The month of May saw an incredible amount of quality sales-focused blog posts; so many that we had trouble choosing which to feature! Here are a few snippets from our favorite posts in May.
Kevin Davis (@TopLineLeader), “Five Keys To More Powerful Sales Meetings”
In his post, Kevin challenges sales leaders to prepare the ending of their meetings before even thinking about the details. This five-step planning method will help you achieve maximum value out of your next meeting.
Step 1: Be very specific about what you want your salespeople to do.
Step 2: Make at least one of the actions something simple your salespeople can do immediately.
Step 3: Outline your conclusion by:
- summarizing the key points
- restating the main benefits and appealing to salespeople’s emotions as well as logic
- telling the salespeople specifically what you want them to do
Step 4: Save your best ‘ah-ha!’ points for last.
Step 5: Follow up to measure the action taken.
Dan Waldschmidt (@danwaldo), “What They Remember About You”
Dan’s post challenges us to think about the types of memories we are creating. He says that in our business and personal lives, what people remember about us is a result of what we are doing right now.
Were you honest?
Were you kind?
Were you thoughtful?
Were you brave?
People remember.
Andy Rudin (@andy_rudin), “What Makes Dumb Sales Questions Dumb?”
Andy’s post explains that there is a fine line between “smart” and “dumb” sales questions. We learned the most from these top 10 qualities of “smart” questions:
- They seek meaningful insight
- They are connected to other questions
- They are efficient
- They properly frame problems
- They aren’t manipulative
- They have the right intentions
- They are well-timed
- They are appropriate
- They build on facts already well known
- They are underpinned by good assumptions
Erika Andersen (@erikaandersen), “Three Simple Ways to Get People to Listen to You”
We couldn’t agree more with Erika’s belief that listening is a skill that is foundational to the success of managers and leaders. In her post, Erika explains that listening to people is a great skill to have, but getting them to listen to YOU is equally as important. Here are snippets of three tactics Erika suggests will help you gain the attention of others:
1. Listen: The most effective way to get people’s attention is to give them yours.
2. Cut to the chase: Before you start talking, take a minute to think about how to communicate the essence of your message in a simple way.
3. Read the room: Even if you’re the most compelling speaker in the world, people won’t listen to you if they’re not interested in your topic. Focus on topics they find interesting and paint a vivid picture.
