Not all moments in the selling process are created equal. Some moments are more critical than others if we are going to effectively persuade our prospective buyers. There are three key moments that we must get right. Get these moments right and watch the sales coming steaming in.

Did you know your customers are setting feature dumping traps all the time? More often than not, you’re likely falling prey to the three most dangerous feature dumping traps and hurting the success of your sales presentation in the process! Step One is recognizing those traps and Step Two is understanding how to avoid them and keep your sales presentation on track.

Have you ever learned to play an instrument? The “music” you created in those early days of learning was…well, perhaps calling it “music” is overstating it. You wouldn’t have wanted to hear what even virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma was doing to a cello when he was first learning! Do you really believe LeBron James came out of the womb dunking a basketball? Even the most skilled brain surgeon in the world effectively “killed” a few cadavers when learning their craft.

The irony is that many sales managers carry the exact same opinions as their sales teams of their own meetings. They dread the planning process, they endure the painful silence and eye-rolls, and they can’t wait to get on with their day. It doesn’t have to be that way, my friends. In fact, if you are a sales manager you need to radically re-think your approach. Like…now!

​Think back to the various sales presentations you have experienced in your life. How many of them made you want to continue having conversations with sales people? One? None? Less than none? Sad but true, this really is the way your customers feel. So, why is this?

A gambler looks at a betting situation in a manner very similar to buyer looking at a purchase decision. There are two key questions that get asked: What is the probability of a favorable outcome? What are the consequences of a win or a loss? In either case, if the probability of a favorable outcome is deemed to be high the decision is not difficult.

Selling is influencing. Selling is persuasion. And persuasion translates into higher conversion rates. It stands to reason, therefore, that the words and phrases you choose to influence and persuade your buyer will either help your conversion rates or hurt your conversion rates. Here are four phrases that aren’t doing you any favors.

If you are feeling overworked, stretched beyond your limits and like you just want your life back, then it’s time to identify your top priorities as a sales leader so that you can strategically, intentionally and confidently control your own weekly calendar and daily schedule.

Let’s face it, our customers wind up living the same sales experience over and over and over again.  They are in a Groundhog Day pattern. And guess what? They want out! If You look the same and sound the same, you are the same. So how do you change the pattern?

I am going to propose three scenarios that are similar to ones you might come across fairly often in your sales career. In each of the three scenarios, your customer is not a customer, and that means that you aren’t a sales person. So what are you? I explain that in this blog post.