Practical Wisdom from Kahle Way Sales Systems

I recently came across some research that confirmed what many of us have known for years: That customers would be “much more likely” to buy from a sales person if that sales person would just “listen” to the customer.

Listening is one of the four fundamental competencies of a professional sales person, and yet, the profession is, in general, so poor at it that most customers remark on our inability to do it well.

In this podcast, I share three techniques to help you to listen better.

Goal-setting is one of those hallowed practices that belong in every leader’s arsenal. We’ve all heard that people who set goals are far more successful than those who don’t. And every well-run business has a policy and a practice of setting annual goals for its various operational departments.

And yet, there are times and situations where it may be appropriate to do something else.

“Every profession expects the serious practitioner of that profession to continually seek out the best practices and then to roll them into his/her routine.”

That statement comes out of my mouth in almost every seminar or keynote that I present.

The truth is that better salespeople produce better results and the best salespeople produce the best results. And better sales people continually imbed best practices into their habits. That’s how they become better. They practice.

Becoming a learning organization – gaining the ability for an organization and its people to change in response to the changing world around them -- may be the ultimate success skill for the Information Age. For adults on the job, learning is synonymous to changed behavior.

In the most trying circumstances, having a greater purpose can be a powerful mechanism to see you through. Here’s my personal story.

We are in the middle of some difficult times. Rather than belabor that point, I’d like to come to the heart of the problem: What do we do?

In an earlier article, I shared some suggestions to help individuals navigate these turbulent waters. In this podcast, I’m focusing on sales forces. So, this is specifically aimed at owners, CEOs, Chief Sales Officers and other sales leaders. Here’s my recommendations for what to do to weather this storm and emerge on the other side stronger.

We are in the middle of some difficult times.  What do we do?  We need to answer that question in an immediate, urgent basis:  What do we do right now? 

          We also need to answer the question in a strategic, on-going way.  What do we do this week, this month, this year? 

          In the podcast I share some experience and wisdom as some one who has been here before.

"Your price is too high!” The infamous price objection. Wouldn’t it be great if we would never hear it again?

Unfortunately, that will never happen. Too many of the people with whom we deal are paid to get the best deal they can. And that means asking for a better price, even when they know they are getting a great deal.

That being said, it is still possible to reduce the number of times we hear it, and, perhaps more importantly, it is possible to reduce the intensity of the comment.

I was young, cocky and a bit full of myself when I had one of the most humbling experiences of my life, and learned a lesson that has stuck with me for decades. Personal responsibility is easy to say, but quite a bit more difficult to actually embed into your life.

Should a salesperson invest in his/her own development?  If so, how much time and how much money.  I respond to those questions in this episode.