Every single second, there are 9,100 tweets posted on Twitter. Last month we waded through the ocean of tweets and located the best sales experts to follow who have tactical, inspirational, or managerial insight. This month we’re looking at the top sales tips and advice from those experts—their best catches, if you will—that can help you and your sales team be motivated, act with intentionality and perform better.
Casting Techniques (aka Tactical Sales Tips)
@DonCooper – Don Cooper
“You need to make the case for why your prospect should want or need what you’re selling in the first place. And then you have to persuade them that your product or service is better for them than any other option they could buy instead.”
@barbaragiamanco – Barbara Giamanco
“Telling isn’t selling. Prospects don’t want sellers talking at them. They want to help to solve their biz problems.”
@Kel_Robertson – Kelley Robertson
“Today’s salesperson needs to become more business-focused. We need to think and act like business people, rather than someone hawking a product, service or solution. If you understand what is important to business people, and you can position your offering accordingly, you will stand out from your competition and improve your odds of closing the deal.”
@dmscott – David Meerman Scott
“Educate and inform instead of interrupt and sell.”
@axonom – Axonom
“Connecting with your customers via social media is a great way to stay on their radar and let them know about your latest news and tools. But email is still valuable as well. Sometimes just checking in to make sure they are happy separates you from other salespeople.”
Steering Your Boat (aka Motivational and “Big Picture” Insight)
@lifecoach2women – Dr. Stacia Pierce
“Whether you’re ‘at work’ or not, your daily actions should take you closer to your success. Everything you want is on the other side of what you won’t do. You must lose your love for being comfortable if you want to reach your goals. Comfort is an enemy of success because it lulls you into complacency.”
@BrianTracy – Brian Tracy
“Most people achieved their greatest success one step beyond what looked like their greatest failure.”
@davidabrock – Dave Brock
“Top performers engage buyers differently, they get buyers to think differently, they think and act differently. And the results they produce, both for their customers and for their own organizations are profoundly different than the rest of sales organizations.”
@babettetenhaken – Babette Tenhaken
“Depending on where we sit at the table, we see the same things differently. Discover, communicate, learn.”
Captaining Your Crew (aka Managerial Advice)
@Sales_Source – Geoffrey James
“Helicopter managers are as bad as helicopter parents—they create helplessness in the people they’re trying to help. The only way that people can grow is by making mistakes, which means that the manager can’t be jumping in all the time to fix things.”
@AskJamieTurner – Jamie Turner
“Your best research isn’t with customers, but w/people who considered you & went elsewhere.”
@sellingtools – Nancy Nardin
“Over-thinking is over-kill. It’s when your idea isn’t overly creative, it’s simply over-engineered. And there are 3 reasons why it’s harmful to productivity. You can over-look a much simpler, more accurate, approach resulting in a lengthened sales cycle or one that stalls altogether. You can neglect the basics in favor of the exotic leading to wasted sales effort and un-needed complexity. You can over-complicate matters and end up with under-performing reps or territories.”
@SalesGravy – Jeb Blount
“The leader’s primary focus must be getting their people in a position to win. Otherwise what is the point?”
@DorieClark – Dorie Clark
“A customer may really want to purchase your product but if you erect enough barriers—confusing website architecture, requiring the creation of an online profile, onerous payment systems—he’ll give up. To be truly effective, we have to question those assumptions and instead ask ourselves: what do our customers want and need, and how can we make it easier for them to buy?”
@thesaleshunter – Mark Hunter
“If you are a sales manager, you must deal with low performers immediately. The sooner you deal with the person by putting in place steps to either improve their performance or move them out of their position, the better off you and your team will be.”
@duncanbrodie – Duncan Brodie
“Listen more, speak less—people are a brilliant resource. They have ideas, experiences, and insights. The only thing you need to do is decide whether you are willing to listen.”
Conclusion
In the sea of online information, it’s hard to quickly capture what may be of value. Our top sales experts can offer your managerial team and sales professionals real-world, tactical sales tips and insight. That way they can reel in what’s helpful and get back to the job at hand, helping your business grow and succeed.
Once you’ve considered our top anglers’ tips, discover details about how Powertrak CPQ quoting, ordering, and product configuration software can help your company upgrade its “gear” and take your sales operation to the next level.