Relationships are crucial to any business endeavor, even in the oft-underestimated sales arena. The reason that business people don’t think relationship cultivation is a major component of sales is that the interactions are rarely of the long-term variety. Most of the time, the contact between customer and salesman doesn’t last very long – people selling [...]
What They Don’t Teach
Everyone knows that a school is supposed to teach its students, to provide them a basic idea of what the world is like. Business school is the same. It is supposed to give students the theoretical tools needed to get a grip on how the business world works, to teach them the things they need [...]
Lessons Learned From Late Night Infomercials
Infomercials. Everyone’s seen at least one of them. Chances are that one out of every ten people has actually bought something after seeing the infomercial for it. All sorts of products are sold by those late night things, from luxury beds to blenders with extra functions, to knives that can cut through screws and nails. [...]
The Sales Emotions
Emotions sell. Or rather, they’re very good at selling everything, from the services of a motorcycle attorney to the tender ministrations of a high-end massage chair. People like to think they make logical decisions when buying things, but they’re not always right about that. This is just like people thinking they can control their spending [...]
Improving Performance on the Floor
Salesmen are a lot like knives. Some of them are sharp, able to cut through objections like a good blade slices through meat. To some extent, people like this can be left alone to do their own thing and, as long as they’re not “cutting” into the customers, generally don’t need a lot of supervision. [...]
When Designing the Sales Site
Some businesses set up websites to promote products and establish web presence. This is a perfectly viable practice, especially since some companies promote services, rather than products. On the other hand, there are also businesses that want to sell their products online. These people want to sell and their website is their best – sometimes, [...]
How Amazon Stood up to CA’s Online Tax Law
It takes a lot of cojones to go up against a state, particularly one as “progressive” as the ever stricter state of California. And Internet retail behemoth Amazon probably has a lot of it. In a brazen show of defiance, Amazon.com is staring down the state government over its controversial online sales tax. The famous [...]
Establish Your Business with the Right Mindset
You may be thinking about what to do with your life right now. Should you enter the corporate world and have a 9-5 job, or should you open your own business? If so, are you mentally prepared to have that kind of occupation? Most people decide to open their own business because they think it’s [...]
Staying Motivated
Let’s face it: sales is unlike regular desk jobs. Every day you’re out in the field. Even if you stay tethered to the office, you are not like clerical administrative staff. They don’t have monthly quotas on which their survival is based. Unlike them, you have to fight for every single paycheck, instead of just [...]
Thought of the Day: Persistence
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge