Thomas Massie

If your closing rate is suffering or it’s taking longer than it should to close sales, you may be sabotaging your own efforts. Take a close look at how you interact with your prospects and make sure that each interaction adds value to the relationship, is focused on defining the opportunity, and keeps the selling process moving forward.

Ryan, a salesperson in his mid-fifties, had hit a performance plateau. His commissions had been flat for the past six months, and he had narrowly missed quota in each of those months. He scheduled a meeting with his manager to see if they could identify any steps that would turn this pattern around.

It's difficult to argue that sales is the lifeblood of any organization. How well and how often your business makes a sale, determines its success. The proper management of the sales team and the sales process is critical.

Failing to plan is planning to fail", and whether you are starting a new company, launching a new product, or beginning your new fiscal year. A well thought-out business plan or playbook will help ensure success.  Read the 7 key elements for a successful business plan.

As Sales Professionals, we can't think of many prospecting options that we enjoy more than a busy Trade Show floor. Why? Where else can you get so much practice? Where else can you interact with multiple prospective clients each hour? Where else do you have people approaching YOU about your products or services?

On the other hand, you must be really effective at engaging people in conversation, and in the RIGHT conversation, to assure your Trade Show success.

On average, it takes 6 attempts to contact a prospect before a connection is made.  So when prospecting, if you leave a voicemail, make sure you use the right timing and techniques to get the contact to respond.  Follow Thomas' 8 Tactics to improve your chances of callbacks.