Josh Lowry

Michael Bosworth, the author of Solution Selling, says, all salespeople are guilty by association of the sins that other sellers have previously committed on buyers. Consequently, most buyers initially distrust salespeople. When a lack of trust exists, any information communicated by the salesperson to the buyer will the challenged, minimized or shopped. A lack of trust then can cause both delayed and lost sales. The best salespeople understand the initial trust issue and do not take it personally. They instead work to proactively address it.

In general, people believe what they see, not what they hear. Thus, the best salespeople use written material to support their presentations and proposals. Written material includes case studies, use cases and other evidence-based information. The best salespeople also write down what they have offered, proposed or said to instill confidence and credibility with the buyer. Informed, trusting buyers make...

If you are in field sales or regularly visit customers onsite, chances are you have had to sign-in at the front desk for security purposes. When you sign-in, you are asked to list your name and company. You are also asked to list the person you are there to see, as well as when you arrive and when you leave. Most salespeople treat the sign-in process as part of the job and routine. What most salespeople, including senior salespeople, do not regularly practice or do not know is that the sign-in process is a great source of information to be leveraged.

When you sign-in, always scan the log to see who has been there that day. What companies and people are calling on the customer and who are they meeting with there? Are they competitors? Are they partners? Do you know them? If not, look them up on LinkedIn when you get back to the office. If you see that one of your competitors met with your contact previously in the day, use that information to your advantage during your...

Earlier this week, I heard the following from a senior salesperson within the technology industry. “If [the company] is not going to pay me for my efforts, I am going to leave.” Hearing this, my first question to them was, “How is your performance?” They responded, “I am tracking at 88% with three weeks to go … BUT I have a very tough territory.”

The bottom line is that no one cares that you think you have a tough territory. In fact, having a tough territory is actually an opportunity to demonstrate to your company the considerable skill and value that you bring to the table. If you can deliver your number in a tough territory, you will differentiate yourself as irreplaceable.

The truth is that you are paid and evaluated on your results, not your efforts. Commit to overcoming obstacles and pushing through resistance by increasing your activity level. NEVER lower your expectations or targets. ALWAYS take ultimate...

Experienced salespeople love to sell and close business, but in general, do not like to prospect. In fact, when they uncover an opportunity, they usually start working on it and stop prospecting altogether. They end up basing their sales success on a few deals closing versus having multiple qualified opportunities in the pipeline. What are the primary risks of this behavior? When appointments get cancelled, deals get stalled or prospects say “no,” they are stuck. They do not have enough other deals in the pipeline to fill the gap and take their place.

Unless you schedule time for prospecting, you will never have time to do it. There will always be something more pressing. Even if you have an inside sales team dedicated to prospecting, you should make time to prospect every day in both your existing and new accounts. You never want to be dependent on the success of one deal or a few deals. When you only have a few deals in the pipeline you can/will become desperate and easily...