The Sales Leader Blog

For cash-starved companies dealing with the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, new deals can’t be closed fast enough. This has given rise to the temptation for sales professionals to resort to pressure, gimmickry, discounting, and just plain hounding in an effort to get fresh greenbacks into the corporate coffers.

There’s nothing more satisfying than the afterglow of a solid sales presentation. You are certain you’ve knocked it out of the park. The presentation was flowing like a silky-smooth river. The buyer was offering expressive nods, occasional smiles, and was engaged in discussing what our future partnership looks and feels like. The proposal has been laid, virtual handshakes exchanged, and, then……

There was a time, perhaps, when a glowing smile, a handshake, and a swipe of the pen was all it took to renew a year of sales to a valuable buyer.

If selling during the pandemic has taught sales leaders anything, it’s that many of our buyers’ CEOs are taking a renewed interest in the procurement side of their business. After all, if the buck stops, truly, with them, it’s little surprise that in a time when budgets are strained and every dollar scrutinized, that CEOs are taking a more active role.

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.