Many sales people are uncomfortable talking about money. Surprise, most prospects are as well and it really doesn't matter what level of experience each has, both may still struggle with the topic. The prospect wants to protect his purchasing power and the sales person wants to develop a solution that fits the budget the prospect is comfortable with. A typical impasse develops.

I remember as a novice sales person giving many a presentation without knowing what range of budget level was available. I'd proudly go back with a thick presentation showing three ranges of possible investment, a low, a medium and a high choice. One of two things typically happened. The prospect took the lowest investment choice or they wanted to negotiate a higher package at a lower investment choice and the fight began.

It's imperative that some ballpark investment level be established before a presentation is made or you are simply throwing darts in the dark and wasting both your time and the prospect's time. Have you ever had a response to a presentation that went something like, "This is great stuff but you're way too high." or "Sorry we didn't budget that kind of money." This is a sure sign that your budget step isn't complete.

Give the prospect some options during the 'needs analysis'.

Bracketing—Ask if you make a presentation between $X amount and $Y amount if they would be comfortable with that. If they aren't, its better you both know in advance.

Third Party Story—Compare the project to another you've completed and let the prospect know what the investment was. Ask if that would fit their budget plans?

There are several other approaches but one thing is definite, without some discussion about the budget, you cannot act as a proper consultant in your profession. A bad budget step can make you busy but it won't make you productive.

_{Reprinted from The President's Club Report, © Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.}

_{Copyright 2011 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.}

_{John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached at Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. or toll free at 1-866-645-2047}

One of the most dangerous parts of the selling process is just after successfully closing a large order for a major account or after a record month of successful sales. David Sandler used to recall a story about Wally Weakcloser. After one of those incredible months when Wally closed ten for ten, he sat on the side of his bed with a sock in his hand saying, "I'm good, but I'm not that good." Wally then goes out and the next month is very bad. In fact, he only closes one or two small sales. At the end of the month he finds himself on the edge of his bed again changing into his pyjamas saying, "Well, I know I am bad, but I am not that bad!" And the next month he goes out and gets back to his normal pattern.
 
What is going on here? Wally's picture of himself is what is driving his sales behaviors. He didn't think he was good enough to be a 10 for 10 sales person. He saw himself as far less capable. His attitude about himself and his capabilities got in the way of a regular pattern of success. Does that ever happen to you? Do you agree that you are making right now exactly what you think you are worth? Would you agree that what is limiting you is not the prospect, not the quality of the leads, not the marketplace, not your product or service, but your own belief about who you are and what you are capable of? Maybe you don't agree.
 
What happens if, after all the hoopla about new leads, all the announcements about the improvement in the marketplace and the economy, and all the investment in improving your product or service....what if you are still not earning what you want? What then?
 
So the real question beyond all these excuses for lack of sales is:
 
How do you move beyond your comfort zone?

_{Reprinted from The President’s Club Report, © Sandler Systems, Inc.  All rights reserved.}

_{Copyright 2011 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.}

_{John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached toll free at 1-866-645-2047}

Answering this question is not easy! Each employee is different. What motivates one employee may de-motivate another. How can a supervisor or manager know how to motivate 5, 10, even 100 employees who are each different? It is very difficult to know who works better alone, who works better virtually, who needs more instruction, or who can take the ball and run with it....

What manager has not been in front of their employees setting goals and giving instructions and then they look across the room and half are shaking their heads, yes -- they get it -- some have a blank look on their face, and others look totally confused! It has nothing to do with skill or intelligence! Each employee is simply wired differently!

Today there are powerful assessment tools on-line that can answer some of these questions for us. What motivates employees? How do different employees learn differently? Why do some employees excel until we promote or move them to a new role, then fail? Why do some frontline people handle customers well, and others not so well? 

Assessment tools can map your employees' motivators, de-motivators, strengths and development areas, and even more importantly their communication style! Employees will learn about themselves, but also learn how to work more cohesively with all their co-workers, meaning better morale, better productivity and an increased bottom line.

_{Reprinted from The President’s Club Report, © Sandler Systems, Inc.  All rights reserved.}

_{Copyright 2011 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.}

_{John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached toll free at 1-866-645-2047}

I’ll bet you don’t hear that one a lot. Why? It’s a special breed of individual who can become a successful business developer.

The good ones make it look easy. Why is that?

Good salespeople like every other top person in their chosen profession have some special talents. Some are technique based, but most of it is attitude and behaviour based. Learning to be skilful with professional selling techniques is only part of the winning strategy. The top people learn how to be professional communicators, craft compelling questions, and qualify on many levels to determine if the opportunity is real. They learn to listen and understand prospect’s “real” issues rather than just the surface problems. And they conduct themselves like business people in sales rather than a vendor who sells on price.

Positive attitude is critical to sales success. It’s a high-rejection business. It’s not every day that a person faces each day knowing that they will get rejected fifteen times. How do the pros handle that?

Productive behaviour is even more important. Rejecting the emotional feelings of rejection that play havoc with your head, facing the fear of failure and the temptation to procrastinate is the only way to be successful in sales.

It’s a rare breed indeed who successfully makes sales and business development their profession. But it’s also no surprise that they rise to own or run the operations they work with.

_{Reprinted from The President's Club Report, © Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.}

_{Copyright 2011 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.}

_{John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .}