Bill Farquharson

"Sales meeting.” No two words in the English language cause a reps’ eyes to roll more than these. Sales meetings are important, though. They can keep a team a team. They can be informative and informational. Since all sales challenges are shared, there’s a good chance someone in the room has an idea or a solution that is exactly on point. While sales meetings are necessary, boring sales meetings are not...

Prospecting is a must. It’s a have-to. It’s as important as exercise, brushing your teeth, eating, stretching and anything else that needs to be done on a daily basis. For as sure as the Patriots winning the AFC East for the 150th consecutive year, you will lose 10 percent to 15 percent of your business…

You can change the outcome of a sales call by following a suggestion. Find out what it is by reading Bill’s blog.

You will hear a prospect say, “Call me after the holidays.” Watch this sales tip if you’d like to know how to overcome that objection.

An RFP arrived in the mail (or, RFQ if you prefer, “Request for Quote” over “Request for Proposal”). The salesperson looked it over.

What would happen if you woke up in the morning and your first thought was, "I am never going to sell anything today. Why would anyone buy anything from me? I'll be lucky to even survive."

The account was history. That much he was sure of. It took two years to build credibility and a year to win the business. That was followed by two more years that he milked the cash cow he had created.

I need your help making a list.

As I look ahead to Mother's Day and think back on what she has taught me, it occurs to me that she contributed a great deal to my sales career and that many of her parental lessons translate well to the sales world.

As a sales person, he is clairvoyant and omnipotent. He has built an impeccable reputation in the promotional products industry as a master of his craft. With each passing sales year, his legend grows. He is, The Most Interesting (Sales) Man in the World.

In last week's blog I gave you five harsh sales realities. I'm in a better mood this week. So, just to prove that I'm not getting old and cranky, this week I give you some good news.

I started my career in sales 30 years. Since then, much has changed but much remains the same in this field. Below I offer some thoughts and opinions. They're not pretty. Just true.

With electronic barriers such as voice mail and caller ID, there is a loss of respect in a great deal of relationships, both business and personal. To help you to be the best sales person you can be, I offer up the 10 Rules of Sales Etiquette.

Roughly 13 years ago, my oldest daughter Kati was diagnosed with ADD. The psychologist, Dr. Rosenrosen, told us that it was hereditary. Upon hearing that, my wife looked at me and said, "Well, THAT explains a lot!"

Sales reps hate CRM systems, and in a former life, so did I. I saw no purpose to it; no value whatsoever.

Until this happened.