3 Classes Every Sales Professional Should Take

There are 3 classes every sales professional could usefully take.  On the face of it, nothing to do with selling, so this may seem a little strange.  But they'll dramatically improve anybody's ability to relate to, and communicate with, prospects.  For that reason, these classes should be considered vital to the sales persons self improvement.

Those 3 classes are Accounting, Behavioural Analysis and Communication.

Accounting can seem a dry subject.  The very name conjures up pictures of clerks hunched over ledgers, like in a Dickens novel.  But Accounting is all about money, and so is selling.  Understanding Income, Expenditure, Profit, Assets Liabilities, Net Worth, Cash Flow and Opportunity Cost helps the sales guys see every sale from the prospects' point of view.  This is particularly true when it comes to B2B, of course.  In those deals there's always a CFO sat in the back office crunching the numbers.  Whoever wants to buy anything has to run the gauntlet, persuading the bean counters of the merit, i.e Business Case, for the purchase. But it's also true for B2C.  No matter why somebody wants to buy, there's always a question of how they're going to do it.  And that's where the money comes into the picture.

Understanding Sales Strategy and Tactics

Do you understand what you hear and read about sales strategy and sales tactics?  Of course you do - well somewhat, at least.  Most of it seems wrapped up in strange language, but so what.  It's only selling.  Lots of not very smart people do it.  It just can't be that complicated.

There is no science in selling, but there's a lot of black magic hearsay - weird concepts which inevitably end in tears.


That's part of the problem with learning about selling.  It only really comes with experience, and listening to colleagues about how they do the job.  And that involves lots of blind alleys.

Our new eBook Sales Story Playbook has been written to help sales professionals and their managers avoid those blind alleys.

Have you met this Sales Guy

Buyer Beware! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have you met this salesman, (or woman - no intent to be gender specific here)?  He's the one who just knows his confidence and enthusiasm is infectious.  Prospects can't help it.  They get carried along, excited at the thought of all those great things the product will do for them.

Well, some do anyway.

He knows success is the result of hard work, resilience in the face of rejection, faith, belief, fast talking and a broad smile.  The more people he talks to, the more sales he'll make.  It's that simple.

He gets paid to bring in orders.  Whether customers get what they thought they were buying isn't his problem.  Caveat Emptor - let the buyer beware - is what the law says.

To half of the population he's a hero - Superman, Spider Man and Mr. Incredible combined.  To the other half he's somebody to steer clear of.  Not to be trusted.  He would say that wouldn't he?  He's a salesman.

Mobile CRM and Account Management with Android and Front Office Box

With software as a service like Front Office Box, the Android Tablet shows its real power as a business tool.  Easily portable, always on, always right up to date, the tablet with FOB running in widget is ideal for small business owners, sales professionals, sales managers and even customer service professionals.

And it looks simply gorgeous.

Modern hardware platforms need modern designs, including look and feel and user functionality.  All those boxes we grew used to in the desktop software have no place on today's Tablets.

Forget The Product Sell The Solution

Solution (Photo credit: egazelle)

Anybody selling product in today's sophisticated markets is flogging a dead horse.  Customers no longer buy product.  Solutions are where its at. 

You'll hear people say this all the time.  It's one of those perceived wisdoms spread by consultants to become embedded in management speak. 

1. Talking about solutions impresses management.  It suggests a promise of better results in the future.
2. Talking about solutions impresses customers.  It implies results as opposed to just tools.
3. Talking about solutions impresses colleagues. It promises leadership to success.

Unfortunately you'll rarely hear anybody talk about what it means in terms of sales operations and the broader business model.  The transition from product selling to solutions is a welcome development to customers but gives rise to some cynicism.  Too many customers have been disappointed to find the solution they bought being delivered by product organisations.  

Sales Funnel or Sales Pipeline Which is Right for You

Business Model Concept (Photo credit: Alex Osterwalder)

Is a sales funnel right for your business, or would the sales pipeline be a more appropriate philosophy?  Do you know the difference between the two?  And do you know how that difference impacts your bottom line?

There's a lot of folk lore, and hearsay, in the world of sales.  Understanding of the art, or science if you prefer to call it that, is passed on mostly by word of mouth.  There is no definitive explanation of ways the professional goes about its work.  Junior sales people learn from their bosses and colleagues while others not involved in the job pick up some of the words they hear used.  No wonder there's confusion and disagreement about what's right, and what's wrong.  Everybody with an opinion has a different perspective on what the words mean.

Two recent articles illustrated the point.  Are you selling values or selling value? showed there's some deep thinking required when matching a value proposition with a sales strategy.  Why the Sales Funnel is Bad for Business explained sales operations models need equal attention.  Both seem confusing messages, turning simple ideas into academic conundrums. But they aren't.  Knowing which to choose, and why, is critical to cost of sale, and that is every bit as important as revenue.

Synch iTunes With Galaxy Tab This Way Works

Samsung Galaxy Tab showing its Wikipedia article. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Which is the biggest problem with setting up a new
Android device?  Most people (probably) find getting their music onto the shiny new tablet or phone, a nightmare.  It's the one challenge which could make an iPad the more attractive option, regardless of price.  There's obviously a patent somewhere which stops Android manufacturers offering a simple solution.  Or that's the way it seems.

You'll be familiar with the paradox of men and manuals.  Men will always refer to the user manual to solve problems, but only after every other possible answer has failed :-)  Here's a story which will give the ladies cause for a giggle, and maybe help some men find a shortcut.

The Nexus S Android phone runs Ice Cream Sandwich - the latest version of the operating system.  Accessing files on the phone, and copying to it music from the computer is simple.  Just hook up the USB cable and Finder, on the Mac, and Explorer, on the PC, goes straight to the file system.  No different to an external drive.  Move files around till your heart's content.

Unfortunately the previous version of Android - Honeycomb - isn't straightforward, and that's what's delivered with both the Motorola Xoom2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets.  Plug in the USB cable and see? - precisely nothing.  File management via Finder or Explorer doesn't work with Honeycomb.

Gold Star for Customer Service Goes To CarPhone Warehouse

Carphone warehouse main office (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mobile phone companies don't have the best reputation for customer service, and especially when it comes to devices.  That makes sense of course.  Those gltizy High Street stores are there to entice customers for the call and data plans, harvesting up to 2 years of monthly charges.  The shiny new devices - phones and now tablets - just bring in the footfall and create demand for the service.  Understandably, when the toys break, the store isn't set up to fix them.

When the new toy breaks the store sends it off to be fixed, and it comes back when it comes back.  Once the customer has signed the 2 year contract, nobody cares about customer service.

The independent stores - the ones not owned by and tied to a network provider - tend to have more of a focus on customer satisfaction.  They make their money from profits on devices and a commission on the contract.  And they want customers to keep coming back, and send their friends.