The Q and A Sales Podcast

Paul reveals the steps to develop your sales team into value-added top achievers. Show Notes If you expect your team to be top achievers, you need to train them like top achievers. Make training and development part of your sales culture. Positive momentum = progress. Reinforcing and acknowledging the effort increases confidence. Remove your team's ability to discount. How much harder would your t...

Paul shares five ideas to accelerate your deals through the pipeline. Show Notes Do you know where your ultimate decision maker is? Verify that they will be involved in your meeting. What departments will be affected by this decision? Make sure you are talking with the right people. Clearly define to the customer the benefit of moving quickly on this deal. What will it cost them to wait? Internal...

Paul shares the seven secrets to creating a motivational environment for your sales team. Show Notes You can't motivate people. Really?! Listen to find out just what that means. Education is critical to building confidence. Help your team develop the necessary skill set to sell successfully. Selling is a delicate balance between controllable effort and uncontrollable outcomes. Increase your team's...

Paul provides some guidance on the many facets and layers of handling customer complaints. Show Notes Customer service is better equipped to handle certain types of customer complaints. But the severity of the issue could require sales rep involvement. Who has the expertise to solve the problem the right way: customer service, technical, maintenance, sales team, leadership, etc.?   Keep the custom...

Paul provides the Dos and Don'ts of presenting your price confidently. Show Notes Nervous? You're asking the customer for money. There's no greater time to display absolute confidence. DO NOT telegraph that a cheaper price is available. The customer's expectations will be anchored to that lower-priced option. Apologizing for your price sends the message that you're not providing the prospect a fai...

Paul helps you recognize just how many opportunities you're leaving on the table. Show Notes One of the great benefits of having a longstanding relationship with a customer is also one of the greatest threats to growing that business—familiarity. Become "unfamiliar" with your existing customers and bring a fresh set of eyes to see the new opportunities you could pursue with them. What business is...

Paul provides some practical ways to help you get back to it and maximize your performance after vacation. Show Notes Returning to the grind is tough. You unplug for a week or two and then, BAM, you're right back at it. It's like vacation never really happened. Conduct a Weekend at Bernie's pipeline review. Tune in to find out just what Paul means by that. A deceptively inflated pipeline accounts...

Paul discusses the importance of customer expectations and how to exceed those benchmarks. Show Notes Expectations are the true benchmarks of satisfaction. Do not make the mistake of under promising because you will inevitably live down to those expectations. Set the expectation high—then deliver! How can you unexpectedly serve your customers better? When you make big promises, you extend your cap...

Paul dives deep into handling price objections by showing the value you bring. Show Notes One of the biggest lies in business: "It's just business." Nothing could be further from the truth. When you go above and beyond for the customer, when you answer that weekend call, you make it personal. Remember, when customers challenge the price, they're challenging the value. How many of your customers ne...

Paul reminds you to TAKE A VACATION! Show Notes There are innumerable mental and physical benefits to taking time off. Since the pandemic and the shift toward remote work, the lines between work, home, family, and fun have been blurred.   You can't serve from an empty cup. Take a vacation and refill that cup. Set your targets and goals every year with your vacation reward in mind. When you are on...

Paul tells what to do and what not to do when establishing a sales process. Show Notes A sales process will guide you through the uncertainty of customer decision making. Deals will stall out. Where is the opportunity lost? A sales process will help you pinpoint where the deal fell through. Your sales process should not be about how your company wants to sell, but how your customer wants to buy. T...

Paul offers tips to help you maintain that high activity level and ensure your sales success, even in these slow summer months. Show Notes Messaging matters. We must communicate a message of value that will compel the prospect to act. Listen in to find out those three questions you need to answer for impactful customer messaging. When you identify a problem to solve, the customer is going to be mo...

Paul offers four ideas to help you through that inevitable long sales cycle. Show Notes Adopt a small-wins approach. Small wins help you focus through a long cycle. Timing is important. Show up early in the decision making process to get a seat at the table and show up often so you can spot those buying trigger events. Throughout the sales cycle, identify pressure points that may establish urgency...

Paul focuses on building strong customer relationships. Those relationships matter. Show Notes In two separate buyer surveys, "relationship with the salesperson" ranked higher (more important) than price. Expand your footprint and meet multiple decision makers. The more people you meet with, the more protected the opportunity will be. You are in the "hero" business. Make your customer look like a...

Paul stresses the value of learning from your wins and your losses. Show Notes The pain of failure motivates us to learn. The excitement of winning…addictive. Establish a benchmark of small wins from your ten most recent successes. Hone in on the phase of your process at which you win/lose the deal. Win or lose, schedule a debrief with the customer/prospect for candid feedback. Did you enjoy the p...

In Paul's interview with David Newman, they provide valuable insight into some of the most common challenges salespeople face, including connecting with those top prospects. Show Notes What do you like about sales? "We get to talk to people about solving their problems or getting their outcomes. We're on the same side of the table. We're on the same team… I think it's a wonderful, collaborative pr...

Paul discusses the importance of the sales process from a seller standpoint as well as the leadership standpoint. Show Notes: Selling is neither easy nor predictable. Having a sales process will guide you. Trust the process. A sales process gives you structure to progress the sale forward. Are you struggling? A sales process will help you identify the phase at which your sales are stalling so that...

Paul shares ideas on how to use the easiest, fastest way to grow your business—your referral network. Show Notes One of the easiest ways to reduce price sensitivity is to get referred into an opportunity. Constantly build your network by participating in industry events, i.e., tradeshows, community events.   Identify and engage your greatest referral sources—your best, most satisfied customers. Se...

Paul gives you great tips to face the next recession with opportunity on your mind versus struggle. Show Notes It's fine. I'm fine. Everthing's fine…Not! You can't outrun a recession. Be prepared. Review your pipeline and increase your activity level by 25%. Do not…DO NOT…lower your standards. Even in a recession, be sure the opportunities you are pursuing fit the profile for good business. Identi...

Paul delves further into the best practice of differentiating your solution and standing out from the competition.   Show Notes Put yourself in the customer's shoes. When looking at your solution, what do they see that is different from the competition? If you're able to offer something different, then you're able to charge a premium for that. Look at your customer's Critical Buying Path ® . Ident...

Paul provides insight on how to improve communication by answering four important questions for your customers in your marketing one-sheet. Show Notes What do you call it when you explain who you are, what you do, and to whom you sell, and all in under 50 words? Listen and find out. Do a deep dive into your company, your products/services, and yourself to uncover the value-added extras you offer y...

Paul focuses on the challenge of selling value in a tough, competitive market. Show Notes It begins with attitude. If you believe your solution is the same as everyone else's, that's exactly what your customer is going to think.   You must remind yourself that you are selling a unique, bundled package: the three dimensions of value (the company, the product, and you – the salesperson). There is no...

Paul has the privilege of speaking with John O'Leary about what and who gave him the strength and courage to overcome even the most devastating circumstances. Show Notes   "The greatest generation wasn't made great because their life was easy. It was actually extraordinarily difficult."  John O'Leary Tough times expose our weaknesses so we can get stronger. "We think, when the times are good, we c...

Paul shares some great ideas that will help you become a top achiever. Show Notes Top achievers maintain a high level of activity. They are constantly filling the pipeline with opportunities. High-value targets (HVTs) are the opportunities that yield the greatest return on your investment of time. Is your pipeline full of HVTs? Build no fewer than six (6) key relationships in each opportunity. Bri...

Paul explains the importance of building solid relationships with your customers. Show Notes Relationship selling IS NOT DEAD! It is alive and kicking. Top sales achievers consistently attribute their sales successes to their customer relationships. Price is only an issue in the absence of value. The relationships you build with customers create immense value. Every relationship you build is going...