Train to Learn to Win

50 billion dollars were invested in training in the United States. Winners outperformed the S&P 2005 index by 2 to 1!

Shifting Your Mindset for Sales Success

So many people struggle to achieve sales, whether running their own businesses, as principles in a professional firm, or actually employed as a sales person. The challenge for many, is to get their mind working in the right way in order to give them a good chance to achieve success. Their self-talk will influence their behaviour and whether they can use the skills required.

High-Tech Selling: Is It Really That Difficult?

Selling high-tech products and services is much more difficult than selling most other products and services: Truth, or just a popular myth? Selling anything that is not a known commodity can be difficult. However, most of the difficulty is created by salespeople themselves. Here are some of the reasons why high-tech Sales seems so difficult - and how the typical selling process just reinforces that myth.

Are You Stuck or Can You Get It?

Why do many salespeople remain faithful believers in obsolete selling strategies? We are talking about intelligent, successful salespeople. People whom, if they opened their minds to a totally new concept, could easily double their income without working any harder. That question has puzzled and frustrated us during the 14 years that we have been in the sales training business.

Abducted by Aliens?

There are situations where it is imperative to reach a particular prospect at a particular time. Perhaps you are trying to reach that prospect to introduce yourself, your company and your products or services. Perhaps you are trying to reach a prospect to continue a conversation or to follow up on a next step in your sales cycle. You have tried everything. You have called repeatedly at different times throughout the day, you have left messages, you have sent emails… All with no response.

The Sales Training Series: Sell By Agreeing On At Least 3 Needs

Salespeople know that they’re supposed to sell to the customer’s needs. Here is the classic—and tragically wrong—way they usually learn to do it: Uncover the first need. Begin a product presentation, covering features and benefits, and then attempt to uncover another need and then give more product talk, etc.

The Sales Training Series: Dealing With Sales Objections and Stalls

Most salespeople think of “stalls” and “objections” as synonyms. Wrong. Stalls and objections are both things you may hear after you have asked for commitment, but an objection is a specific reason not to buy. In a stall—“I need to think about it”—the customer offers no particular reason for hesitating.

The Sales Training Series: Five Buying Decisions

Have you ever had a customer that seemed to reject nearly everything that you were presenting? We all have. Research on the customer's buying decisions has revealed that a customer's resistance may not be caused by what you present. It could be the sequence of your presentation.

The Sales Training Series: How To Develop A Strong Sales Culture

In every other business function (accounting, engineering, operations) there are documented processes, common cultures, and established vocabularies with terms that are clearly understood—everywhere except in sales.

The Sales Training Series: The Right Way To Sell

How Will This Buying Decision Be Made? Three-quarters of the secret to professional, strategic selling boils down to asking the Best Questions and listening carefully to the answers. Most of the Best Questions have to do with uncovering the crucial, underlying needs your products or services might serve. But you also must know how to sell to a particular account. Using the same strategy for all customers is a big mistake. The issue is: how do you compete for this customer's business?

If You Are in Sales Do You Carry a Flashlight

It didn't take much to convince me to leave Toronto Canada in the middle of winter and go to Scottsdale. Little did I know how much that trip would change my outlook on selling.

Equality and Diversity

A look at Impact Factory's approach equality and diversity issues. Our focus is on examining people's perspectives on difference, diversity, change management, and the attitudes and feelings which are sometimes difficult for people around equal opportunities work.

Why You Didn't Get the Sale

Selling is a Process! If you miss, leave out, ignore, bypass, or quick forward elements of the process, you are reducing your chances of closing the sale.