If you train your staff, there's a risk they'll leave; if you don't, there's a risk they'll stay.
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Why... be connected? I've often talked about my love of trade shows and the value of business relationships, which are...
May is National Bike Month. Here are five bike-friendly products and apparel to purvey for the next two weeks....
A promotional products distributor recently wrote me and asked how to handle clients that have figured out the industry's pricing...
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When we communicate with others—through a presentation, through graphics or through text in an article—the use of color can truly...
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Getting out of the commodity game requires hard work, thoughtful work and requires learning new skills and work habits. You...
Or "Detective Fiction, Sales and the Art of Listening."...
Performance clothing has changed over the past 10 years: silkier, stretchier, more mesh, even less stinky in some cases. So...
Empowering is the act of giving away your power to those around you so you can elevate the group as...
Steven Covey reminds us that when setting goals ... "Start with the end in mind." That is to visualize the...
The Super Bowl has also become the Ad Bowl, where brands duke it out to see who has the funniest,...
It takes a single negative image to undo even the most successful campaigns in the eyes of your customers—and many...
There aren't many distributors who would describe themselves as manufacturers. But under CPSIA, the majority of promotional products distributors—at least...
What would happen if you woke up in the morning and your first thought was, "I am never going to...
It's hard to believe, but there are fewer than 100 days left to achieve 2011 goals! Are you on track...
A few weeks ago, I had dinner with Executive Apparel's president and its director of product development in Orlando, Florida....
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Many believe the holiday season is the “most wonderful time of the year.” But we know better—it's the busiest time of year. Our entire staff has been relentlessly working toward an end to multiple projects, which is a good thing. We enjoy what we do and it's rewarding to present our final product(s) to our readership.
Unfortunately, that means a quick blog post this week. While handling some tasks for Promo Marketing, I've also been putting together the top distributors issue for our sister publication, Print+Promo. In addition to crunching numbers and evaluating industry trends, I gathered information for an article about sales presentations involving long-distance selling and face-to-face selling. I spoke to Kathi Simonsen, president of Simonsen Sales & Marketing and author of “The Sales Ascent.” During our conversation, she made an intriguing point that I never considered: Objections are actually good because they show interest. Really?
“The most difficult buyer to work with is the passive buyer; the one who just stares at you and nods. Nothing seems to be connecting. Maybe he has decided that the best way to get rid of you is to hear you out and then say, “I'll think about it, good-bye,” she said. “In contrast, the buyer who throws out objections is really working with you and is quite probably interested. If he wasn't interested, why would he waste his time objecting to what you say? He would either cut the meeting short or zone off during your presentation like that passive buyer.”
Every salesperson knows that thick skin is required to be in this business (Note: This is why I stay on the editorial side of the spectrum). But how do you handle it when you're constantly on the receiving end of objections? Are they opportunities or positive feedback in disguise? Perhaps it varies according to the industry—If a telemarketer calls me and I tell him or her: “Thanks, but no thanks,” I mean it. That isn’t a green light for persistent follow-ups at dinnertime (or any time). What are your thoughts on this topic?
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