The Sales Leader Blog

For those sales pros who have come up empty after a sales pitch, there are a variety of reasons that things may go awry – the offering may not align, or budgets may not be in sync. But if trust, empathy, and, yes, Aretha – respect – are not present, you might end up singing for your supper.

In a world still awakening from a virtual economic shutdown, it’s tempting, as sales professionals, to try and do everything TODAY. After all – that fourth-quarter commission isn’t going to make itself.

Video conferencing has been a boon to sales professionals during the age of virtual selling – a saving grace that has allowed commerce to roll forward in a time when COVID-19 has denied us face-to-face interaction.

In more than 40 years of coaching sales professionals here at The Brooks Group, we’ve been able to identify, with a fair amount of accuracy, the five types of selling profiles that define the professional

With most businesses still reeling from the economic impacts of the first half of 2020, and with a few months remaining this calendar year, it’s time to end the bemoaning, wound-licking, and belly-aching; to reset the tables; and to focus on real solutions to maximize your revenues right now.

It’s been quite a ride since mid-March, and as sales leaders, you likely are still trying to make sense of a marketplace that can often be nonsensical.

For those companies that produce cloth face coverings and hand sanitizer, congratulations. By no fault of your own, you have found yourselves suddenly thrust into “hand-over-fist” proportioned sales success, and to you, we say, keep up the good work.

If sales were a boxing match, you could equate the second quarter of 2020 to a seasoned heavyweight champion who has been knocked to the canvas multiple times, and each time, continues to pull themselves up.

Like it or not, distractions have now evolved with the times. Though we can label some of these competitors for our attention as “multi-tasking,” most represent diversions that keep us from being singularly focused on the matters at hand.

With an internal soundtrack fueled by Willie Nelson’s hit tune, “On the Road Again,” or perhaps with the melody of the Doobie Brothers’ “Takin’ it to the Streets” in your head, it’s time to get back in the marketplace.

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world with its full fury, it quickly became evident that empathy would rule the day.

If learning how to sell in the “next normal” isn’t difficult enough, there’s a new face at buying conversations these days that’s causing sellers to tear up the playbook and rewrite the conversation.