The Sales Challenge Blog

So, Like, Here’s My, Like, Blog A few years ago, I read a piece about a mom and dad trying to rid their daughter of an annoying habit. They knew approaching her directly would result in the kind of defensive spewing expected from your average teenager. So, they decided to take another

Do You Have Sales Fever? One of my daughters called me a few weeks ago. She had applied for a new job and was in the midst of the interview process when it suddenly dawned on her, this was not a company she was particularly passionate about. She wanted to know if I thought she should stop the

Time to Set Your Summer Plans It's a Friday in July. You roll your wrist (or check your cell phone) and see the time is 1 PM. Your phone rings. "Dude," the caller says, "were teeing off in an hour and need a fourth. Are you in?" Your ability to instantly say, "Yes," is determined in the

Win Those Bids At Your Price You are one of five sales reps bidding on a job. The client calls and says, "Yours was not the lowest price. Congratulations. We are placing the order with you." How did you accomplish that? Your phone rings. A client has invited you to sit in on a planning

Change the Rules, Win the Game An RFQ comes in. You are asked to bid on a wide variety of products in a number of different quantities. The client wants pricing to be the same regardless of the quantity ordered. They want one flat shipping rate. They want preferred delivery. Their list of "demands"

The Optimist in the Room Have you ever been in a meeting where ideas are offered up and immediately shot down, one after another? Have you ever spoken to someone in an attempt to help them solve a problem and every option is immediately met with a reason as to why it just won't work? Now contrast

A Difficult Sales Decision You are prospecting a bank. A big bank. This would be a coup if you landed it. After many attempts and several months, you are finally granted an audience. At the end of the phone call setting up a time to meet, the client adds: "Make sure you bring samples of other

Read the Room I was out looking for a new car recently and, after some amount of research and discussion with Allison, settled on an Audi convertible. My next step was to go and get some hands-on education at a dealership. That's where I met Joe. Joe was the sales rep (or Audi Brand Specialist,