If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always gotten.

At the end of every year I receive dozens of requests for sales training or some sort of sales team intervention.

“Tom, I love your blogs and webinars – do you ever do anything on Sales?”

Yikes!

Um, yes I think I may have something on that…

For all the sales managers and owners out there who want to conduct their own end of the year sales retreat, here is your required reading:

​Overcoming Single-Level Objections

What if I told you that the declaration, “That’s really expensive!” is not a request to lower your price?

There are five common objections customers offer up during your sales cycle. The mistake many sales folks make is to assume these objections are indelible.

Your team needs to learn how to stand their ground and impress customers in the process.

Customer Buying Styles

What do you really know about a potential buyer? Does your qualification process only consider the types of projects and revenue? What happens if you fail to pick up on the customer’s buying style?

We all buy the same things for different reasons. The next day, that reason may change due to any number of circumstances.

It makes sense, then, that your sales team should learn to read the buying style each customer is exhibiting before moving forward with any negotiation.

Apples to Apples is Not The Right Conversation

In a negotiation, we often see the customer (or sometimes the seller) try to leverage the conversation into an apples to apples comparison.

In this video from Tom’s Intentional Success® Selling series he explains how to avoid the apples to apples trap.

You Need An Answer for Everything

When I sit in on sales-customer conversations (or have them recounted to me), I observe one recurring issue: The salesperson isn’t prepared for the kinds of questions buyers ask.

I suspect that customers may even be trying to trip you up. Could they be that clever? I wonder…

You can’t be ready for every specific question, but if you know the five most common queries you will be prepared for most of them.

Price Shopping is a Psychological War

Price shoppers improve their negotiating position by doing research in order to be less afraid of the seller and less distracted by their shenanigans.

As the seller, you can beat the buyer at the own game with three easy steps (and patience):