We are on vacation and you are with us. Mike and Joe are taking some well deserved time off. We will be back with a regular schedule on August 4.

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog

How to make the most out of sales meetings during the summer time lul in activity

Its summer (at least in the USA) which means people are more relaxed, going on vacations and loosing any sense of urgency about doing business. If you're a sales person summer often has a negative effect on your ability to close sales. In this episode Joe and Mike offer up some ideas that might help you improve your sales performance over the summer.

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog

Sales Networking

The advent of Web 2.0 presents a whole new opportunity to leverage technology to reach potential prospects and partners. But where do you start? In this episode Joe and Mike talk about different social networking tools, how they use them to drive awareness and how you can leverage them to find more opportunities.

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog

It's the end of the quarter for a majority of sales people which means it's reality check time on how close your actual sales were to what you forecasted. Forecasting is a difficult process fraught with errors but its important to your success to get it right. In this episode Joe and Mike talk about why the forecasting process often goes astray and what sales people and sales managers can do to improve their forecasting accuracy.

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog

Sales Recruitment Hire The Top Sales People in Your Industry

Because of its direct impact on the bottom line hiring the right sales reps and sales managers is critical to the success of any company. However, there are few challenges as daunting as selecting people with the potential to be top performers. In this episode Joe and Mike discuss how to go about selecting top sales reps and sales managers including identifying the characteristics that are most important in determining their potential for success.

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog

Okay the spring marketing tradeshow circuit is winding down. Does your company have a procedure to handle all the "Sales Leads"? This week Mike and Joe talk about how to take inquiries and turn them into qualified sales leads.

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog

What do you measure to predict future sales performance? Is it the number of cold calls made? The number of face-to-face visits? The number of opportunities in the pipeline? Those gauges are important to monitor but how realistic is it to rely on them to forecast sales? Do those measurements actually help you figure out "the dollars in the door"?

In this episode Joe and Mike talk about the pitfalls of relying on traditional methods of predicting sales results and in some cases how measuring them can negatively impact your sales. They will also discuss what sales people and sales managers should be looking at and offer a method to determine if you are focusing on the types activity that will lead to "the dollars in the door".

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog

In tough economic times elite sales professionals follow a few basic behaviors to assure top performance. In this the final episode of the series "Selling in a Down Economy" Mike and Joe Interview Tim Wackel, founder and president of The Wackel Group, about the top three key sales strategies you should be deploying right now to ensure your success!

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog

There are a few basic behaviors that top salespeople should follow in tough economic times to sustain their performance. First, make your customer's goals your personal objectives. Demonstrate how your product or service will advance their ambitions. Only propose solutions that solve their business problems! Second, justify all proposals with payback beginning in the current fiscal year. In tough economic times every customer will be looking to save money. Third, and perhaps the most important, reduce their risk! This is especially acute in a down economy. No one wants to take on additional risk when times are tough. This week Mike and Joe talk with Jeb Blount, author of PowerPrinciples and founder of SalesGravy.com about Understanding Your Customer's needs throughout this turbulent period.

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog

Part 1 of a three part series on Selling in a Tough Economic TimesIn sales there are many things we can control. The economy is not one of them! Even the Federal Reserve Chairman is having a difficult time with the economy. We do however have total control over the one thing that will separate the top sales performers from the nonperformers and that is our attitude.

Attitude drives behavior and if you maintain a positive attitude you will outperform over 80% of your peers. Optimistic sales people will perform better than their negative peers by nearly 40%. You have control over your mind. This week Mike and Joe talk about Maintaining A Positive Attitude through this tough economic period. Additionally they have an with interview Rocky LaGrone, founder of The Training Group.

Sales Podcast and Sales BlogVisit our Website to Get Detail Show NotesSalesRoundup Blog