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<title>Sharon Drew Morgen - EzineArticles Expert Author</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sharon_Drew_Morgen</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:56:25 -0600</pubDate>
<image><title>Sharon Drew Morgen - EzineArticles Expert Author</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sharon_Drew_Morgen</link>
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<copyright>Copyright 2012 EzineArticles.com - All Rights Reserved.</copyright>
<description><![CDATA[Sharon Drew Morgen is the visionary and thought leader behind Buying Facilitation(R) the new sales paradigm that focuses on helping buyers manage their buying decision. She is the author of the NYTimes Business Bestseller "Selling with Integrity" as well as 5 other books and hundreds of articles that explain different aspects of the decision facilitation model that teaches buyers how to buy.]]></description>
<lastBuildDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:51:48 -0600</lastBuildDate>
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<item>
<title>An Intelligent Contact Sheet</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6686730</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6686730</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:51:48 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The field of marketing automation would like to get the right data, at the right time, to prospects who sign up on contact sheets. But with the available technology, it's not possible: the wrong data are being gathered and scored, the wrong content is being sent out and collected, the technology is not set up to determine or support each stage of the off-line buying decision path, and there is no capability to lead the buyer sequentially (with unique content at each step) through their internal change management/decision issues.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>First Contact: What to Do, Why, and How to Get Better Results</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6671067</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6671067</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:49:25 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Depending on the selling approach you're using, you are closing between 6%-7%, regardless of size of solution or industry. These numbers are far lower than they need to be: so long as your primary focus is on making a sale and you focus on needs assessment and solution choice (factors which are the buyer's final considerations), and ignore the change management issues buyers must handle before they choose a solution, you are delaying a close by a factor of 8.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>9 Sales Steps That Influence a Buying Decision</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6660710</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6660710</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:13:37 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The steps of a buying decision differ from the steps of a sale. The sales model has no way to influence the private decisions and buy-in issues that buyers must address before they can buy.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>A Buying Decision Is a Change Management Issue</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6512131</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6512131</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:27:32 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The sales model focuses on needs assessment and solution placement. Buying is a change management activity. They are two different activities, done at two different - and opposite - points along the buying decision journey.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Selling With Integrity</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6571617</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6571617</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:21:23 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[What, exactly, is selling with integrity? Is it about creating great solutions that make a difference in companies and lives? Or respecting and serving our prospects and clients and employees?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>You Think You Know Your Buyer - You Don't</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6616289</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6616289</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:18:15 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Sales folks are taught to have a certain amount of curiosity. But what, exactly, are you curious about?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Differences Between the Solution Sale and the Buying Decision: Let's Go to a Wedding</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6646597</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6646597</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:38:07 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Let's say you were going to a wedding. You had the gift, decided on the outfit, picked a time to leave to get there on time, decided to use your car rather than you're spouse's, because it was more comfortable. Then you had to plug in the directions to your trusty GPS system.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Why Your Sales Cycle Is So Long (Hint: It's Not About Your Solution)</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6656236</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6656236</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:40:37 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do you know why it takes so long for a buyer to buy? If the buyer knows they have a need, and they like you and your solution, shouldn't it be easy?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>How Much Time Do Sales People Waste?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6641611</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6641611</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:34:29 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As sellers, we waste over 90% of our time. We need to find prospects, get them bought-in to the possibility of using our solution, get them what they need to understand our solution and how it might fit, get past gatekeepers, manage objections, get to the right people who will know how to buy us, and wait. And then, we only close a small fraction.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>But I Talk to Everyone This Way: The Difference Between Selling Patterns and Buying Patterns</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6611624</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6611624</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:38:43 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I recently had a Tab problem on my PC - you know, one of those annoying problems that needs technical assistance from someone, from some country, on the telephone. One of those calls where someone gives his name as "Jim" but it's probably really Ricardo, or Raj, or Gallal, and his accent is a horrid mixture of Midwest and East Coast.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Wait Until the Buying Decision Team Is in Place to Visit or Pitch</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6601654</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6601654</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:36:12 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If you attempt to get meetings just to 'get in front of' a prospect (assuming that your solution will rule the day); if you present to whichever prospects will agree to see you; if you pitch when the buyer doesn't have all of their ducks in a row, you're not only wasting your breath, but potentially losing a sale. Until or unless the entire Buying Decision Team is in place, the buyer will not know how to hear you: until everyone who touches a solution has had their voice heard, and adds their choice criteria to possible solutions...]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Where Does Selling Begin? Activate the Buying Journey Immediately</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6586949</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6586949</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:42:32 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Where does selling begin? Why do we begin a buyer conversation by focusing on finding needs? What are we gaining/losing by starting there?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>What Is a Seller's Priority?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6566344</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6566344</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:06:19 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As a seller, what's your job? Are you working to close a sale? Feed your family? Continue living in the style you're accustomed to? Be the best?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>12 Dirty Little Secrets: Why Buyers Don't Buy</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6555813</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6555813</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:24:22 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do you sit and wait for your buyer's to close? They need your solution. They like you. They are OK with the price. What's going on?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Don't Make Your Issue the Customer's Problem</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6551041</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6551041</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:42:28 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I use the USPO to pick up items people buy from my on-line store. It's a simple process: I push a few buttons, and the package is scheduled to be picked up at my front door in about 3 minutes or less.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Do You Really Understand How Your Buyers Buy?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6526798</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6526798</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:29:46 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[For decades, salespeople scrunched their faces when I mentioned "how buyers buy". I heard comments like: "I know what they need." or "I understand exactly how they buy: price, price, price." But sellers only close 7% of their prospects (and far, far less if using marketing automation).]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Marketing Automation Can Facilitate the Entire Buying Decision Path</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6522154</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6522154</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:29:33 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In order to sell more when using marketing automation technology, we need to enter the buyer's decision path far earlier. But because marketing automation uses the sales model as its core thinking, and concentrates on solution placement rather than helping buyers navigate their behind-the-scenes decision path (necessary before they purchase) it's hard to know when/how/why buyers will close, regardless of the numbers of names we gather.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Does the Sales Model Do What We Need It To Do?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6502535</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6502535</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:43:28 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Sales has been around since the Serpent convinced Eve to eat the apple. And, unfortunately, the goals have remained pretty much the same ever since.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>9 Easy Ways to Get Your Brand Recognized</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6492569</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6492569</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:25:42 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[To get clients, you either reach out to them directly, or have them find you. Here are a few ways to help clients find you.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Solution Selection: Do We Know How Buyers Choose One Solution Over Another?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6481899</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6481899</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:16:33 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your solution matches the buyer's need perfectly. You like them, they like you, you've had coffee/a meal/a powerful meeting or two. They talk about implementation and how they need to add your other product next year. And then they buy from someone else. Or not at all.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Forecasting Closed Sales: How You Will Know When a Buyer Will Close</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6475860</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6475860</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:55:28 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As a sales manager, do you forecast sales that will close when your sales folks tell you they'll close? As a sales professional, do you forecast which sales will close when your contact tells you they'll be ready? Or when it seems to you they'll be ready? How accurate have you been with your predictions?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>When Do Buyers Buy?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6465939</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6465939</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:11:03 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Buyers can't buy until all of the people, policies, market drivers, partners and historic choices that maintain their status quo have bought in to, and added their voices to, the changes that will result when they make a purchase. The time it takes them to manage this change is the length of the sales cycle. Your solution cannot be chosen until it's all figured out.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>My Job Is to Start a Conversation</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6460270</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6460270</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:14:40 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I recently contacted a man who runs a marketing automation company, thinking there might be areas of potential partnership. And while he agreed with my ideas about helping manage the buying decision journey, his baseline business beliefs were well out of the range of mine. In fact, it was fascinating to see how the concept "helping buyers buy" - my trademark for decades - has become a battle cry for the sales industry.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Buyers Don't Sit and Wait for Sellers</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5839101</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5839101</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:38:36 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Around 85% of a buyer's pre-purchase, back-end decision issues get addressed privately, outside of the seller's purview, and a seller has no place at the table. Here is where we lose our sales - as buyers manage the internal politics, and the strategic/change issues - not because our solutions aren't relevant or because we haven't done a good job selling.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Who's In The Meeting - And Who's Not?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6449318</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6449318</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:29:29 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[So many sales folks are targeting 'appointments' these days. I wonder if you know who actually is in attendance. And who isn't but should be. As you enter your meeting, do you know what percent of the entire Buying Decision Team is there? What weight your contact has on the full Buying Decision Team?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Your Prospects Aren't In Pain</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6443936</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6443936</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jul 2011 08:39:34 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When I hear sellers say that buyers have 'pain' I ask how long it would take them to get to the hospital with a broken arm. "Immediately." Why? Because they're in pain. But buyers don't buy 'immediately' and have had their problem for a period of time.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Compensating Our Sales Folk</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6436875</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6436875</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:00:04 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Our continued fascination with making an appointment as a precursor to making a sale is based on the belief that a buyer will buy based on the strength of the presentation. And although we get extremely low closing rates, we continue to do it and often throw more sellers at the problem, doing the same activity. That's the definition of insanity!]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Provocation-Based Selling: Proving Pain Does Not Close a Sale</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6105478</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6105478</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:45:14 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A friend sent me the Harvard Business Review article written by my hero Geoffrey Moore and two of his colleagues - Todd Hewlin and Philip Lay - titled "In a Downturn, Provoke Your Customers." Really? Buyers buy because they are in pain? Really?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Selling in the Banking Industry</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5824659</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5824659</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:46:28 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Banks sell very similar products. Of course each bank has its own special sauce, but overall, the products are similar-enough to lull prospective buyers into believing that it doesn't matter which bank they buy from, or which solution they choose.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Qualifying Leads: Why Lead Scoring Is Inadequate</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5344922</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5344922</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 04 Dec 2010 09:27:09 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Here are some numbers I've recently read: through marketing automation we are closing between 2-8% of leads (as per Jeff Lenskold), 70% of leads buy something (as per Steve Gershik) but not necessarily during the time we are scoring and nurturing them, and 90% of leads 'fall out the bottom'. Here is what these fascinating numbers tell me: 1. we are closing approximately the same number of sales through automation as we closed without it (and spending gazillions to do it); 2. the automation process ignores the bulk of the behind-the-scenes buying decision issues that happen before, during, and after any digital behavior.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Content Marketing: Is It Helping You Buy Me?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5147443</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5147443</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:16:35 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA['Turn prospects into buyers with content marketing.' 'Create opt-in permission to deliver content through email using the drip/nurture system.' 'Deliver content to develop trust and authority.']]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>The New Relationship Between Sales and Marketing: It's Harder for the Sales Folks</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5105996</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5105996</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:14:36 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Historically, sellers have been the one touching the buyer as marketers developed the brand awareness and hopefully brought buyers in - to be aware of the brand and trust it (or have some sort of mental relationship with it). Marketing has never been hands-on the way that sellers were when they made cold calls or went to client sites to make presentations. Sellers worked more with the buyer; marketers worked more with the solution, the brand, and the general demograph of possible buyers.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Buyers Want a Shorter Buying Decision Cycle</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/5065854</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/5065854</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:09:27 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Why do you think buyers take so long to decide? Do you really think they want to take that long? Think of a decision you had to make with one of your teammates, or a family member. What was the difference between what you wanted to happen, and the others wanted to have happen?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>You Have a Buying Process Problem, Not a Selling Problem</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4953043</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4953043</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:07:51 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You know your solution. You understand your buyer's need. You know how to sell. So why aren't you selling more? Why aren't prospects closing more?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>The New Buying Habits of Buyers - Does Solution Data Drive a Decision?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4652794</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4652794</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:45:30 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[It's so much easier for buyers to buy now. With the click of a wrist, or a jog of a fingertip, they can read about, compare, and purchase whatever they want. So buyer's behaviors are changing. Or are they? While their capability to attain data, or make the actual purchase is much easier, is their route to their buying decision different?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Steps to Buying - Remembering the Human Element</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4573374</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4573374</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:27:44 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[There are two distinct categories involving buying decisions: 1. the behind-the-scenes issues buyers must manage internally to get stakeholder buy-in for change and for going outside their status quo for a solution; 2. the solution-choice issues. We are all very familiar with the latter: that's what sales handles so well...]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>What's the Buyer's Responsibility?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4352124</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4352124</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:34:05 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I was going to call one of my books "I'd close more sales if it weren't for the buyer" thinking that people would laugh at the silliness. But when I got an immediate standing ovation from 600 people when I said this, I realized that sales people believed it, ridiculous though it is. It's like saying I'd have had a better birth if it weren't for my mother.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>He's in a Meeting - Or is He? Working With Gatekeepers</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4366147</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4366147</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 May 2010 16:23:18 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When I make cold calls I ask the receptionist to direct me to the person's assistant as she'll redirect me to the appropriate person, get me an appointment to speak with the original person, or tell me how best to move forward. The PA of a high level person is always smart, savvy in the ways the corporation runs, and knows what's going on throughout the organization. Not to mention they know exactly who to bring in and who to leave out: that's their job.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>All Decisions Involve Change Management - An Insurance Case Study</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4309366</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4309366</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 May 2010 14:55:22 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Without buy-in, nothing changes. If the group or person deemed change necessary, it would have happened already. So whatever state the status quo is in is the preferred state: no matter what you think is wrong, or how your wonderful solution would make it better, it ain't going to happen unless the status quo is willing to change. And change means change management is necessary.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Solutions Are Meaningless Without Buy-In</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4264965</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4264965</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 11 May 2010 15:44:19 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Recently I was part of an Ideation session in which an insurance company wanted web ideas to better serve their customers. Ideally, they'd end up with functionality that members would find helpful in their health care decisions, offer great customer service through added benefits, and keep them involved with the agency.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>How Not to Make a Prospecting Call</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4201395</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4201395</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:40:15 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A woman from Australia recently called me on a cold call. She started by calling me 'Sharon.' For those of you who know me, I refer to myself as Sharon Drew. Folks who call me 'Sharon' are either making a cold call, or haven't read my books or blogs. I have a long history with this problem, so playfully said, "Ah. You don't know me well. I call myself Sharon Drew and I use both names."]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Steps of a Sale - From the Buying Decision to the Close</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4182083</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4182083</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:57:13 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The first phase helps decisions get made to promote buy-in, change, and recognition of what needs to be addressed. We usually wait for buyers to do this, but now we can help. Have a look at the steps, and see how you can add them to what you're doing.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Two Types of Decisions - Buy-IN, and BuyING</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4137391</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4137391</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:20:05 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Indeed, I just heard a statistic that in mature prospecting situations in which sellers are waiting for a close, at least 20% of these situations don't close due to 'no decision.' But a decision has been made! It's 'We Have Decided Not To Buy Your Solution From You At This Time.' So it is a decision.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Can a Techie Ever Understand a Customer?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4078212</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4078212</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:46:00 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[At the recent ProductCamp in Austin, I heard a well-respected researcher make the following comment: 'Techies will never understand customers.' That's quite a statement. And it's false.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>We Can't Understand Customers</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/4056296</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/4056296</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 Apr 2010 10:19:44 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Let's take a closer look at the facets of 'understanding the customer.' First, there are so many things you can't/will never understand, and yet there are several things you must understand if you are going to truly serve them.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Job of Sales Must Expand</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3931899</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3931899</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:30:30 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Sales is a needs assessment-problem discovery/solution placement model. We use relationships and industry knowledge and well-conceived product data to align with prospects to help influence them to choose us.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Facilitating Buying Decisions - A Definition</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3891896</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3891896</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:33:12 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Recently, I've noticed many folks using the term 'facilitating buying decisions.' First, let me state that we have a program by that title, that can be licensed to train in companies. It's a very fun program, teaching sellers how to sit in a buyer's seat and learn every aspect of how they choose vendors and solutions.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Make the Phone Your Best Friend</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3849736</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3849736</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:51:03 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do you believe that to close a sale you must 'get in front of prospects?' Why? Really. Have you ever asked yourself why? Do you tell yourself that you MUST have that eye contact? ]]></description>
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<title>Get Onto the Buying Decision Team on the First Call</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3807544</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3807544</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:53:46 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When I tell sales folks their sales cycle is double what it should be, they assume I'm lying. But I'm not. I'm just using a different model than sales to being my client contact...]]></description>
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<item>
<title>The Basis of Sales Has Remained Stagnant</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3765457</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3765457</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:19:51 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Did I get your attention? Good. Because I'm serious. Most of you would laugh, tell me I'm wrong, that the sales model has been shifting and that the Internet has 'changed everything.' But what, exactly, has it changed?]]></description>
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<item>
<title>The Heart of Business</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3720470</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3720470</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:57:46 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[For decades, I have been a proponent of, and keynoter in the field of, Spirituality in the Workplace. There seem to be different names for it these days: the heart of business, corporate social responsibility, conscious capitalism, patient capitalism, bringing the heart to work.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Lead Gen Isn't Enough</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3720458</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3720458</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:52:43 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do you spend a lot of time collecting names that might be prospects? Do you spend a lot of money learning how to follow prospects on line, so you can guess where they are in the decision making process?]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Prospects Aren't Really Prospects</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3700908</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3700908</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:09:28 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Sales has a goal: find a prospect with a need and sell a solution. You can call it anything you want, use all of the fancy terms about serving your client, be a Trusted Advisor or a Relationship Manager, do whatever you can to understand need and make nice. But at the end of the day, your job as a seller is to place your solution.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Turning a 'No' Into a 'Yes'</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3424272</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3424272</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:08:42 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I recently experienced a very clear example of Buying Facilitation, when I used it to turn a failed buying situation into a purchase. I tell a shortened version of this story in my new book; it bears repeating during this economic confusion when buyers are having difficulty getting to 'yes'.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>The Future of Sales</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3350231</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3350231</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:46:08 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[For centuries, the sales model has been focused on placing a solution. Given the complexity of business these days, having the right solution to manage a 'need' is not enough to help buyers choose your solution. Buyers live in a very complex world now. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>How Do We Sell If We Don't Understand Needs?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3261756</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3261756</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:43:47 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When people first hear about Buying Facilitation, they ask: 'But if we can't ask about needs and discuss our solution, how do we sell?' The short answer is, you don't. At least not when you are accustomed to. Because that's not the first thing buyers need from you. The buyer first needs assistance navigating around their off-line decision issues. See, we actually enter our buyer's sphere far too early in their decision cycle. And we end up attempting to gather needs, understand, and place product before a buyer really knows how to have this conversation with you.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Decisions Are Never Emotional</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3221823</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3221823</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:15:20 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Imagine if instead of believing that unexpected decisions are emotional, we assume they have a very specific reason, even if we don't understand or agree. Then what? Is it just easier to believe the other person to be irrational? Do you remember, back in the day, when docs said that women suffering from PMS were hysterical and they needed to have a hysterectomy (that's where the word 'hysterical' comes from btw)? They didn't understand the physiology underlying the physical issues, and relegated the problem to emotions.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Be the GPS For Your Buyer</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3158067</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3158067</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:39:12 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Buyers have two identifiable responsibilities: maneuver through their internal, behind-the-scenes buy-in issues to ensure a trouble-free change process, and choose a solution that will address their stakeholder's criteria for systems excellence while maintaining the integrity of the system.  Sales addresses one of these jobs, but not the other. In fact, we've never been taught the skills to help with the off-line issues buyers address.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Cold Calling Works - And It's Fun!</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3011204</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3011204</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:51:57 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I'm here to tell you that cold calling can be one of the most effective ways to meet new prospects. And a whole lotta fun. I know, I know. Most sellers eschew cold calling, preferring instead to network, get referrals, golf, meet face-to-face. Did you ever ask yourself why?]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Buying Decisions - What Happens Behind The Scenes?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2980603</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2980603</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:44:47 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[For some reason, it's very difficult for sales people to think beyond 'need' and 'solution:' We tend to think that because the buyer's need matches our solution, and because we're professionals who 'care,' the only thing buyers need to do is choose our solution. But if it were that easy, buying decisions would get made more often in our favor. We certainly would not lose as many sales as we do. The problem is that the buying decision is so, so much more complex than we can imagine as we stand on the outside looking in. Sales mysteriously treats an Identified Problem (my word for 'need') as if it were an isolated event. But it's not. There are ramifications to any change, and the ramifications are ones only buyers can see from the inside and we will never be privy to.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Price Objections Aren't Price Objections</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2704907</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2704907</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:14:10 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Next time you hear your prospects give you price objections, it's not because of the price. The give price objections because they don't know the full value proposition that they'd be paying for. And it's not based on their need, or your features and functions. It's based on the buying criteria they want to meet internally.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Customers Don't Know How to Buy - Or Do They?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2090720</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2090720</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:31:43 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A friend recently returned from the recent Sales 2.0 conference and told me of a complaint she heard several times from attendees: "Customers don't know how to buy." This, said by sellers blaming buyers for not behaving as sellers would prefer. Or not responding appropriately to seller's selling patterns.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>The Internal Customer - Is it a Sales Job?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2668475</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2668475</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:56:27 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[What is the difference between selling to an internal customer and selling to an external customer? Nothing.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Decision Facilitation - Influencing the Offline Decisions</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2636765</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2636765</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:55:54 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Lately, I've heard a few folks using the term that I have been using for 20: decision facilitation.  But what, exactly, does that mean?  Since I suspect there is a good chance I was the person who first put those particular words together - especially in the sales field - I'd like to offer my definition.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Sales 2.0 - Five Things You Shouldn't Expect</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2576280</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2576280</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:29:12 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Here's the good news: Sales 2.0 is good for driving people to you. By simply offering a webinar, a free e-book, a White Paper, or some incentive, you can get folks to your site. If your material is good enough, they will Twitter about you, put a TinyUrl about you, link to your site, write you up on their blog. And here's the bad news: how do these folks decide to convert? How do they choose to make a purchase once you've captured their name? After you've sent them emails (and emails and emails)? Sales 2.0 is the New New Thing.
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>How Do You Know You're Listening to Your Clients in the Most Effective Way?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1967184</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1967184</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:36:12 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As the main skill in helping buyers make sense of the decision making that needs to take place in this new economy, Listening has some very specific rules. Indeed, for true listening to take place, the listener must have choices as to their listening filters, ensure there is no bias (i.e. they aren't just listening for an opening to attempt to make a sale), and ensure a relevant response that will move the Other to begin examining possibilities.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Buying Decisions Are Not Based On Needs</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/599665</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/599665</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:30:17 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As professionals, you have the tools to assess whether or not a prospect is a good risk for buying your product: you know the type of problem best suited to your product and the signs of 'need'- you ask good questions, analyze needs with a keen eye and ear; create presentations or professional pitches; and manage objections to ensure understanding and product differentiation.  So why do you close only a small percentage of the business you recognize as yours? ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Sales Recovery: How To Manage a Sale Going Wrong</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/401760</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/401760</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jan 2007 14:36:03 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do you know the difference between which prospect you'll close and which one you'll lose?

How can you tell, midway through a sale, whether you're on track for success or you've lost the deal?

How can you tell, in advance, that the sale won't close - ever?]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Voice Mail, Gatekeepers, and Other Obstructions to Sales Success</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/401763</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/401763</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jan 2007 14:25:04 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your first challenge is to get through the gatekeeper. Your charm is often effective: you're respectful and you will let her know you need her ("Can you please help me?"). But in this case, Acme has a receptionist who is not friendly. If you don't know the name of the person you're calling, she can't help you. So you do more research - on line and with colleagues - and get the right name. You call back, and after being put through to the right department, you are met with yet another gatekeeper who doesn't want to put you through.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>How Buyers Buy: What Sellers Need to Know to Close Sales</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/172851</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/172851</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 06 Apr 2006 03:19:42 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[It's time to change your job. Do you want to sell? Or have someone buy? They are two different activities. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Finding New Patients: Grow Your Practice with Integrity</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/173019</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/173019</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2006 18:05:23 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[What's stopping you from getting all of the patients you desire? Is it your technique? Your office staff? Your reputation?
The answers are most probably no, no, and no.
What is it then? 
This article will help you to answer these questions and more.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Objections: What Are They And Why Do We Get Them?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/172850</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/172850</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:54:22 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If the prospect has an obvious, unresolved problem, why would they defend their status quo, you might ask? Because even if the problem is obvious to them, their total solution might not be. And your product - even if necessary, and even if relevant - is only a piece of their solution, not their entire solution.
Remember that your product is merely a potential response to the business problem they need resolved. If the solution will be more trouble than the problem it solves, it's not worth the effort.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Decision Teams: Who Is On Them? And How Do We Interact?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/172852</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/172852</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:51:24 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The buyer is the only one - THE ONLY ONE - who has the means, the knowledge, the political influence, and the capacity to align and manage all of the internal elements that need to be addressed before a buying decision can be made. For some reason - sellers, like change managers, coaches, and consultants - believe that because they recognize and understand the area immediately around the problem that their product solves, and they've seen it countless times, they know how the buyer needs to buy.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Bringing Clients in the Door: How Professionals Can Encourage Business</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/172844</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/172844</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:48:21 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You're a professional - either a doctor, or a dentist, or an artist. Maybe you're an independent sales person who works on commission, or a speaker who must sell yourself. Given you know your craft but may not have the same level of savvy to garner all of the patients or clients that you deserve, how indeed do you get the business to come in the door?]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Buy-In: What Is It? And Why Is It Important?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/172854</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/172854</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:13:26 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Buy-in is sought when an adjustment - often for logical, necessary, or profitable reasons - is required within the status quo. It can be a mission statement change, or a new software solution, a new team member, or a new initiative, for example. While the impetus for the change may differ, plans for implementation seem to be predicated on the basic belief that buy-in can be achieved, and a new set of actions agreed upon and carried out, once a logical, congruent case is made for the requested change. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Facilitating Decisions: A New Way To Boost Sales</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/172845</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/172845</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2006 05:33:28 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[For years, marketers have assumed that because they can't figure out just how or why a consumer chooses one product over another, the decision is an emotional one. The marketer's hope - and a hope is the operative word here - is that their product is positioned effectively for when the 'emotional decision' is ready to be made.

I'm here to tell you that except on small or unique items, there is a logical, sequential decisioning system that each person or group uses before a final decision gets made. The good news is that this system can be both followed and influenced. 
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>The People Factor: Collaborative Decision-Making</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/172847</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/172847</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2006 05:07:29 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We all generally get the 'doing' just fine: we know how to introduce strategic initiatives, how to begin the implementation process, how to offer our people 'change management' programs so the new systems (or whatever) are up on time and do what they are supposed to do. 

But how do we help our people adjust, and do a competent job, when we are asking them to simultaneously work with new people, new technology, new vocabularies, new outcomes, and new job descriptions - and aren't teaching them how to juggle all of that while maintaining their daily job requirements?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Change: It Doesn't Have To Be So Difficult</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/159383</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/159383</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:19:16 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Why does change appear to be so difficult? Because our status quo seems set in concrete and we don't know how to go about making changes unless we have some assurance that a new comfort will result.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Referrals: Getting Good Business By Doing Good Business</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/49604</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/49604</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:59:14 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In this essay, we'll focus on getting old clients to come back and referrals. How do you get them? How do you ask for them? How do people choose to come back? How can you get people back when they don't want to come back?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>How Sellers Can Take Control</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/49602</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/49602</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:19:14 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[What power and control do sellers actually have? When you're using product/information-based sales methods, you actually have control only over your product data; you have no control over the buyer's internal, hidden, buying decisions.

You want control? Lead buyers through their decision criteria with Facilitative Questions. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Who is Responsible?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/34080</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/34080</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2005 21:34:36 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The problem is that unless each of us is willing and able to take the responsibility to create a win-win interaction, nothing gets fixed.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>This is a Sales Call: How to Begin Prospecting Calls with Integrity</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/34073</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/34073</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2005 21:10:35 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Make your call about helping them make discoveries and decisions. Don't use your time to push anything. Otherwise, you're wasting a great opportunity to find a new client and introduce your brand of integrity.
]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Struggle to Decide: The Paths Customers Take to Solve Problems</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/27644</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/27644</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2005 06:29:27 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Think about it for a moment: every sales problem that ever existed still exists. Thousands of books have been written on 'getting through' the gatekeeper, making 'the' appointment, handling objections, understanding the buyer/problem/buying environment and closing the sale. Indeed, these are the very same hindrances that Dale Carnegie wrote about in 1937. We continue to experience at least a 90% failure rate as a result of the process itself.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>How We Build a 90% Failure Rate into the Sales Process</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/27640</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/27640</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Apr 2005 08:32:54 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In general, every industry closes less than 10% of the prospects they call (first call to close), with over 90% falling in the 7% category. And, since there is no scientific way of knowing which prospects fall into the 7%, we continue running after all 'hot' prospects until they disappear. And then we make excuses for those we lost while having no earthly idea why we actually lost them.

Basically, we are out of control; the only control we seem to have is over product pitch and our ability to chase seemingly hot prospects.

Why is it ok to have such a low success rate?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>What is a Pitch?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/27639</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/27639</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Apr 2005 08:24:34 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Why aren't you closing all those people who seem to need your product? Why isn't your great pitch getting you the business you deserve? Why isn't your care/brains/Prada shoes/marketing/branding and knowledge of the prospect's business (not to mention that your brother-in-law knows the assistant to the CEO) getting buyers to recognize they need you? Or, to take it a step further, to choose you easily over the competition?]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Trusted Advisor Relationship: What Is It, and What Should It Be?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/27335</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/27335</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2005 08:42:31 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[For the past months, maybe a year, I've been hearing sales groups talk about the need to become Trusted Advisors (I'll call them TAs). I suspect that the problems cropping up in the sales arena these days - the increased length of the sales cycle, the increased levels of competition - are leading sales management to base their initiatives on being of true service to prospects, as a way to seem different from the competition.

But by everyone attempting to become TAs, and by not changing the basic skill set - or belief set or outcome - of the sales force, sellers are doing more of the same, but with a different name.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Outsourcing: The Unspoken Costs</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/27340</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/27340</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2005 08:36:33 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We've all dealt with service people from India when we call to ask a question of a vendor. First there is the long, long delay before the phone gets answered. And then there is the accent.

Are the service reps and techies smart? Yes, they are. Are they smarter than Americans? It depends on the person. But they are always cheaper. Do they do the job? Usually. Depends on how well they've been trained and managed. They certainly know what to say, how to say it, how to answer questions.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Going Global: Communication Across Mental Boundaries</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/27337</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/27337</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2005 08:23:32 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Sellers still work hard at making their product fit the buyer rather than the other way 'round. Even the newer form of selling methodologies are different forms of traditional sales, just with a customer focus assertion as a new 'angle'. Sales continues to be based on selling something. The belief systems and the very fabric of the thinking has remained the same for a long, long time. And in this global market we're in today, the rules, the thinking, and the focus must change or there will be continued loss of revenues.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Social Network Software</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/27338</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/27338</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2005 08:01:33 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In recent years, we've attempted to use technology to overcome all of the inherent problems sales creates. We've tried SFA, CRM, and now Social Network Software. And all they do is continue to operate on the same beliefs that sales has always worked from: people will buy if they like/understand/need/recognize the product, or like the sales person. And that's patently untrue. We've just not known what else to do. And the gulf between the sales end and the buyer's end keeps widening.]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Lead Generation: What Is It worth?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/26660</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/26660</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 09 Apr 2005 19:57:24 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Our business environment has changed dramatically. Companies must now be disciplined and market-driven if they want to stay alive. They must do more - much more - than create a buzz, or have a well-known brand. Just read the papers: the stock and balance sheets of brand names have plummeted faster, in some cases, than the unknown companies. ]]></description>
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<title>Business Ethics: How The Sales Function Can Transmit Company Values</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/26666</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/26666</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 09 Apr 2005 19:51:27 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[What causes money, greed, manipulation, and self-interest to prevail at the expense of serving? What's stopping sellers from using their jobs to promote respect, integrity, servant-leadership, collaboration, and trust - for their customers, for their companies, and for themselves? Why is there a belief that it's not possible to serve and make money? To support and be aggressive? To be a trusted advisor and close rapidly? ]]></description>
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<title>Managing Motivation</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/26663</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/26663</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 09 Apr 2005 19:22:23 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Today, businesses are dealing with massive change issues spearheaded by new strategic initiatives around technology. So much is possible! We can demographically get into our customer's heads, craft alliances that accentuate our creativity and negotiating skills, ask employees to deliver projects and new products in high-speed time frames, target audiences we never were able to reach before. But we're in more turmoil now than we've ever been. ]]></description>
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<title>Selling the Difficult: How to Sell What People Don't Understand How to Buy</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/26661</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/26661</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 09 Apr 2005 19:13:20 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I'll play a seller, using conventional selling methods, selling something difficult to understand; you be the prospective buyer. As we go through the process together, note your reactions, how your beliefs are being challenged, what 'objections' and emotions come up for you as I try to 'sell' you. ]]></description>
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<title>What Is A Proposal? And Why Do You Need One?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/26667</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/26667</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 09 Apr 2005 19:10:29 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Do you know anyone who regularly wins bids? Or can boast a balanced relationship between doing the hard work of producing proposals and regularly winning the business?

I'm always amazed at how much energy people put into responding to a Request For Proposal (RFP) in relation to the level of success - or non-success - they realize. And yet they continue to put time and resources into this relatively unproductive activity. ]]></description>
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<title>Influencing Change - A Guide for Sellers, Coaches, and Supervisors</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/26349</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/26349</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2005 12:34:30 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Until now, our communication rules have assumed that when we kindly or persuasively offer others good information that could solve problems and achieve successful results, or coach them toward making a much-needed change, or even just pitch a product they sorely need, we can expect a positive reception. Obviously, if our communication partner (called Partner in this article) has a problem and we've got the true solution - and we do! We do! - they should take our advice. But they don't.]]></description>
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<title>Save Your Breath: How To Sell In Trade Shows Without Pitching</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/26344</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/26344</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2005 12:28:24 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You stand there, in front of your great presentation material, wearing just the right suit or logo shirt, handing out some gimmick with your company name on it, wearing just the right smile or look of professionalism. You might even have a fishbowl at the table - or some type of contest material - to collect business cards of passers by for later use in your sales process. But the worst part of doing a trade show is losing your voice.
]]></description>
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<title>Gatekeepers</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/26346</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/26346</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2005 12:20:27 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When I ask salespeople to define what a gatekeeper is, I generally hear:  "Someone who keeps out people who will waste the boss's time."

But gates are two-sided - they open as well as close: a gatekeeper's job is actually to make sure the boss gets to spend his/her time efficiently.]]></description>
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<title>Differentiating Yourself from the Competition</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/26278</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/26278</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2005 11:02:00 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[It's getting harder and harder to differentiate yourself from the competition these days. Especially when your competition is global, offer additional value through their stellar service, and look and sound similarly wonderful to your offering. Not to mention that the new buzz words - 'adding value' and 'trusted advisor' - are universal, making it even harder to distinguish what you bring to the party as being superior.]]></description>
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<title>The History of Sales: Dale Carnegie is Still with Us</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/25960</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/25960</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Apr 2005 10:07:17 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[It's becoming a known fact that buyers want a solution, not to solve a problem. So the sales community has learned the new lingo about helping buyers discover their solution.  But they don't use skills that will support this discovery, and continue to use problem-solving techniques (information push, product-focused) as a way to sell.]]></description>
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