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Thanks to so many who asked, and because I finally have some time to do this, my blog is back. And what a great time to start in again. Sales in most industries are stagnating again and everyone is looking around going “What happened to the recovery?”

As you’ve read many times in my blog, the paradigm of how sales get done has shifted and has become somewhat mercurial. Just when you think you have your finger on it, it moves, changes and remains elusive.  The digital “on the go” world has made competition and clients commitment to sales tougher than ever.

Over the next few months I will be bringing tools to the blog for you and your team to use for greater success. These tools are simple “additions” to what you are already doing well. They will take advantage of the technology that is part of today’s business world and allow you to both broaden and connect with more customers.

Finally, as I step back into my blogging chair and get comfortable offering up tips and such for successful sales, remember that patience, tenacity and awareness of your style of communication are some of the essential elements for success today. The delicate tightrope walking of online communication – whether via email, text or IM – requires a firm commitment to getting the sale combined with the confidence to not force the sale. And though that sounds contradictory, the truth is that the balance of the two is how you can continue to ask for what you know will help your customer – the sale.

Feel free to comment or ask questions as we move forward together and thanks for looking in.

It is often the belief of most small to mid-size companies that during a struggling economy they want their sales team to venture out and get more accounts. And why not? To broaden your sales base can help to bring in revenue not yet forecast and keep the company afloat. But as we realize that there is a shift in the scheme of buying and selling out there, it’s always better to turn inwards first.

When it feels like the ship is starting to take on water, it’s not always best to go deeper out to sea. Not until you’ve stopped the leaking as best you can. In other words, reexamining your sales ratios and finding ways to capture more of what is already coming in through your sales pipeline.  

The problem that most companies experienced by the end of 2008 was no one was buying. Everyone was holding on to their money.

Now, as the first quarter is coming to an end, it’s time for your sales teams to get those buyers buying again. But the climate is still different and it may be quite some time before it comes back to what it once was.  It’s time to help your team realize they can’t expect to get the same sales the same way. It’s time for every sales person to get back into the mode of being a sales person and not an order taker.

We’re in a new era of sales. It’s exciting and fresh. It’s time to reexamine how to help your potential clients realize their needs and that your company is or has the solution. It’s time to put on a fresh set of eyes to what you are offering and identify how you can capture those sales dollars by being the answer to what “they need”.  If you keep trying to do business with your existing client base or source in the same manner as before and have found you are NOT getting the same results – you want to change how you sell before you start venturing into new, uncharted waters.

Next BLOG will discuss how you can tighten the ship (sorry for all the nautical references) and capture more BEFORE adding to your sales base.