Karl Graf

Have you ever instantly "clicked" with someone during a sales call or meeting, feeling like you both spoke the same language?

As sales professionals, it’s our job to determine our prospective buyer’s pain. How? By asking the right questions at the right time and in the right way. When we do this, our closing ratios improve. When we don’t, those same ratios get worse. Of course, we all want better closing ratios. That means we will want to start from the position that there is no room in our world for mind-reading.  

Imagine you’re deep into the sales cycle, having engaged in what seemed like promising discussions with a prospect. You've crafted an impressive presentation, received positive feedback, and then, upon revealing the price, the prospect's enthusiasm vanishes. The deal goes cold. Why?

Not all buyers have the same priorities … but sometimes we make the mistake of imagining they do. The buyer’s journey has certain discrete stages. It’s our responsibility as sales professionals to understand these stages, identify the priorities that connect to each stage, and then adapt to those priorities. 

As salespeople, we can sometimes be our own worst enemy when it comes to communicating or interacting with buyers.

Below is Sandler’s famous Success Triangle. The triangle's three corners can drive our ascent to our fullest and highest potential in sales and life.

Key customer accounts are like vast fields of dark, rich, fertile soil.  Your selling and serving teams have the seeds of growth in hand. But to grow or even retain important accounts, you have to deliver success on the customer’s terms.

Often, the easiest person to sell something to is the person you’ve already sold something to.

One of the most powerful ideas for maximizing team sales productivity is surprisingly simple: “Don’t buy back tomorrow what you sold today.”

What’s the key to running a great sales meeting? What one technique makes a great meeting a more likely, rather than less likely, outcome for both sides?