Keith Rosen’s Executive Sales Coaching Blog on Selling, Leadership, Management » All About Selling

Just got this email and thought I’d share it with you. Looks like a good resource.

Hi Keith!
We just posted an article, “Top 100 Blogs to Boost Your Sales Skills.” I thought I’d bring it to your attention in case you think your readers would find it interesting.

I am happy to let you know that your site has been included in this list.

Thanks for your time!

Here’s one of the photos that was taken at Ziglar headquarters in Plano, Texas in the studio after my conversation with Zig last week that I’m fortunate to say we captured on video. So, keep your eyes out for those clips which I hope to post soon!

Listen to the full podcast here.

Companies are running so fast in an attempt to catch up on their sales numbers that they aren’t aware of the blinders they’ve developed which are obstructing their view of the fuller picture when it comes to selling and driving the right sales activity, especially the deeper level of questioning and discovery every salesperson needs to engage in today.

Sure, you can ask your prospects the more generic questions about the current products, services, solutions and venders they currently use. But what about the questions that facilitate a buying decision; the tougher questions that help you better understand if this prospect is, in fact, even qualified to buy from you now, in the near future or ever? Delivering a recent seminar to a senior team of sales professionals reinforced how most salespeople, regardless of how experienced or seasoned, are still stepping over the additional questions I’m suggesting we need to ask.

I’m referring to questions that uncover:

Here’s a tip from your coach: Low closing percentages = a misalignment in who you should be presenting to and following up with in the first place.

If you don’t have the answers to these questions, you’re robbing yourself of the opportunity to enjoy the certainty and peace of mind that comes from utilizing a formulaic approach to selling. After all, if you define it, you can then refine it.

So, if you’re ever wondering why you or other salespeople fall into what’s known as a ‘sales slump,’ here’s the main cause of that. They aren’t honoring their sales process by the numbers and as such, those who continue to ‘wing it’ as their overall selling strategy are destined to experience the ups and downs in performance and in their stress level, as well as the waning sense of satisfaction and confidence that’s sure to follow in its wake when this amount of ambiguity and uncertainly is present.

In this podcast, I detail several critical questions you need to answer that will enable you to uncover the gaps in your data pool that in turn, will help refine your overall approach to how you prospect and sell and the measurable effort that’s required for you to do so successfully.

Listen to the full podcast here.

Here’s something new CanDoGo.com is doing, which sounds worthwhile to check out, especially if you’re a fan of certain thought leaders and gurus on selling, such as Tom Hopkins and Zig Ziglar.

This week, the week of May 11th-May 15th, they are honoring a living legend Zig Ziglar. CanDoGo.com will be featuring classic short video’s including some of Zig Ziglar’s most memorable messages on sales, leadership, hope, and encouragement.

Let’s show Zig how much we appreciate him and tap into some of his greatest archives. Just visit CanDoGo.com. Here is just a sample of a classic Zig Ziglar tip you can find here.

(You can also find my content on CanDoGo.com as well here.)

Next week’s tribute? CanDoGo’s tribute, honoring none other than, Tom Hopkins will begin May 25th.

What a wonderful email to wake up and read.

“I am delighted to confirm that your article, Don’t Sell Like You Buy published by Sales Gravy has been selected as one of the top ten sales articles for April.”

It seems that this article, (actually on of my personal favorites) Don’t Sell Like You Buy has been nominated for one of the best sales Articles of the Month on Top10SalesArticles.com.

You can read the full article here. Below is an except. This article is a result of an experience I had during a training event I was delivering. Another example of learning and sharing the experiences I gain from my clients and every training event I deliver.

“If you’ve never used a certain selling technique, prospecting approach or a particular set of targeted qualifying questions, then how do you know whether or not they will work or how they will be received by your prospects?”

I was building my case. I then turned to the audience and said, “Do not sell the way you buy.”

Now, you may feel at this point that I’m contradicting some universal selling principles. After all, conventional sales wisdom handed down through the ages suggests how important it is to empathize and sympathize with your prospects and clients.

However, there’s a very fine line between understanding and respecting someone’s decision making process; and assuming that everyone makes a purchasing decision in the same manner and using the same criteria that you do. Moreover, there is also the faulty assumption that your prospects respond in a similar fashion to the type of sales approach and the type of salesperson that you respond to and would buy from.

I then shared a personal example of the dangers of selling like you buy. “Folks, if I sold in the same manner in which I make a purchase and then in turn, transfer those values and beliefs on each prospect that I speak with, then I could tell you with great certainty that I would not be up here talking with you today.”

Reason being, when I make a purchase of any substantial amount, I take the time to research my options and learn about the different products or services available. By the time I’m ready to actually make the purchase, whether it’s something for my home, a television a car or a computer, more often than not, I will know more about the product, the competition and the marketplace than the person who is attempting to sell it to me.

My point is, if I started selling the way in which I make a purchasing decision, I am now putting my values, thought process and beliefs on the customer, assuming they purchase the same or in a similar way that I do. The result? More objections, less sales.

Besides, what if I was talking with an impulsive or assertive prospect who was ready to buy? I would be talking myself right out of the sale!”

Lets defuse a costly myth. The old adage of putting yourself in their shoes is really a costly assumption that destroys many a selling opportunity. Why? Because when you “look through their eyes” or attempt to see things how you assume they see them, it is still really what you see, not what they see.

The result? You develop a sales process based on how you think they buy rather than how they actually make a decision. Why? Because how you think they buy is really how you buy. (Is your brain twisted enough yet?)

If you truly want to wear their shoes, then you need to know how they think and what is important to them. Therefore, the only way to uncover how the prospect likes to process information, make a purchasing decision and the criteria they use to do so is by asking better questions.

Now, lets take this same ineffective model of selling like you buy and turn it around for a moment. If this belief of selling like the way you buy is getting in the way of taking certain actions or asking certain questions when on a sales call, then what about other things that you are doing or saying which you think are safe to you but in fact, are not safe or comfortable for the person you are speaking with because you’re still operating off the same tool, costly assumptions!

The lesson; Don’t believe everything you sell, I mean, tell yourself.

Salespeople who sell in the same manner in which they buy are sure to have a lower number of satisfied clients. Take a look at some different scenarios where utilizing your own beliefs, assumptions and value system can have a detrimental effect on your performance and income.

1. Since Carol usually shops around before choosing which company to buy from or which product to buy, she accepted the prospect’s reason for doing the same. Like herself, she couldn’t expect people to make a decision during the initial consultation.




2. When Mike makes a purchasing decision, he usually purchases the least expensive item available. He thinks you can get the same top value at a lowest price. Although he represents one of the highest quality products in his industry, the amount of money he sold for was always at the lowest profit margin. Mike had a hard time asking for more money, even though he was offering the consumer the highest in value.




3. Robert hated hearing sales presentations. When he went out on his appointments, he was always done within thirty minutes. In order to effectively cover all of the necessary information and provide the right solutions for the prospect, the average time a representative should invest during an appointment was between two to three hours.




4. Dana was very indecisive when it came to making a purchasing decision. Because this was inherent in her personality, she offered her customers many different alternatives. The end result was confusion on the consumer’s end, on Dana’s end and no work order.

There are salespeople out there who are even more indecisive than their prospects. Can you see it? “I’ll ask for the order now. No, I’ll wait a little longer. No, I might miss the opportunity to do so later, so I better do it now.” This can clearly put a damper on your performance as well as your mental health.

1. There was never a “right time” for Bob to purchase a new car. When a prospect explains to Bob that they have other commitments, he totally understood and told them that he would call them back when the time was right. 6. Rhonda always bought from salespeople that were overzealous and aggressive. She tried to emulate that same disposition on every sales call she went out on.

Sell in the manner in which you were trained to sell and stick with the proven selling sequence that works for you and within your industry or profession. You cannot expect prospects to purchase in the same manner as you do.

If you sell in the same manner as you buy, you are instilling your beliefs onto the other people. Since every person’s beliefs and buying habits are different, every prospect processes information differently. What is important to one person may not be important to another. Therefore, there will never be two presentations exactly the same.

While one prospect might weigh company stability and the quality or value of the product as the most important aspect in making their decision, another prospect might weigh price as the most important.

Learn to adapt your presentation around the values of each specific prospect. In the end, people make purchasing decisions based on their style of buying, not yours.

You can read the full article here.

Important webinar below for any business owner, executive and sales manager who’s top priority is to retain customers and bring in more business and more sales today.

The Sales Leadership Imperative! Webinar for Sales Managers Who Need To Get Their Sales Team Selling More Today

DATE: Thursday, April 23, 2009
TIME: 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM Eastern Standard Time
LOCATION: Your Phone or Computer – Live Webinar!

Presented by: Jonathan Farrington & Keith Rosen
Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now here.

For more information or to register click here.

FACT: There has never been a more critical time for sales managers to impact sales and lead from the front.
FACT: The majority of sales managers are simply not equipped with the right skills and tools to do so.

Most sales professionals, in practically every industry sector are struggling to meet sales quotas. And as some look ahead, there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel. The reality is, there are still plenty of opportunities to better retain existing clients and acquire new ones but the rules of engagement have changed – possibly forever.

Sales leaders, who have recognized these changes, are re-educating themselves and their sales teams by adopting a totally new approach to selling as well as leading their team and as such, are forming a new type of sales culture. To drive positive, measurable change and keep their competitive edge, managers must learn how to quickly and effectively coach, motivate and retain their top producers while turning around the underperformers.

Join me and Jonathan Farrington, one of the foremost sales team development experts in the world – for this hard-hitting session. This event has been created specifically for sales leaders who have 100% commitment to doing whatever it takes to elevate their sales team to a whole new level so they can start selling more today.

We will highlight how you can:
• Leverage your personal strengths as well as the hidden talents of your team
• Utilize a proven coaching model to impact performance immediately.
• Engage in daily revenue-generating activities and stop doing the things you shouldn’t be doing in the first place
• Master the language of leaders, to get people into action without resistance
• Develop the infallible confidence of a true champion to model what you want your people to achieve
• Recruit, retain and motivate your top producers and turnaround underperformers
• Turnaround or terminate an underperformer in less than 30 days.

For more information or to register click here.

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now here.

In CanDoGo’s latest post, I found a useful tip that my friend and colleague, Tony Parinello wrote that stands out above the crowd as a selling strategy to adopt that works exceptionally well. Here’s the excerpt from Tony, followed by some more tools you can use when you run into the all too familiar price objection.

When VITO Objects to the Price – By Tony Parinello

“Your price is too high.”

Whenever you’re calling on a Very Important Top Officer, you’re bound to run into some first-call objections. Let’s say you place a telephone call, and when the prospect picks up, you launch into your opening statement and you get interrupted with something that sounds like this:

“I’ve seen your solutions before. Your price is simply too high for our budgets.”

Don’t respond with: “We offer specials. This month, it’s 10 percent of list,” or “What would you consider a fair discount?” or “How much would we have to lower it to get your business?” or “I can talk to my manager and see if we can offer a lower price.”

Instead, I want you to respond with: “Ms. Importanta, could you please define price?”

Don’t be surprised if VITO responds with: “Price is what I pay. It’s what’s on the invoice!”

Be prepared to answer with all of the services you don’t typically charge for and be prepared to put a price tag on all of them, including pre-sales studies, evaluations and other services that are valuable to the prospect and would be costly if they were to hire a consultant or industry expert to perform.

So what have we learned? Here are a few valuable nuggets to walk away with.

First, we’ve learned that it’s our assumptions around the sales process that often sabotage our selling efforts right from the start. In other words, “Your price is too high” can mean several different things depending upon who is sharing this perceived objection with you. After all, what exactly does, “Your price is too high” even mean? Certainly something different to each customer, depending on their point of view.

Unfortunately, the majority of salespeople make the costly assumption that the dollar figure they quoted for the service or product offered is what is really in question. And this can be the farthest thing from the truth. Yet, salespeople will continue to forge ahead and react accordingly, based upon the presumption, their honest belief that it’s the price that is getting in the way of earning their business and if they drop their price, offer some discount or “better deal,” they’ll earn a new customer.

Isn’t it amazing that a salesperson can conduct a one way conversation in their own head and come up with a solution to a customer’s objection without even involving the customer! Yes, salespeople can be incredibly creative, even to the point where it costs us sales.

Fact: Dropping the price before validating and isolating the core roadblock(s) to making a purchasing decision often results in diluting your value, damaging your credibility and ultimately losing the sale rather than winning it.

Here are some healthier responses to this common objection, “Your price is too high” that would serve you better than the typical reactionary and adversarial posture salespeople take in an attempt to defend their price. Besides, if this is the selling environment you create, where it’s ‘you vs. the customer,’ we all know who’s going to win in the end.

The next time you hear, “Your price is too high” respond with the following questions. You’ll be amazed at how much more useful intel you can collect just by going a few layers deeper with more powerful and tactical questioning.

• “How high is too high?”


• “Is it the price or the financing terms/monthly installment?”


• “Is it the price or the value/R.O.I. you think you’re going to realize that concerns you?”


• “Are you referring to the price or the budget you’ve allocated for this project?”


• “Compared to what? What are you comparing it to?”


• “I’m sure you have a good reason to feel this way. May I ask what that is?”


• (If comparing to a lower price.) “Before we explore why you feel my price is too high, why do you think the other prices you received are so low?”

After using these questions to respond to this objection rather than react with an adversarial statement, notice how often the real objection that’s getting in the way of moving forward actually comes down to price. Probably only about 15% of the time, instead of what you initially perceived to be much higher. Since the real objection is often several layers deep, it’s going to be the right, pinpoint questions that deliver the relevant information you need so that you can offer a solution that’s going to fit best.

In my next blog, I’ll unpack the second learning point worth integrating into your selling approach. That is, how, exactly, do you build value?

Just Follow Up Wins Sales Article of The Month on Top Sales Articles.

Read the full article here.

You may know what that next step in your selling process actually is. But do you know exactly, when? Are you confident in what that next step is and when it will be taken? Many salespeople struggle when it comes to determining whether or not to follow up and when that “perfect” time to do so actually is.

Have you ever burdened yourself with these internal questions?

• “Do I call them now, or do I wait until next week?”


• “I think they’ll have time to read my proposal by next Wednesday, so I’ll call them Thursday.”


• “I don’t want to appear desperate or pushy, so maybe I’m better off just waiting another week.”


• “They said they weren’t in a hurry, so I’ll put them on my list to call back next month.”


• “Maybe I should call them today. I mean, it’s been a few weeks since we’ve spoken last and I don’t want to lose this sale!”

This ambiguity in your selling process is then compounded exponentially when you finally reach out to this person, just to connect with their voice mail on the other end.

If any of these questions sound familiar, it’s a safe bet you may be missing a critical step in your selling process. Here’s one of the golden rules of selling which, for many reasons, gets violated every moment of every day.

Always, always, always, have the next step mapped out and agreed upon in every selling situation, in every conversation with a prospect or customer.

This removes the toxic ambiguity that pollutes your mind and your thinking and robs you of time that’s better served focused on more meaningful and rewarding selling activities.

Here’s a link to this article, Just Follow Up.

Selling in today’s economy is tough and likely to get tougher. It’s time to work smarter not harder.

Here’s one solid investment in yourself and your future. Top Dog Sales Secrets, published by SalesDog.com is the ultimate “tough times” sales book because it gives you an advantage over your competition.

Here is some of what you will learn:

You also get over $3,000 worth of powerful sales tools with your purchase. Your sales toolbox contains downloadable e-books, audio programs, video sales training programs, income-increasing special reports and white papers, all yours at no cost from top sales and business growth leaders – including me. Some of these tools are worth far more than the price of the book.

Don’t stress over tough times. Action is the answer. Check it out here.

P.S. The publisher guarantees your “extreme satisfaction.” Take a few moments right now to learn more. It’s also available as an e-Book.

Times are challenging for many businesses, and sales professionals have to help customers and prospects manage risk so buying will continue.

Those salespeople who help businesses successfully manage risk will be able to elevate themselves above the fray of the marketplace to be seen as bringing greater value to their customers. Your customers need to minimize all kinds of risk in many different areas.

I mention this because I recently learned about a brand new eBook by the Sales Bloggers Union (salesbloggers.com) that deals with this very topic. “How to sell more by reducing risk” provides eight different perspectives of risk written by eight of the top international sales bloggers.

They’re actually giving it away for free. Click here to download the free e-book and see what you can learn to maximize your sales.