The Q and A Sales Podcast

Paul shares three ideas to manage pending deals during this pandemic. Show Notes: People are emotional and irrational in good times; they are more emotional and irrational in tough times. So, rely on the logic they've already used. "All this uncertainty is clouding our judgment, so let's use our previous logic and reasoning." "Pressure takes the focus off of price. Pressure also establishes urgenc...

Paul shares one idea that will keep you motivated and feeling accomplished. Show Notes: Their top salesperson said, "I'm struggling right now. I just don't know how to stay motivated during this tough time." View negativity and moments of despair as a brief stop on your route, not the destination. A sense of accomplishment gives a sense of pride. Accomplishment motivates us to do more. However, ac...

Paul shares ten questions to prepare you for a sales call in tough and uncertain times.  Show Notes: Apparently, growing marijuana is more important that growing sales! "90% of your competitors are NOT doing this…" Planning is your greatest opportunity to differentiate yourself. These ten questions will help you prepare more effectively. "A sales call with no objective is defective." Value-added s...

Paul interviews sales intelligence guru, Sam Richter. Sam shares ideas for salespeople to become more relevant with better customer research.  Show Notes: The goal is to be exceptionally relevant to what the customer cares about. Most salespeople are missing an opportunity to instantly connect with prospects at a deeper level.  CRM is more than customer relationship management; it's customer relev...

Paul shares five tips when selling mortgage protection life insurance. Show Notes: Although this episode focuses specifically on mortgage protection life insurance, many of these ideas will apply other forms of insurance or financial products. "The big challenge is asking the customer to buy something today; they will hopefully never actually need." Humans are hardwired to think short term. We pla...

Paul shares ten signals that indicate a customer or prospect is ready to buy. Show Notes: The customer will let you know when they are ready to buy. The customer will give you several verbal and non-verbal signals. "An interested buyer will ask for the price. Some salespeople confuse this question as a price objection." Why would they ask the price if they weren't interested? "Don't be too influen...

Could you be doing more harm than good? In this episode, Paul shares the common pitfalls of selling during these tough and uncertain times. Show Notes: Don't be too aggressive. Refocus your energy and effort on aggressively growing your network. It might be more harmful to push deals forward. Focus on backfilling the top of your funnel. Don't serve new prospects at the cost of your current partner...

What if your competitor has cheaper prices and more product? In this episode, Paul shares three ideas to sell more effectively when you are the underdog. Show Notes: "There is the constant back-and-forth question regarding small and large competitors." Big companies can't do what small companies can and vice versa.  "In Value-Added Selling , over 600 customers indicated that price was not the most...

In this inspiring episode, Dirk Beveridge shares his perspective on leadership in these uncertain times.  Show Notes: Health is the big difference about this crisis. There is an entire generation of professionals who are experiencing their first crisis. "Life's been pretty damn good the past ten years. I know we're going to make it through this but …" Leaders need to understand the depth of concer...

Paul shares eight ideas to help you effectively manage and lead your team through these tough times. Show Notes:  If salespeople report to you, your number one job is to coach them, lead them, and manage them. "Now is the time to further develop your team. Role-play with them, work on their phone skills, and lift them up." Pressure rolls downhill. "Don't apply pressure to your team to hit their nu...

Paul shares six ways to build mental strength. Every day is an opportunity to become stronger. Get your Mental Daily Flex Exercise downloadable PDF. Show Notes: "Gratitude reduces stress. It also increases your happiness." There is always something to be grateful for. "Tough times are going to sharpen your senses and spark creativity." Give yourself the freedom to explore this creativity. The pain...

During tough times you will face price objections. In this episode, Paul shares five ideas to manage price objections. Show Notes: In good times or bad times, buyers want value. When buyers question price, they're really questioning the fairness of your price for the value they receive. Price is only an issue in the absence of value. "The first step is clarifying the objection to uncover the root...

How do you build customer relationships if you can't meet with customers? In this episode, Paul shares three tips to build relationships during this crisis. Show Notes:   A salesperson recently asked, "How can I continue to build relationships with my customers during these crazy times? It's hard to build a relationship if I can't even meet with them." Any good relationship is built upon trust. Th...

Mental toughness is critical in tough times. In this episode, Jimmy Vreeland, an Army Ranger, shares his insight on mental toughness. Show Notes: "I love creating value for other people, but I don't run a charity and dollars follow value. So maybe you're not collecting the cash right now, but to me, selling is creating value. So, if you're up and you're breathing, you better be creating value." -...

Paul shares the characteristics of tough timers and how they respond to adversity. Customers also have three additional concerns during this coronavirus crisis.  Show Notes: "When heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on any man, it will exercise his mind with suffering, subject his sinews and bones to hard work, expose his body to hunger, put him to poverty, place obstacles in the path...

Right now, there is a cloud of uncertainty. In this episode, Paul shares four tips to manage these uncertain times.  Show Notes: "All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." ~ Walt Disney Leadership is critical in these uncertain times. Sale...

Between the bear market and the global coronavirus pandemic, salespeople are facing uncertainty. In this episode, Paul shares several tips to sell in uncertain times. Show Notes "There is no profession better equipped to handle uncertainty than salespeople. Think about it. Salespeople face uncertainty every single day." "You need to embrace an unwavering belief that our best days are yet to come."...

Paul shares four tips to help you build a better sales pitch. But before building your sales pitch, you must gain an in-depth understanding of the customer's needs. Show Notes: To build an effective sales presentation remember the four P's: P ersonalize the message, build p erceived value, demonstrate p erformance value, and use p roof. "The buyer must feel like your solution was created specifica...

Paul shares seven tips to help new salespeople become more successful.  Show Notes What do salespeople have in common with Albert Einstein? "The best advice I could give any salesperson whether you're new or experienced, is to be a person of value."   Focus on making a difference, not just a deal. Although you just graduated from school, you're becoming a student all over again. "Be a student of y...

Are customers giving you all the credit you deserve? Paul shares three examples to reinforce and validate the value you deliver. Show Notes: "Nobody gets the credit they deserve; you only get the credit you ask for." Therefore, its…  "As most people are unaware of the air they breathe; most customers are unaware of the value they receive." Your customer is not intentionally forgetting about your v...

Paul shares three tips to help you sell against a (sucky) competitor without badmouthing them. Show Notes "We all have that one competitor that everyone loves to hate."  It's shocking how some customers choose a solution that is vastly inferior to other alternatives. Yet, these same decision makers are not likely to change. "Even if the competitor is really terrible, there are still a few customer...

Relationship building is a critical skill for salespeople, especially new salespeople. In this episode, Paul shares several relationship-building tips.  Show Notes The foundation of any good relationship is trust. As a new salesperson, your initial goal shouldn't be building relationships, it should be building trust.   "Trust means that you deliver the good news and the bad news. It means setting...

Have you ever struggled to compete with Amazon? In this episode, Paul shares several ideas to help you compete more profitably, even against Amazon Show Notes: Is Amazon really that tough of a competitor? Our research shows that customers want more than cheap prices.  "Although Amazon can beat your price, can they beat you at the other ten items?" If you're trying to beat Amazon, take a tip from J...

It's difficult, but not impossible, to communicate value in a competitive bid. In this episode, we cover several tips that will help you sell more profitably in bidding scenarios. Show Notes: The acronym RFP might stand for Request For Proposal. It really means Request For Price! Think about it…buyers are trying to squeeze every bit of margin out of the deal by putting you into a competitive scena...

Paul explains what perceived value is and how it influences your buyer's expectations. Show Notes  The buyer's perception is reality. How they perceive your value does matter. Perceived value is the look and feel of your solution. Perceived value raises your buyer's expectation.  "Price builds perceived value and impacts the buyer's perception. It's a good thing to be more expensive than your comp...