Breakthrough Selling Archive

Nothing lasts forever — so the saying goes. So after 39 articles and roughly 35,000 words, this will be my last column for Mentor.

Early in my career, I worked with a colleague who had a simple classification system for new prospects. I believe it will help you better evaluate and approach opportunities.

Every now and then you get a call from a prospect interested in making a large purchase, even though you don’t regularly do business with the practice.

Most of the headaches, problems, and objections sales people encounter during the sales process can be traced back to poor planning.

Do you constantly see the same names on monthly forecasts, but when the month closes they never buy? Have names been in the funnel for more than six months with no real activity? If you answered yes, you might be focusing too …

Price is the broken record many salespeople wish would stop playing. Problem is the same salespeople are often the ones hitting the play button without even realizing it.

Brevity is important, and salespeople know it. Clients are busier than ever, with more demands competing for their time and attention.

“I should really …” “I wish I could …” “If I just tried …” How many times in the past month have you said at least one of these? What opportunities lie just out of your reach?

At some point in your career, a sales trainer taught you that selling is essentially about solving problems (stopping pain) or creating opportunities (creating gain) for your prospects.

Searching for shortcuts or the easy way only distracts you from the hard work required to acquire new clients.