Sales help for maximising personal effectiveness.
Everything has to be sold. Even good ideas. If you want to have others benefit from the things you know, the ideas that you have, and the causes you support, you have to sell. Free sales help is at hand.
Since January 2020 I have been posting regularly on LinkedIn. I share the sales wisdom that I have collected from research and personal experience and invite you to share yours by engaging in a conversation on topics that you care about.
Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn to see my posts in your feed.
Never miss a post: Email salesposts@salessense.co.uk for notifications.
Since LinkedIn is a 'happening now' place, I want to provide access to past posts that in a few short days or weeks, are pushed too far down the LinkedIn stack to be seen.
So here are my favourites:
A bad decision is better than no decision - here is why.
Things rarely go according to the plan.
Principles of leadership from Think and Grow Rich.
Overnight success takes about fifteen years.
You don't have to have the idea.
Hard work and honesty alone, are not enough.
Do you have the necessary specialised knowledge?
Do you have the knowledge and do you know how to use it?
The power of sustained concentration.
Emotional connection with the need for action.
Truth is, truth is what you think it is.
What is faith and how does it work?
The deaf boy who learned to hear.
The immovable barrier to monetary riches.
Are you still wondering if the 1937 book, Think and Grow Rich is relevant today?
"Fail forward faster." wrote Tom Peters.
It's always darkest before the dawn.
The man who thought his way into a partnership with Thomas Edison
Think and Grow Rich - the very first words in the book.
First in a series about the applicability of Think and Grow Rich (sold over 100m copies).
What does poor service mean to you? See my poll here.
Why do customers change supplier? See my poll here.
Latest top sales performer interview with Nikola Dabic.
Admirable characteristics of doctors that salespeople should copy - diagnosis.
Admirable characteristics of doctors should salespeople copy - vast knowledge
Is selling a worthy and productive occupation?
Sales brilliance - beliefs about selling
Sales brilliance - market understanding.
How much difference can negotiation make?
Product/Solution/Services knowledge - keeping up.
Product/Solutions/Services knowledge SWOT.
Sales brilliance - knowledge depth
Sales brilliance series continued - product/solution/service knowledge.
What sets top sales performers apart - John Bycroft
Top Salespeople Interviewed - John Bycroft
Make your personality the point of reference.
Personality differences between sellers and buyers.
Personality led decision shortcuts.
Exploring the personality map - car buying strategies.
Exploring the personality map - how people buy cars.
Exploring the personality map - roles.
Personality characteristics map.
Personality characteristics assessment.
Adapting communication style for personality.
Adaptability in communication.
Adaptability v consistency analysis.
Adaptability v consistency poll.
Changing the world requires tenacity.
Changing the world requires courage.
Salespeople change the world through creativity.
Sellers are leaders - salespeople change the world.
The easiest way to make a valuable contribution.
What is the purpose of selling?
How to get referrals with re-sharable content.
How to get referrals from employees.
How to get referrals from suppliers.
How to get channel partners, agents, and affiliates to sell proactively.
Other ways to generate a storm of referrals.
How to get referrals and introductions from people you don't know.
How to turn a referral recommendation into an introduction.
How to get referrals from existing customers via a letter or email.
How to get referrals from existing customers.
How to get referrals from new customers.
How to get referrals from competitors.
Incentivised referral prospecting.
How to negotiate introductions and referrals.
Behavioural v moral integrity - two different things.
Do you always do what you say you will?
Integrity - what does it really mean?
Never send your first composition.
Write persuasively with the rule of three.
First, put yourself in your readers shoes.
Improve writing by starting with an outline or list.
Write in the active voice for shorter sentences.
Ways to improve writing - how to write more.
Sales brilliance - next up - writing skills.
Can people be persuaded to do things that they don't want to do?
Which means of persuasion is the most effective?
Leverage reciprocity to persuade.
Leverage interest to persuade.
Persuade through the expectations of others.
Persuade by appealing to a sense of duty.
Persuade by appealing to self-interest.
Sales brilliance - Aristotle on persuasion.
Sales brilliance - becoming more persuasive.
Ways to improve listening and mind-reading - summary.
Set aside review time to get more from your listening.
Listen with patience to hear everything.
Listen with your heart to grasp the feelings that words are built on.
Listen with your nose to grock people's thoughts.
Set aside all judgement to listen with an open mind.
Set aside your comparisons to listen more effectively.
Remember what you want to say when it is your turn to speak.
Mimic and repeat silently to listen with greater attention.
Listen and remember with perfect recollection.
Adopt an expectant state of mind to listen with more attention.
Empty your mind to listen more attentively.
Suspend your agenda to listen more attentively.
Ways to listen with more attention.
Sales brilliance - the next topics and the learning cycle.
Sales brilliance - progress review.
Rifle shot prospecting - the whole process.
Speaking with the PA, EA, or Secretary.
Rifle shot follow up and the other closing questions.
Follow-up contingencies and the closing question.
The rifle shot letter follow-up - a time to call.
The rifle shot letter envelope
The rifle shot letter signature line.
The rifle shot approach - using a headline.
Getting attention through parallel messages.
The campaign approach - send a report, white paper, or PDF.
The campaign approach - an old-fashioned letter.
The campaign approach - LinkedIn invitation.
Sales prospecting email psychology
What to say in a sales voicemail.
Sales Prospecting - the campaign approach.
How to get introduced by someone whom you do know.
How to get introduced by someone whom you don't know.
The social selling 'Get Introduced' system - part 4
The social selling 'Get Introduced' system - part 3.
The social selling 'Get Introduced' system shortcut.
The social selling 'Get Introduced' system - part 1.
Sales prospecting with or without LinkedIn?
The most reliable way to start more sales conversations.
How will you fill the top of your sales funnel?
How much time should you spend generating sales leads?
How to set a sales prospecting target.
What are the top three customer problems that you fix?
Find out how the problems you solve, manifest - 3
Putting yourself on your customer's team - 2
Sales brilliance - what we have covered and still have to address.
How to get around an intermediary.
What do you do to move a sales opportunity along?
How do you keep track of your sales leads and opportunities?
Which of these steps are part of your customers' typical buying process?
What should you do first - define your sales process or choose a CRM system?
Trial close testing questions - 15
Relationship testing questions - 14
Hypothetical testing questions - 13
Eliminate mistakes with testing questions - 12
Use rhetorical questions to plant ideas - 11
Make it their idea with planting questions - 10
Steering question examples and an exercise - 9
Initiating question preparation and examples - 8
How to keep New Year resolutions.
Overt and covert question styles - 7
Mirroring for rapport and better answers - 6
Using sensory language to increase rapport - 5
Matching for rapport and better answers - 4
How to build trust quickly in a conversation - 3
What to do when you get closed answers to open questions - 2
The questioning skills that you never knew were needed - 1.
Sales Methods for Every Stage of the Sales Process
Integrating the Customers Buying Process with the Sales Process
How to Develop Better Sales Methods
Sales Brilliance - People Reading Skills
Putting things in Perspective and Managing Response for Mental Toughness
Mental Toughness through a Pledge, Vow, or Oath
How to Increase Mental Toughness - Healthy Living
Mental Toughness from Realistic Practise
Using Stress Exposure to Increase Mental Toughness
How to Increase Mental Toughness - Anticipation and Preparation
Visualise to Increase Mental Toughness
Learn from Everything to Increase Mental Toughness
How to Increase Mental Toughness by Choosing Helpful Attitudes
How to Increase Mental Toughness with Clear Goals
How to Increase Mental Toughness by Getting Emotions Under Control
Using a Positive Internal Narrative to Increase Mental Toughness
How to Increase Mental Toughness
Mental Toughness - Definition and Opportunity
What it takes to be Brilliant in Sales - Reader Choices
What it Takes to be Brilliant in Sales
Sales Qualification - Qualifying Customer Competence
Sales Qualification - Qualifying the Competition
Sales Qualification - Qualifying the Approvers
Sales Qualification - Qualifying the Decision Criteria
Sales Qualification - Qualifying the Evaluation Plan
Sales Qualification - Qualifying the Business Case
Sales Qualification - Qualifying Decision Makers and Influencers
Sales Qualification - Pressure Forcing Action
Sales Suspect Pre Qualification
Sales Brilliance - Discovery Qualification
Cultural Intelligence 10 - Review
Cultural Intelligence 9 - Trust
Cultural Intelligence 8 - Achievement
Cultural Intelligence 7 - Rules
Cultural Intelligence 6 - Time
Cultural Intelligence 5 - Communication
Cultural Intelligence 4 - Risk
Cultural Intelligence 3 - Power
Cultural Intelligence 2 - Identity
Cultural Intelligence 1 - Definition
Sales brilliance - Intrinsic Motivators 4
Sales Brilliance - Intrinsic Motivators 3
Sales Brilliance - Intrinsic Motivators 2
Sales Brilliance - Intrinsic Motivators 1
Sales Brilliance Aspects Contributed
What Does it Take to be brilliant in Sales?
Use a Sprint to Win a New Customer
Project Sprints - How They Help Get Things Done
How to Transform Ideas into Innovations
Creative Tactics for Brilliant Ideas 3
Creative Tactics for Brilliant Ideas 2
Creative Tactics for Brilliant Ideas 1
Oh No! Voicemail - What do you Say?
Simple Steps to Set Up a Cold Outreach System
Set Up a Sales Prospecting System
Even the Most Driven Person Needs Downtime
Reasons for Questions Offered by Yesterday's Commenters
Can Questions Cause People to Think Particular Thoughts?
When You Hear or Read a Question . . .
What Do You Do to Protect Your Health?
How to Improve Forecast Accuracy 5 - Confidence
How to Improve Forecast Accuracy 4 - Qualification Checklist
How to Improve Forecast Accuracy 3 - Stage Percentage
How to Improve Forecast Accuracy 2 - Process Alignment
How to Improve Forecast Accuracy 1 - The Buying Process
Is Sales Forecasting an Art or a Science?
How Agility Addresses Ambiguity (VUCA)
How Understanding Supersedes Uncertainty (VUCA)
How Vision Mitigates Volatility (VUCA)
Is Your World VUCA - Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous?
Forced Learning - Can it Work?
What are the Best Things to Say in a Sales Letter?
Set Yourself Apart With a Sales Letter
What is the Best Way to Find New Customers?
Do you get sales approaches that are off the mark?
How Do You Feel About Cold Calling?
Story Lessons from 'Save The Cat' by Blake Snyder
Create Compelling 25-word Sales Stories
Never Make a Point Without Telling a Story
Never Tell a Story Without Making a Point
As Stephen Covey Put it, "Put First Things First"
Why Do Things Always Take Longer than You Think they Will?
How to Reduce the Cost of Selling
Is Your Cost of Selling Rising?
How Do You Start a Conversation With a Sales Suspect?
If You Had Bread to Sell and a List of Hungry People
Aristotle's Pillars of Persuasion
Do You Keep Track of Contact Events?
What Sayings and Principles Guide You?
How is What You Sell, Different?
Do You Look People Up Before You Meet or Speak?
What Goes On Inside the Minds of Senior Executives?
Do You Think that You Should be Selling More?
How to Overcome Your Greatest Sales Challenge
How to Use Strategy in Any Competitive Scenario
How Do You Use the Term, Strategy?
How Consultants, Experts, and Trainers Add Value
Everything that You Want to Know, Almost
Where Can You Get a 100% Return on Investment Today?
What Should Be a Salesperson's Virtues?
Types of Proof that Your Stuff Does What You Claim
How to Be Better Prepared for Recovery
How Do Customers Decide what to Buy?
People Often Say that Motivation Doesn't Last
What are the Worst Sales Habits?
Do Any of These Business Scenarios Resonate?
Have Clive Miller facilitate or lead an online session on any of the topics or issues raised in these sales help posts. Call +44 (0)1392 851500 or email jimm@salessense.co.uk for details.
