Changes in the World Create Classic Opportunities

The world of communication is obviously changing fast as witnessed by the billions of dollars that are rotating from traditional marketing/advertising media over to digital and social media.  Everyone is trying to figure out how to stand out in the sea of information we are all exposed to each day via the Internet.

But while everyone is rushing into that space, what do you think is one of the most simple and powerful things you can do as a salesperson to distinguish yourself from the pack? Read More

What is Your “Hole Card?”

Here is a good question to ask yourself before every sales meeting with a new prospect:

“What is my edge or ‘hole card’ going into this meeting?” 

Here is what I mean.

The prospect is obviously going to compare you to all other sales presentations he has heard.  There is a huge chance that you are going to fall into the memory pool with everyone else unless . . . you have established some sort of edge going into the meeting that will allow you to stand out. Read More

Giving for a Living

Have you ever received an unexpected Christmas gift and felt awkward that you had not bought the other person a gift in return? Welcome to the world of deep psychology and something the docs call the “reciprocity principle.”  Psychologists have long known that the act of giving triggers a very powerful response from the person who receives the gift, that is, a natural impulse to level the emotional playing field by giving something in return. And this principle sits at the heart of all business relationships. Read More

“Yes!”

Relationship selling does not revolve around a big bang closing strategy but, rather, a series of smaller answers of “yes” over an extended period of time. There is some powerful psychology that supports this dynamic. Consider the following experiment.

Read More

Firing a Client From Hell!

I know, it sounds like an oxymoron, but there usually comes a time in every salesperson’s career when the best move, both emotionally and often financially, is to fire a client. Obviously this is a last resort after we have tried everything else, but factors might include:

Read More

When Selling Becomes Obnoxious

Since I sell for a living, I like to look for the best in sales situations and generally cut salespeople a lot of slack when they are presenting to me. However, every once in a while I run across a sales platform that goes over the line between being diligent and obnoxious.

I am not going to name the company or service, but the main issue is they had frontline phone salespeople who were poorly trained yet called incessantly to follow up on the initial lead. I did not mind the follow up, but what annoyed me was that these people were obviously reading from scripts and when I asked deeper questions, they not only couldn’t answer them, but they just referred back to their scripts. Also, they had been trained to be way too upbeat in a serious conversation, with the requisite sing song voices, and they did not communicate with each other, so each time I spoke to a rep it recreated the wheel.

Read More

Sales Support from a Different Perspective

I recently went to a tire guy to fix a minor leak and give me an estimate. He fixed the tire, rotated all of them, balanced them and rather than charge me and going into the upsell I expected for new tires, he said, “Just give me a good review on Angie’s list.”

I went through a major house move the other day. Afterwards, I went to tip the driver and he declined saying, “Just give me a good review on Yelp.”

I was looking for a good tile man. I Googled a few and found one I like. Then I read his reviews and passed.

I don’t know if it is fair or not as business people to be so captive by these powerful, Internet reviews, and I am sure we need to put them into perspective, since unhappy and unsatisfied people are more likely to post. Nonetheless, they have become a real force, and to the extent, that if we ignore them we do so at our own risk.

Read More

Investing in Yourself as a Professional Salesperson and Communicator

This week we would like to make our annual appeal for donations to the Mr. Shmooze column.

As you know, we produce 48 columns per year and charge neither a subscription fee nor do we advertise. We are therefore completely dependent upon the good wishes of our readers.

Money received goes toward paying our interns and research team, who continuously search for concepts and ideas that may help our readers be the most dynamic producers they can be.

Our recommended donation is $20 and can be processed in less than one minute by clicking here. We have a good sized following, so just this small amount can go a long way if everyone participates!

And coming soon, we are going to begin delivering a “Questions for Mr. Shmooze” segment via video!

So please chip in a little for another year for the wit and wisdom of Mr. Shmooze.

Thank you!
The Mr. Shmooze Team

—
To share or contribute, see below . . .

Break Out Of The Normal Routine

One of our favorite periodicals is “Scientific American Mind. “ It is always full of interesting articles of how people perceive things and process information . . . all good stuff for us to understand as professional communicators who are trying our best to relate to our prospects and clients. Read More

The Remarkable Power of Words

Linguists have long known that language can shape drive thinking and shape entire cultures.  We might believe that a thought comes first and then the words follow, but there is a lot of evidence that words actually affect our thoughts and attitudes as a blended process.  This has huge implications for us as salespeople, because using the right words to present our value proposition can make a huge difference . . . not just at the conscious level, but at the subliminal level too. Read More

The Action Reflex

As I make the rounds to various companies, I am often asked what the single biggest difference is that I see between ultra-successful salespeople (and business people in general) and the rest of the competitive set. My answer is something I call “The Action Reflex.” Here is what I mean. Read More

A Lesson in Selling From Great Lawyers

Great litigators must be great salespeople! In fact, litigation is often selling at the highest levels since the stakes can involve hundreds of millions of dollars and even life and death. This is obviously a complex discussion, but if there is one thing I would like to emphasize here it is the incredibly rigorous and intense preparation great litigators go through to “make the sale” . . . to the jury, to the judge, to the media and to all the stakeholders involved. While I know there are different sets of resources involved, just think about this for a few minutes in the context of your own preparation for a big sales opportunity.

Read More