The Salesman.com Podcast

[spp-player] All professionals use frameworks. A framework is a step-by-step process to achieve a predetermined goal. Well-defined frameworks separate professionals who win, from hacks that can only dream of success. A surgeon doesn’t guess their way through an operation. They follow a framework to remove the tumor. An engineer doesn’t use a hunch to decide how deep the foundations need to be. The...

[spp-player] Make more calls. Send more emails. Knock on more doors. Use more technology. More! It doesn’t work. The problem for most salespeople isn’t that they need more. The problem is that they don’t know how to sell. At a certain point, giving a racing driver more power, more grip, more downforce doesn’t make the car go faster. Skill becomes the limiting factor. Would I beat Lewis Hamilton in...

When potential buyers start walking away from a deal, most reps do one of two things. 1) They re-emphasize the value of their product. Or 2) they offer a discount. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. But there’s a third option here too. And that’s down-selling. Down-selling is one of the most underutilized tools in a sales rep’s toolbox. And when you know how to do it right, it can mean a se...

[spp-player] Everybody loves a remarkable story. The difference between an average story and a remarkable one is the amount of imagination that is captured. Remarkable stories take your buyers somewhere new. Remarkable stories aren’t always factual, but they are always consistent. Buyers have a tough time working out if the hero was called Barry or Brian but they’re very good at sniffing out incon...

In a perfect world, we would all make decisions based on logic alone. But the science tells us that the majority of our choices are influenced by biases—automatic modes of thinking we don’t even realize are controlling us. Better understanding these 8 cognitive biases lets sales reps like you get in the heads of your buyers, subtly influence leads, and secure your sales success. 1. Anchoring Bias...

We all know mastering your cold calling game is essential for sales success. But what a lot of reps don’t come prepared for is voicemail. And that’s a real problem since 4 out of 5 cold calls end in a no pickup. So, how can you up your voicemail game and maximize the value of every one of your calls? Simple—just use these three word-for-word voicemail templates. So, ready to beef up your voicemail...

The internet is an opportunity and an issue for sellers. A few clicks and you have infinite data. More is being added to the infinite every second. But you can’t consume, research or act on infinite. If there were infinite rules to a sport, we wouldn’t watch it. If there were infinite Disney characters, they’d have no brand value. Humans are not wired for infinite. And here steps in our sales auto...

Sales reps are busy (you know this). Lead generation, following up with prospects, updating contact info, setting up meetings, researching buyers, closing deals—it all takes time to do. A  lot  of time. It's no wonder, then, that sales reps are happily incorporating sales automation tools into their processes more and more. These tools drive efficiency, free up time, and even boost conversion rate...

Day to day, do you spend more time telling or doing? What do I mean by that? – Do you solve problems for your prospects and earn the meeting or do you tell them you have a wonderful solution? Do you pick up the phone cold call prospects or tell your colleagues about the newest cold calling hack that you’ve uncovered? Do you ask for the business assertively or do you tell your sales manager t...

Pop quiz hotshot—what’s the #1 sales objection you’re likely to run into? Got it yet? The answer is overwhelmingly … price . But 90% of the time, the problem isn’t about budget or expenses. It’s about value . The better you are at selling your value, the less price is going to matter. And this 4-step framework shows you how to do just that. Now, one of the most important lessons you’ll learn in yo...

[spp-player] Stop rushing to come second. In sales second place doesn’t count. Only one salesperson wins the deal. The flip-side? When you’re the best selling becomes easy. People will fly across the world to visit the best restaurant. People will wait in line for hours to get a piece of paper squiggled from the best athlete. When you’re ill, you don’t ask for the second-best doctor. You’ll shout,...

A big shoutout to the HubSpot Podcast Network for supporting this episode. Stay inspired with more podcasts that help grow your business at HubSpot.com/podcastnetwork. Today's principle is that average action will always get you average results. Most salespeople barely hit their quota and that used to be me as well. It wasn't until I started becoming more unreasonable with my expectations that my...

Ahhhhh the sales call. This is where the magic happens in any buyer’s journey. When it goes right, a sales call qualifies your buyer, drives enthusiasm, and sets the final deal in motion. But done wrong, it can eliminate trust, tarnish your brand, and send leads headed for the hills – permanently. There’s a lot riding on a sales call. And if you don’t come to the table with a strategic Pre-Call Pl...

A big shoutout to the HubSpot Podcast Network for supporting this episode. Stay inspired with more podcasts that help grow your business at HubSpot.com/podcastnetwork. Welcome to the “performance improvement plan”. This is a new series of short-form podcast episodes that I promise to put together and will continue to publish as we move into and hopefully out of the impending recession. For anyone...

Killing it in sales is all about one thing—alignment. Is what you’re selling the solution to your prospect’s problem? Does it alleviate their pain points? The tricky thing though is that 95% of the time, prospects only tell you about their surface-level pains. But to close a deal successfully, you need to be able to solve the problem that’s causing those pains. You’ve got to treat the disease, not...

The value proposition is a foundational component for any successful sales department. It tells salespeople like you which demographics to target. It clues you into your buyer's biggest hopes and fears. And it guides your strategy for closing deals and earning that oh-so-sweet “yes.” But what happens if your value proposition is  wrong ? What if the ideal buyer that marketing has told...

Eventually in your sales career, you’re going to hit a maximum effectiveness at winning business. “You can’t squeeze blood from a stone,” as the old saying goes. But that doesn’t mean you’re stuck where you’re at. If you want to drive more deals now, you’ve got to increase your throughput of sales leads. And that takes boosting your sales productivity using these 7 techniques. 1. Reverse Engineeri...

When it comes to qualifying sales leads, more doesn't always mean better. Notably, if the sales leads are not qualified. You could spend hours each day and still only manage to close a measly 1-3 leads out of a hundred. So, how does a B2B lead qualification process work? What systems can you employ to increase the effectiveness of your qualification process? And, most importantly, how is the perfe...

Getting ghosted is every sales professional's nightmare. You think everything is going right—the prospect is the right fit for your target audience, your product is within their budget, and they are genuinely interested in buying it—until it's not. No response. Missed calls. Just pin-drop silence. You can't understand what the hell went wrong. Don't worry, though. You have to up your follow-up gam...

You're familiar with the dreaded drill: find potential clients, connect with them, present your solution, but somehow don't end up closing it. Maybe your prospect cannot afford what you have to offer or ditched you for a competitor. Perhaps they decided to hold off deciding until the next quarter. Why is this happening ? Where are you going wrong? What can you do to close the deal? To close deals...

Want to know what separates your everyday sales rep from the high-earning pros? Focus. And not focus of mind . But focus of strategy . The real pros know smashing through quotas is all about working key accounts —clients with exceptional revenue potential. So, how do you identify and work key accounts so you can start bringing in fatter commissions? Let’s find out. So I get it, you’ve got a sales...

How often have you heard this – “Look, we really love your product, but it’s outside of our price range. Can you offer any discount?” Offering discounts can be a great way to speed up a slow-moving deal. But if you’re adjusting price before negotiations begin, you’re doing a serious disservice, both to yourself and to your product. Instead of caving right away, there are four tried-and-true respon...

A successful sales rep is a curious sales rep. And when you ask potential buyers the right questions during discovery, you’ll get some powerful takeaways to better qualify leads, drive enthusiasm, and boost your chances of closing. In today’s post, I’m breaking down five of the most powerful sales questions to ask potential buyers. And best of all, these questions let you avoid sounding salesy whi...

It is common for sales managers to say that sales is a numbers game. If this is what you have been told you may be wondering what this statement means. The simple explanation of what this statement means is that more activity leads to more sales. But this still leaves you with questions like: What type of activity? How much activity? Is it possible to improve the outcomes from the action? If you G...

Cold email is one of the best tools in your sales rep toolbox. But there’s just one problem—if your emails aren’t getting opened in the first place, then all of your efforts (the clever copy, the personalization, the research) will all be for nothing. THAT’S the importance of a great subject line So, what’s the absolute BEST cold email subject line you could ever use? That’s what we’re talking abo...