Category Archives: Pharma Sales
Individualizing Your Sales Message
Each person is different. No one would dispute that fact. Then why is it that time after time, sales people tend to treat all of their customers the same? Perhaps this consistent treatment is rooted in the traditional training that … Continue reading
Closing for the Business
Have you ever been in a situation when you asked a closing question and felt uncomfortable? Many sales people admit to including a close as part of their sales dialogue only when they are being observed by their manager. How … Continue reading
Waving the Sales Call Flag
Many sales reps start a conversation with a potential customer by signaling “This is a sales call!” Few things are likely to turn off a listener more. Waving this “sales call flag” is basically letting your listener know that this conversation will be just like most other sales interactions they have had. It is as if the sales person is saying, “I want to talk you into buying something you may not want and may later regret but by gosh, I am going to do that because what I am doing is important.” Continue reading
Imagination and Sales
I’ve read about all sorts of characteristics that sales people need to possess in order to be successful. One that doesn’t often make the list is imagination. Yet one could argue that this characteristic is essential—you need to be able to imagine how your customer can use your product. In addition, the good sales reps know how to imagine what it is in the mind of their customers (mindset). Imagination also applies to crafting your sales language. You need to be able to imagine how the words you choose will be interpreted by your prospects and customers. Continue reading
Knowing What is Needed is Not Enough
As I was flying home from Philadelphia last week, I got into an interesting conversation while waiting for my plane. Joe, a business manager, was talking about a quote he read recently that 70% of business managers are incompetent! And the experts who derived this statistic were industrial psychologists— the group of psychologists that specializes in business. We got into a great discussion about managers we knew who were competent and those who weren’t.
It made me think of how knowing what to do (and to make things better) and applying that knowledge is not enough. Continue reading
Unassailable Positioning
People tend to do business with people they like and trust. So how do you sell your product if it competes with one represented by a sales person who has established a great relationship with your customer? That’s the value of creating an unassailable position. Continue reading
3 Keys to Outstanding Sales Effectiveness
We all want to be successful in sales but then again we don’t always get what we want now, do we? When you analyze your progress with prospects and clients, sometimes the results are not where you feel they should be. How can you best deal with the realities that we don’t hit a home run every time? Where does the root of this problem lie? I’d contend that the answer to these questions can be traced back to the engine that drives sales excellence….we call it KMR: Continue reading
3 Traits of Great Sales Questions
The ability to create great questions is arguably the most important skill that any sales person can learn. Why? Think about what you are trying to accomplish when you sell—you are trying to change the mind of your customer so that they see your product/service as the better option than what they are currently using or considering. Unless people change the way they think, they are not likely to change the way they act. You must not only provoke thought; you must have them think differently enough to want to act on that “new way of thinking”. How Continue reading
Intent is Everything
Intent is everything in selling. Intent is defined as our mindset at the specific time of an action. When you are involved in a sales conversation, your intent is almost always visible – it is communicated through your every word and action. That’s why I claim that “intent is everything.” Continue reading
