I once took a position as a sales manager with a Fortune 100 company, having been told was that my unit had been first in the division the year before. However when I got there, I found that the six person unit had three new, floundering rookies and one opening—where the top salesperson in the [...]

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Obviously you have to be careful with humor in sales. You don’t want to offend anyone. That’s why self-deprecating humor can be so powerful. You’re poking fun at yourself. No one else is likely to be offended. It makes you seem modest and likable while at the same time demonstrating that you’re confident enough about [...]

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Even the best of companies with the best of intentions occasionally fail to deliver. Here’s how one salesperson with a corporate screw up handled an unhappy customer.
The scenario went like this:
“After what happened last time, Linda,” the customer complained, “I’m amazed you can even show your face around here, much less ask for more business. [...]

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I’ll never forget the day I watched a secretary outsell a team of sales veterans.
The company sold customized CRM software. That morning I’d met with some of their less successful reps. Most of them knew exactly why they weren’t selling. “Our prices are just too damn high,” they assured me repeatedly. I’d heard it before. [...]

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