Category: Business Development

Your Secret Weapon for Customer Success: Quarterly Value Reviews

11/22/2023

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Morristown
Key customer accounts are like vast fields of dark, rich, fertile soil. Your selling and serving teams have the seeds of growth in hand. But to grow or even retain important accounts, you must deliver success on the customer’s terms. That means maintaining high-level client executive relationships is essential. And these relationships must be based on value, as defined from the client’s perspective.

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The "FORCE MULTIPLIER" Most Sales Teams Don't Bother to Deploy

9/21/2023

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Morristown
One of the most powerful ideas for maximizing team sales productivity is a surprisingly simple one: “Don’t buy back tomorrow what you sold today.” At Sandler, we believe that sales process and methodology ought to be consistent across all seller roles. Having different parts of the sales team learning and executing different approaches results in a siloed strategy. That not only wastes resources, but it also sends inconsistent signals to clients and customers, and it undermines the customer experience.

The One Technique That Empowers You to Run a Great Sales Meeting

8/21/2023

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Morristown
What’s the key to running a great sales meeting? At Sandler, we teach that success in this critical area lies in learning to propose a specific type of agreement before anything of consequence happens between the participants -- an agreement about what, exactly, is going to take place during the discussion that’s about to unfold. The act of proposing this agreement levels the psychological playing field between buyer and seller. Which is why this particular technique, known as the up-front contract, is such a game-changer.

Ask This One Powerful Question … Before You Agree to Deliver A Presentation

7/20/2023

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Morristown
When a prospect asks you to deliver a presentation, do you instantly agree? Lots of salespeople do. Sometimes it’s because they’re excited about the possibility of engaging directly with a person they haven’t been able to meet yet. Sometimes it’s because they think that any sign of interest from a prospect should be quickly rewarded. And sometimes it’s because they just love being the center of attention! But in reality, none of these justifications are strategically sound reasons for a salesperson to agree to deliver a formal presentation. Here’s why.

Are Sales and Marketing Working Together?

7/13/2023

By Allan Berger, Berger Business Advisors
We have seen countless examples of uncoordinated sales and marketing activities resulted in wasting both time and money. Here’s one example. A company exhibits at a trade show. Leads are collected but not distributed to sales reps until long after the trade show ends. By the time the sales rep contacts the attendee, the attendee no longer remembers why they were drawn to the company’s exhibit. How does this happen? It is easy to understand when sales and marketing are not working in harmony.

Ask This Simple Question Before You Finalize Any Meeting with a Buyer or Influencer

6/15/2023

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Morristown

There’s one simple, easy-to-pose question that will, if you use it consistently, simultaneously improve your closing ratio, shorten your sales cycle, and deepen your relationship and impact within the buying organization.

And yet most salespeople hardly ever ask this question.

The Budget Step...and the Monsters Under the Bed

5/25/2023

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
A critical part of the Sandler qualification process is finding out what the available budget is. One of the things we’ve found consistently is that most salespeople are deeply uncomfortable with the idea of coming right out and asking a decision-maker how much money is available to solve a problem. Most of them skip the discussion entirely, then try to sneak in their pricing at the end of their presentation. Does that work? No. The big question is: Why are so many salespeople so resistant to initiating this discussion? And the answer is: there is a monster under their bed.

A Decision to Not Make a Decision Is Still a Decision

4/27/2023

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training

David Sandler emphasized this classic definition so often that it’s fair to say he considered it to be of central importance to the Sandler Selling System. While his idea may sound a bit confusing to you the very first time you encounter it, if you follow it through, you will find that it makes perfect sense. In fact, this simple Sandler guideline often serves as the last word when it comes to deciding whether you have a “live” prospect – or a “dead” lead.

Sell Like You Don't Need the Business

3/23/2023

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training

You may have heard the old saying that 90 percent of success happens between the ears. That’s easy enough to say.

But what does putting this principle into practice really mean? What does it look like when it shows up, in a discussion with a prospective buyer, as part of who we really are?

Three Big Ideas That Create Prospecting Breakthroughs

2/23/2023

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
To sell effectively to the modern buyer, we need to identify and set aside all the head trash that keeps us from engaging effectively, and often, to uncover new opportunities. This means understanding the power of our own behavior. Behavior is basically our muscle memory in action, which we regularly turn to and do as a matter of course, time after time. Behavior is quantifiable, meaning we can count it when it happens. Our prospecting behaviors drive our income. It’s that simple.

You Don’t Have to Like Prospecting … You Just Have to Do It

8/18/2022

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
The salesperson who claims to “like” prospecting hasn’t ever done it. How can anyone “like” a process that produces such an arena for rejection? When salespeople say they like prospecting, what they might mean is this: “I don’t mind paying the price of prospecting to reach my objectives.” Many salespeople haven’t reached that stage. If you’re still at the stage where prospecting means dialing a number and hoping the line is busy… don’t worry. You’re okay. You just haven’t learned to focus on the end result.

Speak More Languages, Close More Sales

7/21/2022

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
Have you ever noticed that some people jump to quick conclusions, don’t like to get bogged down with details, and like to take the 30,000-foot view of issues? Or that others prioritize making and keeping friends? Or that still others just don’t like change and conflict, and want to avoid making decisions? If you’ve ever noticed people who fit those descriptions, then you’re in a good position to expand your repertoire of selling languages!

No One Gets into Your Head Without Your Permission

6/23/2022

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
Have you ever volunteered a price reduction before someone asked for it? Have you ever felt less than okay about yourself because somebody didn’t decide to buy from you?

If you answered “Yes,” you should be aware that you let your buyer into your personal headspace, where the buyer didn’t belong. You chose to become emotionally involved in the sales process. And you know what? That usually doesn’t end well.

Express Your Feelings Through Third-Party Stories

4/25/2022

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
Have you ever sat in front of a prospect and thought you should say something – but didn’t? If you’re like most of us, the answer to that question was “Yes.” You cut that thought short and chose not to put it into words. You recognized that you weren't confident enough to say what you wanted to say, because you thought it might jeopardize the sale. In that instant, your gut was talking to you and telling you about something important that needed to be communicated. A little voice inside you was telling you, “Say it, say it!” The problem was you didn’t know how to communicate what you wanted to say without.

Only Give A Presentation for the Close!

3/17/2022

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
Many of us in sales use the presentation phase for educating the buyer about what we do and what we offer. Does that really make sense strategically? We may be tempted to use the presentation as an opportunity to talk about everything we’ve done in our career. Everything our awesome product or service does, has done, or might do in the future. Everything our happy clients and customers have said about us. Here’s a question: How do you feel when you’re on the receiving end of a presentation like that? Of course, you tune out. We all do. So what we tell our clients is simple: Don’t do it.

Live The Success Triangle!

1/20/2022

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
The powerful learning model David Sandler called the Success Triangle is a proven formula for sales success – and a proven formula for every other kind of success.

Sales leaders, and all leaders, can benefit from learning about it and implementing it with their teams. You have probably heard about the Success Triangle. So, what is it?

Are You and Your Sales Team Speaking the Same Language?

12/16/2021

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
One big challenge we all face as sales leaders is that we may have people on our team who aren’t on the same page as we are.

Very often, we as the leader, are speaking one language; but the salesperson who is taking part in a conversation with us is speaking a very different language. We may not even realize that’s what is happening!

A Decision Not to Make A Decision Is A Decision

11/19/2021

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
How comfortable are you, on a scale of 1 to 10, when a prospect tells you “Let me think it over?” If you answered anything other than a 1, there could be a problem. You may want to consider implementing a classic Sandler selling rule: “A decision not to make a decision is a decision.” Think about it. If we’re completely okay with a prospect telling us, “I need to think this over,” or “You’re close, but we need some time to evaluate,” or “We’ll let you know” – what does that really say about us as sales professionals?

No Mutual Mystification

10/21/2021

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
It’s time for a 21st-century reality check: We all live (and sell) in a ridiculously fast-paced environment. We all have more platforms, more information, more commitments, more conversations, and more priorities to address than we can comfortably handle. That’s kind of our defining trait these days: data overload and compressed timelines. As a result, we are sometimes spread too thin, which means we are prone to miss things, perhaps important things, that are going on in someone else’s world.

Never Help the Prospect End The Interview

7/15/2021

by Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
We have all been in situations where we are on a sales call, and we get the sense that the other person has checked out of the discussion for some reason. Maybe there is an uncomfortably long silence on the phone. Maybe we can see the other person looking disengaged, making faces, getting distracted, or checking their phone.

The question is, what do we do then?

When All Else Fails, Become a Consultant

5/20/2021

by Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
When you know you’ve lost the business, what do you usually do?

We have all been in that position. We thought we had something. The deal fell through. We know it’s over. The buyer made a decision. We have to say something. The question is, what? There should be a go-to move in this situation, something we do consistently, as part of a process. So: Does that go-to move exist?

Never Answer an Unasked Question!

4/13/2021

by Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
Carlos was in a great mood. Forty minutes in, the meeting with his top prospect’s senior staff was going great. He was getting nothing but engagement, smiles, and positive body language from everyone around the table, including the CEO of the company. He knew what that meant. He was about to close his first big deal! The timing couldn’t have been better. Because this was a potentially major account, Carlos’ manager Charlene was in attendance. Today, she would get to see him work his magic first hand.

Guess What? Money Does Grow on Trees!

1/21/2021

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training

Believe it or not, your parents were wrong. Money actually does grow on trees. That's one of the essential Sandler Selling Rules.

Skeptical? Don't be. Just be willing to ask yourself: what kind of tree? And the answer is: a referral tree.

Six Big Myths about Virtual Selling

10/15/2020

By Cal Thomas, Sandler Training
Virtual selling is nothing new. It has been around for years. What’s happening now is that more and more sales teams are getting good at it! The old distinction between “field sales” and “inside sales” is an increasingly irrelevant one. Today, the most effective and productive sales teams see themselves as remote sales professionals. This is also sometimes known as virtual selling...but whatever you call it, it’s a central requirement of success in most markets.

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