Busy sales professionals often find it hard to manage their time, and as a result, they tend to fill every moment of their day with tasks that won’t result in meeting their goals. No matter how fast they work, they never get to everything, and hence, won’t be in front of their customers when they are ready to buy. The critical questions to ask and answer are: how do you prioritize activities to get you to your goals and how do you achieve this payoff through better time management?In today’s lunchbreak training, I share the tweaks you need to make to your time management that will bring in results. I reveal the action strategies that will help you manage your time and maximize your echo-powered sales results. I highlight one tweak that delivers more sales consistently. I also share how you can meet your long-term goals by improving relationships within your network. “No matter how you manage your time - ultimately - you need to be in front of customers whenever they are ready.” - Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:The filing system versus a finding system approach to salesAligning your time with your goalsThe one time management change that primes echo sellingWhat ‘you never know meetings’ areThe time management tweak that consistently delivers more sales easierBeing open to meeting the right person at the right timeImproving network relationships to focus on your long-term goals 4 Actions to Take to Build Upon Today’s Session:Make appointments with people in your network, even if there is no obvious immediate payoffLearn how to learn about people and their industryPractice the art of managing your time rather than letting your time manage youContinue to learn how to echo your pitch It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder is produced by Auxbus. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Auxbus.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Salespeople may be masters of persuasion, but when a decision goes back to the customer’s office, we need to influence what happens next to get that sale. Of course, many salespeople believe that the easiest way to echo their sales pitch is by attending the meeting with their contact’s colleagues and presenting the sales pitch themselves. But, there are other ways to get that sale without being present at that meeting.So, how do you get your contact to echo your sales pitch?In today’s lunchbreak training, I explain what echo selling is and how to use it to get more sales, easier. I explain why your customers seek external approval from their co-workers and how to encourage them to echo your sales pitch to get positive confirmation from their colleagues. I share strategies for staying top-of-mind with your customers and how to create an echo ally in their organization. I also share the four steps you should follow to create an echo in your target accounts. “It’s not the salesperson’s words, but the confirming echo between our contact and their co-workers.”- Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:Why your sales contacts seek approval from their co-workersHow echo selling encourages positive confirmation between your contact and their co-workersHow to gain your customer’s attention and stay top of mindStrategies for creating an echo effect when speaking with your customerContacting your contact’s co-workers to prime an echo allyHow echo selling can be used with referral sources, distribution channels, and partnerships 4 Steps to Start Echo Selling:Select the target company.Make sure your LinkedIn profile is properly completed.Follow our social selling playbook.Continue to learn about echo selling It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder is produced by Auxbus. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Auxbus.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the one skill that the top 20% of sales professionals have that many others seem to lack? Imagination. Your imagination, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills are crucial for meeting and exceeding your sales goals. And while many people believe that your imagination disappears as you age - I believe it behaves more like a muscle that simply needs to be exercised regularly to avoid deterioration.In today’s lunchbreak training, I discuss how your imagination impacts your sales results. I discuss why sales professionals should practice role-playing techniques to find innovative and imaginative solutions to difficult challenges. I also share a few mind-stretching exercises to strengthen your imagination muscle as well as four actionable strategies you can use this week to improve your role-playing and sales results. “Your imagination is like a muscle - it atrophies with disuse, but it gets bigger and better with ongoing use.” - Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:The importance of imagination and role-playing when faced with difficult sales challengesMind-stretching exercises to strengthen your imagination muscleWhat sales professionals can learn from improv actorsDelivering a compelling rationale to your customerHow to make more services cost less to meet your customer’s budgetBrainstorming creative ideas to help your customer gain approval from their boss 4 Steps to Stretch Your Powers of Imagination:Schedule time to conduct mind-stretching exercises.Schedule time to play these mind-stretching exercises again within the next three weeks.Challenge yourself to think of one more exercise.Keep up the learning and development momentum. It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder is produced by Auxbus. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Auxbus.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In most professional sports, there are coaches and cheerleaders. Coaches teach you how to improve your skills and encourage you down the path of success. Cheerleaders, on the other hand, cheer and root for you on the sidelines and congratulate you on your wins. So, what can we, as sales professionals, learn from these professions?If you were the coach and the playing field is the world of sales, would you put yourself in the field - or on the bench?In today’s lunchbreak training, I explain how to be your own sales coach and cheerleader. I explain the roles of a sales coach and cheerleader, what sales coaches are supposed to do, and why no outside sales coach can help you until you develop your own inner coach. I explain the two different types of sales coaches and the various managing styles that sales managers use to motivate their teams to execute sales plans. I also share strategies you can use to help you develop your inner coach and how these techniques will impact your success. “The more you focus on being your own coach with an exciting plan, the more your daily actions will be inspired by a larger plan.” - Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:The importance of being your own sales coach and cheerleaderThe role of your sales managerHow habits and routines can impact your personal developmentThe connection between coaching and cheerleadingThe two types of sales coachesUnderstanding what motivates you and using it to your advantageHonestly assessing your strengths and weaknesses and adapting your plan to leverage your strengthsTracking the small and big wins and celebrating your successes 4 Steps to Develop Your Inner Coach:Commit to an ongoing, weekly schedule of management meetings.Identify your biggest strengths and weaknesses and commit to finding more ways to leverage your strengths.Find a metric you can commit to that you can celebrate at the end of each day.Continue your self-development streak. It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder is produced by Auxbus. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Auxbus.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s crucial for salespeople to be well-equipped with lots of great ideas. But having an idea and getting a great reaction to your idea are two very different things. Not to mention - getting a great idea at the exact moment you need one can be quite a challenge to overcome. So, how do you come up with a great idea the moment you need it?In today’s training episode, I share the 10 work habits that make up the creative process my team and I use to consistently and quickly develop great ideas. I explain how to create momentum to take your idea from concept to completion. I discuss why it’s important to schedule brainstorm sessions on your calendar and how taking breaks can help you recharge your creative energy. I also explain how continuously learning new concepts and skills helps fuel your creativity and why you should always write down your ideas - even if you’re not helpful for the project you’re currently working on. “If you want a great idea to bloom, first gain creative momentum.” - Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:The benefits of scheduling your brainstorming sessions with yourself or your team on your calendarGiving yourself a starting point to develop new ideasUsing working titles for your big ideasPruning your ideas and why it’s important to keep your writing and editing tasks separate in your processHow changing the order of your proposal can impact your customer’s reactionThe benefits of giving yourself (and your brain) a break to recharge your creativityHow constantly learning new things fuels your creativityThe importance of writing down all of your ideas - even if they won’t serve you immediately 4 Steps to Build Your Creative Momentum:Schedule the brainstorming appointment.Save your “spare parts” into one easily found folder.Practice reacting to negative comments with encouragement instead of defensiveness.Keep the momentum going. It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder is produced by Auxbus. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Auxbus.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The invention of the internet has significantly changed the landscape of many industries. Business today has changed and evolved in just about every aspect. Many of the techniques and strategies we used to sell and promote our products and services aren’t as effective today as they once were. Consumers - including B2B customers - now rely heavily on the digital arena to make buying decisions.So, how can you leverage the digital world to make more sales, easier, for your organization?In today’s training episode, I discuss the art and science of selling in the digital world. I discuss how the internet has impacted B2B sales and purchasing decisions and the four ‘I want’ moments that drive all online behavior. I discuss how changing your mindset to think like a digital marketer can improve your ability to close sales. I also explain what digital thinking means, why selling in today’s digital world requires digital thinking, and the seven things that all leading digital marketers consider when trying to reach more customers and make more sales. “To sell to a B2B customer who buys like a consumer, we need to think like digital marketers.” - Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:How salespeople can make more sales by thinking digitallyThe difference between empathy and ROI and how focusing on them can impact your salesIdentifying your mission as a sales representativeRestating your goals as problems to be creatively solved and how it helps you prioritize your goals and improve your time management skillsUnderstanding how your customers make purchasing decisionsReframing your mistakes as opportunities to learn and improveThe difference between optimizing your performance and scaling your resultsWhy the key to optimizing is to test new ideas and techniquesThe concept of scaling through networking 4 Steps to Start Selling in a Digital World:Rewrite and rehearse your elevator pitch with a renewed focus on passion and empathy.Ask every prospect about the details of the last time they made a decision to buy something similar to your product or service.Ask them what they’ve done so far about addressing their challenges - and why they haven’t bought yet.Remain open to learning. It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder is produced by Auxbus. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Auxbus.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do people make decisions? Perhaps more importantly: WHY do they make the decisions they make? Understanding the psychology behind how and why of the decisions your customers make is critical for positioning your proposition as the best solution for their problem.On today’s episode, I explain the psychological factors behind the corporate decision-making process and how to use it to produce more buying decisions. I explain how psychology - the customers and our own - guides us to make purchasing decisions and the connection between the customer’s tolerance to risk and their process for making a decision. I explain how the illusion of time can lead to a delay in the decision-making process and how to overcome this illusion by using the Backward Timetable strategy. I also explain how you can accelerate the relationship you want to develop with customers to drive faster decisions on your propositions. “Lack of reassurance is the #1 reason people don’t make a decision.” - Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:Identifying what does not encourage customers to make purchasing decisionsWhy customers choose to delay the buying processThe psychological factors that impact the corporate decision-making processThe connection between the customer’s risk tolerance and their decision-making processIdentifying whether the customer is risk-averse or risk-tolerant and how you can use this information to make more salesHow to learn what your competitors missed when speaking with your customer and how this can help you learn how much risk the customer is comfortable with before making a decisionComparing right-brain and left-brain thinking decision-makingWhat Emotional Amplification meansHow to accelerate the relationship you want to develop with customersHow public opinion and rational impacts the corporate buyer’s decisionHelping customers rationalize their decisionHow peer consensus impacts the buyer’s decisionHow the illusion of time can often delay the buyer’s decision-making processWhat a Backward Timetable is and how it addresses the psychological decision-delayers 4 Steps to Drive More Purchasing Decisions:Learn the rationale of your best customers.Learn the past buying pattern of every new prospect or customer contact you meet this week.Try the Backward Timetable in a sales meeting - especially if there is fuzziness about timelines, due dates, or the use of loose language.Lead by example. It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder is produced by Auxbus. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Auxbus.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like all salespeople, you know there are five main parts of the sales process: Prospecting, Qualifying, Presenting, Negotiating, and Closing. Once you’ve learned how to master each of these areas, do you really need to continue learning new skills? What more could you possibly learn to improve your sales skills and make more sales?A lot.On today’s episode, I explain why you need to continually develop new skills in today’s modern sales environment. I discuss the importance of adapting the skills you already know and adopting new skills to be more successful. I explain the three questions your internal sales coach should challenge you with and the direct relationship between the effort you use to learn a new skill and adapting what you already know with your value as a salesperson. I also explain how to accurately measure a customer’s interest, how to identify where they are in the buying process, and why it’s crucial to practice creative thinking skills to find solutions to sales obstacles. “You need ongoing training focused on adapting what you already know and adopting what you need.” - Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:What it takes to adapt the skills you already know and adopt new skillsWhat is an internal coach and how it differs from an external coachHow focusing on avoiding failure - instead of punishing failure - leads to successThe direct connection between the effort you use to learn a new skill, adapting what you already know and your worth as a salespersonThe skills you need to gain a competitive edge, have better meetings, build better relationships, and build and maintain better pipelinesThe importance of being observant while talking to customersHow to accurately measure a customer’s interestPracticing your creative thinking skills to find solutions to obstaclesApplying the principles of game theory to your mental sales calculations 4 Steps to Improve Your Sales Skills Today:Read a book, then change one thing about the way you prepare for a meeting based on that book.Pay attention to one new thing during your next sales meeting.Make appointments in your calendar to brainstorm creative next steps. It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder is produced by Auxbus. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Auxbus.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you make a sales call or call to make an appointment, your sales pitch must sound enthusiastic, natural, and authentic. Your message needs to come from the heart, and you need to mean it. Even over the phone, customers know if you are lying, spinning the truth, or misleading them. You have to sound truthful; otherwise, you will encounter objections, be ill-prepared, and fail to convey your message. In today’s lunchbreak training, I discuss how to script your enthusiasm. I share why you should start with a script - just like an actor - and prepare and rehearse until you perfect delivering your enthusiasm. I discuss why salespeople fail when they don’t develop a script and share a step-by-step guide to crafting the ideal structure. I explain how to optimize your message to make it even more powerful. I also highlight why it is vital to practice delivering your script enthusiastically and share two ways to get feedback and hone your performance further. “Your sales pitch echoes best when it’s a great pitch. And every sales pitch is just a little bit better when it sounds enthusiastic, natural, authentic, and comes from the heart.” - Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:The reason why your sales and appointment calls should start with a scriptInternalizing and perfecting your script to sound authenticThe risks and pitfalls of not using a scriptA step-by-step strategy to create and construct your scriptWhy using the fewest number of words creates the most powerful messageHow to practice enthusiasmWhy you should physicalize your phone message It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business owners or owners of a sales territory are responsible for growing sales. To know whether sales numbers are going up or down, you need to track various metrics, including the stage of prospects. However, salespeople are not generally good at tracking things. If they were, then they would be in another career, such as accounting. The problem gets worse because sales trainers will tell you to track a bunch of things when, in fact, what you need to do, is simplify the process. So, what metrics should salespeople track to increase their sales year over year? In today’s lunchbreak training, I share what you should track to increase your sales and reveal where to look in your figures for success and motivation. I share nine crucial things that you should track in your sales pipeline to create a ‘last week versus this week’ report. I also discuss each metric and how they reveal where opportunities exist to boost your sales numbers and ensure this year is more successful than last year. “Don’t track just to beat yourself up.” - Steve Bookbinder This week on Food For Thought Lunchbreak:Finding successes in your figures to boost motivationLooking at your pipeline and setting goals for almost closed salesCreating a ‘last week versus this week report’Tracking the number of first appointments, live prospects, total value, and average valueTracking your conversion ratio and negotiating efficiencyComparing your average proposal value to your average contract value It’s Time to Get More SalesThanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Food For Thought Lunchbreak with Steve Bookbinder. If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Apple Podcasts, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes on social media.And for more great content, news, and information on sales and marketing, be sure to visit the DM Training website.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.