Sales Managers, do you know why your salespeople are losing control of the process even before they say, "Hello"?

You know what I mean. Salesperson asks, "Do you have a problem with X?" Prospect says, "We sure do. Can you help with that?" Salesperson launches into a demo, get's a "No" when he closes and gets whatever silly objection the prospect decides to give because they didn't drill down before they presented.

The very first book that I ever read on sales was How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling. It was the mid 70's and I had been selling for a decade, but was just starting to think of myself as a salesman. Frank Bettger wasn't a scientist, but he shared stories that made sense and I still use some of the lessons today.

This article was originally published 2 years ago about the #1 killer of salespeople. I'm republishing it in the hope that salespeople and management will get on the same page before I die.

Yesterday, I was debriefing a call with a rep. He told me that he did his rapport thing and proceeded to set his "Up Front Contract". He asked, "Are we still good for 30 minutes?" Then he started, "I'll have a lot of questions and I'm sure that you'll have a lot of questions..." I interrupted him and asked if he thought any of his prospects saw his attempts to use the Sandler System? When he said, "Yes.", I asked do they like it? He said, "Not usually."

As you may know, I've been spending more time with sales managers lately than with reps. Today as I was enjoying MLK Day, I found myself thinking about how stuck many sales managers are and how they got there.

Yes, there's a technique. Yes, there's a process, but it's a lot about mindset and if you get the right balance, it works every time. To start ...

I was in Montana last week. So, my year started Wednesday 1/9.

I've been selling for a few years. I've been using the OMG sales evaluation for over a decade. Yesterday, a conversation hit me like a sledge hammer to the forehead. I hope you enjoy the story and the lesson.

I've heard Don Battis say, "Rick and I are both retired, but neither of us is very good at it." It's true, but I think I'm getting better at it. He's had 4 gigs since he retired. I've only had one. However...