To Manage or Not

I put the question out there. Should sales people be promoted to managers?

First line management tend to make less money then a top producing sales rep. They deal with HR issues, negotiations and hiring/firing of personnel.

Sales reps only have to worry about their #s and keeping clients happy for the most part.

Most comp plans for sales people are high leverage plans, where when a sales person hits his quota...they have accelerators that kick in. The manager usually needs most or all of the team to hit their numbers, for the managers accelerators to kick in.

So, again I ask you, as a sales person, is it in your best financial interest to be promoted to manager?

Value Proposition

In sales, it is easy to get caught up on features, functions and the latest cools things that a solution offers.  But at the end of the day, what is most important is the value proposition that the solution presents to the potential buyer.  It is important to test your value proposition on potential customers before you endeavor on a large marketing blitz.  It is also important to modify your value proposition to the industry or market that the prospect is in. For example, modifying a value proposition for the government market versus the manufacturing market.

Tradeshow Sales Rule #7

In order to have a successful exhibit at a trade show, it is best to have clear messaging to your prospects. Your backdrop and signage need to have have clear and concise communication regarding your product or service's value proposition(s). This is not a time to be cute with messaging. Direct and clear will be more effective most of the time. Go with it!

Sales Books

There are a ton of good sales books on the market, too many to choose from to be honest. I find that if you learn one valuable lesson or approach from a book, it was worth the read. Some of the books that I have read and recommend are: Selling to VITO, Spin Selling, Solution Selling, and Complex Sales. Selling to VITO is an oldie but goodie. I still recommend this book for individuals that are just starting out in sales. The other sales books are great for all levels.

Sales Confidence

One of the most important characteristics a successful sales person must possess is confidence. The sales person must be confident is their own abilities and the product or service they represent. The sales person must truly beleive that their client will benefit most from their product or service. If that confidence is not present, your success as a sales person will be limited.

Giving and Getting

A valuable lesson during the sales process is that the buyer/seller relationship is one of give and take. Buyers will often try and "get" as much for free as they can from a vendor or partner. As the sales person, you must look to always to and get something from the buyer that you want in return. It is a constant negotiation.

Great sales person

My wife has been a small business owner for 10 years now. She has never spent a dollar on advertising, but yes always has a strong pipeline of business. She is truly one of the best sales people I know. You can see some of her work at www.jamiegoffman.com

Basic Sales Skills

We are given two ears and one mouth. Best sales people know how to listen well to what their clients are asking for and articulate how their company or service can meet their customers needs. Too many sales people look at meetings as an opportunity to talk the entire time, instead of looking at their meetings as an opportunity to really understand their clients desires.