It doesn’t take much to make customers smile. It just takes a little thought and a little effort.

1. Call them by name.
2. Listen closely to them, without interrupting.
3. Write them personalized “Thank you” notes.
4. Refer business to them.
5. Tell them

Think about your sales call from the prospect’s point of view. They don’t know you well and so they are guarded. Help them feel comfortable with you as a person before discussing what you sell.

Here are some suggestions to …

If you’re like me, you encounter countless overused words andphrases in a sales situation. When I hear them, my attention level goes right down. I’m distracted and I stop listening closely to the speaker.  I ask myself “Don’t they know …

Don’t sabotage yourself by misbehaving on a sales call. Understanding how to conduct yourself with a prospect supports all your good product knowledge and your understanding of your industry. Bad behavior can make it irrelevant.

1. Never underestimate the value …

Many of you are in small-businesses, working with and supplying other businesses. You sell a specific product or service. And some of you have been doing this for many years. But I’m guessing that you don’t have the volume of …

I recently heard Dr. Mark Hillman, an individual and corporate therapist, speak about Sales Call Reluctance. He is a highly engaging speaker with an interesting mix of humor and directness to his topics.

As part of his talk, he listed …

The year is almost over, and you still have time for a last minute push to meet (or exceed) your sales goal. The overall rule with these tips is to let the end-of-quarter and end-of-year time frames work in your …

As difficult as it is to land a sale, it can be incredibly easy to lose one. Our behaviors and attitudes always need to be positive. We need to be tuned in to the prospect throughout the call, and focused …

Some clients are more fun than others. That was true for me with Godiva Chocolatier. I worked with them for six years, delivering countless workshops and talks on sales and customer service. They were a great client. Fun, open to …

Some customers make me think they are from a distant planet. They’re the ones that ask me the bizarro questions that I can’t even begin to understand, let alone answer.  They ask questions that begin with “I know this is …