The Q and A Sales Podcast

Paul talks to nationally syndicated columnist, speaker, former marine, and author of Bulletproof Selling , Shawn Rhodes. Show Notes  Hope is not a strategy. Replace hope with certainty. "What things do you need to learn during this call to justify not only their time (your prospect's time) but your time, because your time is valuable as a salesperson as well." Shawn Rhodes Do you know the differen...

Paul provides insight as to the importance of your tone when communicating with customers. Show Notes  In the midst of ongoing pandemic fallout, you need to ensure that your customer messaging strikes an empathetic tone. Put yourself in the position of the customer: think how they think and feel as they feel. Before clicking SEND, have a colleague or sales manager read the message and get some fee...

Paul explains why limiting the options you give the customer is beneficial all around. Show Notes  Give the customer three options. Any more than three create angst and indecision—or worse—the wrong decision. Guide your customer to the option that will most completely satisfy their needs: "The choice is yours, but based on the information you shared with me, this is going to be the best option." P...

Paul shares seven characteristics of tough timers.  Show Notes  Resilient – Tough timers push through those tough moments. Track your response to adversity to determine how resilient you are. Visionary – Tough timers look past the pain of the present. You must have a vision of a brighter future. Pragmatic optimist – Tough timers embrace the good habits of a pessimist…What does that mean? Opportuni...

Paul provides some insight into why sellers discount…and why they should not have that authority. Show Notes  Salespeople discount because they can. They will discount to the parameters they are given. Do not let salespeople have discounting authority! Salespeople fear losing the business. They forget how much power they have in a negotiation. You don't have to be the cheapest to win. Review your...

Paul explains why tough times provide your greatest leveraging opportunities. Show Notes  During moments of uncertainty and when they're fearful, people tighten their grip on the status quo. This is good for you when selling to existing customers.  In tough times, your customers are going to experience new problems. You might as well be the one to solve them. During tough times, you need to protec...

Paul provides guidance to help you maneuver those mental hurdles that may bring you down in these strange and challenging times. Show Notes  Acknowledge the tough times, but don't accept them as final. "Fuhgeddaboudit." Experience and learn from your failure, then move on. Operate with an "abundance" mindset. There's opportunity all around, but you have to go out there and find it. It's critical i...

Paul delves into the difficult challenge of competing on value against large, multi-faceted entities. Show Notes  "Stretch the time horizon to emphasize your long-term value." Get procurement past the transaction and into the end-to-end experience. "Enlarge the conversation beyond price." Emphasize how your solution impacts the customer—the outcomes it will help them achieve. Be sure you are talki...

Paul shares the best methods to sell and market new services to your target audience. Show Notes  However you market your new services, what "trigger events" can you utilize? When cold calling, determine that timing "sweet spot" for your target prospects. Consider a direct-mail marketing campaign prior to cold calling. When people experience multiple channels of influence, they are more likely to...

Paul discusses turning a negative service issue into a positive for you and the customer. Show Notes  Service failures are opportunities! Find out how this service failure happened and explain without using excuses . Give the customer an outlet to vent their frustrations. Get the customer's feedback and create a plan to fix the issue so it doesn't happen again. Visit www. ToughTimer.com to get sta...

Paul dives into this critical element of sales: the discovery sales call. Show Notes Do not be seller focused. You're there to learn about the customer's needs. Suspend your assumptions and go in with curiosity about the customer's needs. Don't interview the customer. You want to have a dialogue that will help you and the customer discover something new. Are you asking the right questions to promo...

Paul shares tips that will open the door to repeat business with your existing customers. Show Notes  Identify ways to create more value for your existing customers. Ask your customers how you can improve for them. Value-reinforcement: remind the customer of the value you deliver. They may reward you with additional orders. Look for problems your customers may be experiencing…and solve them. Visit...

Paul offers tips on how to sell a better solution than the buyer is accustomed to. Show Notes Predispose the buyer to your message of value. Ask questions that cast doubt on the solution they are currently using. Present the impact of a more comprehensive plan or solution. Conversely, make the buyer aware of the potential consequences of staying with a less comprehensive policy or solution. "The i...

Paul shares some impactful ways to remain hopeful through tough times. Show Notes:  "The true test of your mental strength is when you have the ability to keep moving forward, even when you do feel hopeless." Shrink your time horizon. Focus on what you have to achieve immediately. How would the mentally toughest person you know handle the tough times you're facing? "Don't compare your progress to...

Paul and Alex Brockman of CSG (Cornerstone Solutions Group) discuss how to thrive and grow even in the adversity of the ongoing pandemic. Show Notes  How many decision makers are involved in your selling process?  How are you "multi-threading your relationships in key accounts so that you can not only weather a situation like that (decision-maker turnover), but come out on the better side of it"?...

Paul offers tips on the timely issue of supply shortages and meeting the customer's current and future needs. Show Notes  Is this upgraded solution better for the customer in the long run? "Will it give them more opportunity?" Stretch the customer's time horizon backwards to remind them of how they've grown and will continue to grow. Highlight the cost of doing nothing. "Sell the opportunity value...

Paul deals with the sticky situation of winning the customer back after a bad experience. Show Notes  You've got to acknowledge the previous issue and own the mistake. Strike an empathetic tone when reaching out to this customer. Has the problem been resolved so it will not happen again? Let the customer know, with some small act of consideration, that you want them back. Visit www. ToughTimer.com...

Paul interviews Matthew Berra, New Business Development Manager at SYSCO, discussing proposal integrity, cold calling, and planning. Show Notes:  Be proactive and put a proprietary information statement on your proposal to dissuade the prospect from sharing your proposal with your competitors. The difference between a pest and a persistent seller—the persistent seller creates value at every single...

Paul wraps up his decision-maker series with some tips on selling to entrepreneurs. Show Notes:  Entrepreneurs may take more risk because they answer to no one but themselves. This means you can take some risk in your presentation. It's critical that you understand their vision. How will your solution help them achieve that vision? Don't waste their time. Provide a detailed agenda. Entrepreneurs a...

Paul reveals some reasons why price may come up early in the selling process. Show Notes: "Never talk price until you've demonstrated some value." If you share your price for budgetary purposes, aim high, not low. Remember, if they're asking about price, they're interested! Is the customer setting their budget or playing a pricing game with you? *** Visit www. ToughTimer.com to get started on the...

Are you taking care of your existing customers? Paul provides three great tips to help with this important task. Show Notes: "What is getting in the way of delivering the kind of experience that your customers expect?" Make it easier to do business with your company. Organization leaders, be open to employee suggestions. They work closely with your customers. Is there something that your customer...

Paul expounds on the many benefits of selling value, not price. Show Notes  The role you play as a salesperson has meaning. You help people. The Value-Added Selling philosophy: Do more of that which adds value and less of that which adds little or no value. When your singular focus is value, it simplifies the message and leaves price out of it. Value-Added Selling is about building long-term, mutu...

Paul gets real about those barriers that keep you from maxing out those monthly quotas. Show Notes  Are you crushing it one month and then hitting a wall? Complacency affects performance. "The conversation you have in your mind is a predictor of how you're going to perform." "Your belief in your solution has to be stronger than the customer's doubt." Self-pity and self-doubt do nothing for you. Do...

Paul talks cold-calling and call planning with seasoned sales professional, Marty Fitz, head of business development – IT division, at GFI Digital. Show Notes "Selling is always kind of happening behind the scenes and weekends, too." – Marty Fitz In this new selling environment— "Find direct numbers. There are lots of different ways to prospect and one of them is starting from the ground up… But t...

Paul lays out a plan to help you build mental resilience and become more successful. Show Notes  "If you choose to accept the 30-Day Tough-Timer Challenge, you will notice positive change throughout your life." The more you plan, the more disciplined you will be, the more successful you will be. What if we spent as much time building our mental strength as we do our physical strength? Gratitude is...