importance of a database cannot be gainsaid. A database is the lifeblood of the successful sales person. He never abandons it. Even when| Lend Me Your Ears
Why do people buy or not buy your product? “People don't buy their way into something they buy their way out of it.” But what does this mean?| Lend Me Your Ears
The importance of the sales cycle cannot be diminished. However, the sales cycle won’t work if you don’t. The length of the sales cycle is up| Lend Me Your Ears
The 21st C customer is affects your selling in insidious ways. In fact, he just won’t tell you this, but he really doesn’t need you. Actually| Lend Me Your Ears
Make opening about the buyer. Include these three qualities: brevity, succinctness, and being gripping. Remember the objective is to engage...| Lend Me Your Ears
Are you busy following the sales manual or actually getting results? Following instructions will keep you busy—and keep the peace. It gives you cover when targets are missed: “But I followed the manual.” But that excuse won’t last long. Because in sales, it’s not the manual that moves the sale forward—it’s the hard sales conversations. […] The post Are you busy—or just avoiding the hard sales conversations? appeared first on Lend Me Your Ears.| Lend Me Your Ears
Facts inform; emotion moves. You know this. So, why are you still leading with facts? Leading with “Our revolutionary fuel has additives, is| Lend Me Your Ears
Ask for sales referrals. Prospects don’t volunteer them unsolicited. A sales referral is perhaps the most powerful weapon in a sales person’s| Lend Me Your Ears
Research and explore through questions, to get close to the need with the focus of a rifle than hope for the best with the pellets from a ...| Lend Me Your Ears
Did you know that your competition sees your weakness as strength? It never ceases to amaze me how, when doing a comparative market analysis, sellers (say, of This Company) are quick to lament thus: “Competitor J’s product has a higher torque than ours”. Or, “Competitor K’s service is priced lower than ours.” Or, “Competitor L […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Align your objectives to buyer's for a faster close. Conflicting objectives (you are selling he is seeking information) impede progress as...| Lend Me Your Ears
Sellers out to offer solutions, accept that their product has limitations but will not stop at seeking a solution for the prospect.| Lend Me Your Ears
If you don’t measure sales performance, measuring results instead, good luck! Measuring process is King, measuring results is vanity.| Lend Me Your Ears
The sales cycle is only a cyclic on paper. In practice, it’s as jagged as a hunting knife. Therefore, treat the sales cycle as a guideline,| Lend Me Your Ears
"Hips Don't Lie" so says Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira; and in sales numbers don’t lie, either. Indeed, ‘sales is a game of numbers’ is| Lend Me Your Ears
Create a buyer aligned sales process. It works to accelerate the sale. Insisting on a non-aligned procedure will just give you an ulcer. And,| Lend Me Your Ears
Will your sale survive the close? Driven by immediate and often selfish gain, most salespeople do not see beyond the sale. The gain isn’t always monetary (like commissions or bonuses)—it can also be non-monetary, such as reduced pressure to hit targets or the simple relief of keeping their job. Seeing beyond the sale is the […] The post Will your sale survive the close? 3 ways how to sell beyond the sale appeared first on Lend Me Your Ears.| Lend Me Your Ears
A hawker politely asked if he could tell me something about my car's wipers. The ensuing sale inspired these lessons in selling from a hawker| Lend Me Your Ears
Instead of telling your buyer that he’s wrong, help him come to a different conclusion of his own accord. What separates a stellar seller from an average one is the number and quality of responses they have to objections. Objections are statements made by buyers as a way to say, “I want to buy but […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Demonstration makes presentation easier for the seller. Equally, the more the buyer’s senses the demonstration interacts with, the higher the| Lend Me Your Ears
Stellar salespeople struggle as CEOs. Leadership calls for a "generalist". A salesperson is a specialist - a narrow approach to leadership| Lend Me Your Ears
Sales quantity and quality both matter if you are to have a fair sales competition, and a sustainable business. The two Qs, or Vs, volume and| Lend Me Your Ears
How to bypass gate keepers in something to take in your sales stride. Many times gate keepers will facilitate, not frustrate, the sale.| Lend Me Your Ears
When you open the B2B sales call with insight about the potential buyer you heighten engagement from the get-go. And the more engaged he is,| Lend Me Your Ears
Inflict buyer with his pain. Every buyer has a real (usually hidden) reason for buying and this is referred to us a pain point. Elicit it and| Lend Me Your Ears
How does creativity contribute to sales success? Creativity in sales by reframing. Become innovative by taking risks, asking for insights| Lend Me Your Ears
invest in sales relationships. Here's why. My bank wrote to me towards the end of last year. Like the two years running before then, I was ...| Lend Me Your Ears
Build rapport with the buyer; it is is an indispensable ingredient to successful selling. Have you ever met a stranger and you instantly hit| Lend Me Your Ears
Anybody can ask a question. But to to thrive in selling requires one to ask insightful questions. Insightful questions don’t merely yield knowledge- they shed revelation by eliciting a protracted response. The importance of asking insightful questions in selling cannot be gainsaid. Insightful questions lead to a faster, bigger and better close. Faster because, once you […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Focus on the customer’s problem with agility, and not rigidity with what you’re selling. Interact with the buyer around his problem with an| Lend Me Your Ears
Avoid high pressure selling. Salespeople should take a page from the playbook of doctors when it comes to engaging with customers. Think back| Lend Me Your Ears
Decision-making in sales can be the difference between success and frustration. This applies to business owners, sales managers and sellers| Lend Me Your Ears
The most effective way to overcome rejection in sales is to increase your prospects. Prospecting dampens rejection. Rejection stings. The mor| Lend Me Your Ears
You are not your customer. Dismissing products or markets because they do not align with your personal preferences can be detrimental to your| Lend Me Your Ears
When selling luxury items, with understanding in hand, and getting out of your own way, intimidation by such opulence is lessened.| Lend Me Your Ears
Guide to a close with assurance. “Kujaribu ni bure” (Try it on for free); and being human, the lady might say, “Thanks, but I’m not buying”.| Lend Me Your Ears
Now that you have been promoted from being ‘one of the boys’ to being in charge of the ‘boys’, what to do? Many sales leaders struggle with this transition. And understandably so. Suddenly you are pitted against yourself. You probably were the most vocal in your team, influencing the team to, say, leave work early when […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Dear Salesperson wanting to be sales manager, So you want that sales manager’s job because, "He doesn’t have to sell", or, because, "He earn| Lend Me Your Ears
Sell ethically for sustainability. I was recently invited to a sales achievement awards ceremony and 5 things stood out for me. Today, I wish| Lend Me Your Ears
Are you engaged in problem identification or problem solving? Well, if you are selling in a hardware shop and a customer asked for a drill...| Lend Me Your Ears
What struck me most is their flexibility and perseverance. How con men have possibly realized the successes with the more common texts were diminishing, and had therefore upped their pitch to calling. You really must admire the tenacity of a con artist. Last month I got a call from a gentleman who professionally identified himself […]| Lend Me Your Ears
Selling a big brand name? Well, just as with glowing academic papers, that reputable brand name won’t sell (work) for you, if you don’t. The| Lend Me Your Ears
Seek first to understand not to close. Resist the temptation to pluck the low-hanging fruit. For all you know, it could be bait.| Lend Me Your Ears
Here are some sales lessons from government lies. While ethical practices and transparency should be the foundation of any sales strategy,...| Lend Me Your Ears
Shrewd salespeople don't play by the rules. For instance, while the bank insists that all documentation must be in order before an account is| Lend Me Your Ears
Overcome tension and close. Or, kiss her. To some it's euphoric, others, traumatic. That fleeting, tension-filled moment, when the first kiss| Lend Me Your Ears
The qualities of a good sales manager are unusual. A sales manager’s job is not everyone’s cup of tea. Selling isn’t a desk job. Management..| Lend Me Your Ears
Customized, value-based, practical sales training and coaching courses in Kenya, packed with professional and results-oriented 21st C...| Lend Me Your Ears
Sales contests. The magic ingredient in sales. What do you mean by sales contests, you ask? These contests are, well, contests like any other| Lend Me Your Ears
Successful salespeople don’t follow the rules. This is why they succeed. Here are three attributes on how to become a successful salesperson.| Lend Me Your Ears
It is amazing what showing empathy in selling can do. The client’s eyes light up; a smile cracks his hitherto sullen face; his face brightens| Lend Me Your Ears
Even die-hard “We will never buy from you” customers or prospects can be turned. This is what a sales recovery plan is all about. It includes| Lend Me Your Ears
How to handle objections in sales in an indispensable skill to successful selling. Others call it converting a no to a yes. An objection is ...| Lend Me Your Ears
Don’t just qualify, disqualify sales leads too. Quit flogging a dead horse. It’s a waste of your limited time, frustrating an already trying..| Lend Me Your Ears
Continual prospecting is key to success. This eternal search can take many shapes. A fan of this column says they are required to spend 60% of| Lend Me Your Ears
Accept sales rejections. Reasons for such rejection. They come with the territory. However, respond to, don’t just accept, sales rejection.| Lend Me Your Ears
Does cold calling work? Oh, yes. This is the cold truth. Cold calling is alive and kicking; hale and hearty. And it is ruthlessly efficient.| Lend Me Your Ears
But what triggers, and what can you do, to overcome sales resistance? Embrace resistance from prospects as a norm in selling. It is the rare| Lend Me Your Ears
You can list many activities on your daily to-do list, but I submit that they really boil down to just three activities to thrive in sales.| Lend Me Your Ears
Numbers don’t lie sales people do. Numbers don’t lie, trust them. Sales people lie, let them. Numbers don’t lie, trust and manage sellers...| Lend Me Your Ears
Getting to “I have a guy” status is a long term game because people take time to trust you. Nonetheless, there is selfish reason why you should aim for it...| Lend Me Your Ears
Salespeople take the path of least resistance when faced with challenges or obstacles that require extra effort or creativity. Even when the| Lend Me Your Ears
