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Paying commission wisely is a big challenge for business owners and managers. Commission can either drive sales performance, or turn your sales team into a bowl of oatmeal.

Selling is a profession of immediacy. Commission salespeople get paid for what they sell today. The presence of weekly, monthly, and yearly sales goals stresses the need for immediacy. Given all the attention on the “What have you sold for me lately” mentality of

Retail selling can be difficult, but providing sales training for your staff on these collaborative sale methods will boost your sales effectiveness.

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People LOVE to buy… There is no question this is true. A little research on Retail Therapy supports the idea that when people feel bad they want to go out an buy things. The real question is why dont retail sales people help people buy? This is going to [...]

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I know you are going to think I am weird when I say this, but your presentation is NOT about your product! It’s about your client, silly!
The trick to giving a rock solid presentation is not to memorize every feature and benefit of your product and puke them up on your [...]

What trait do top sales performers have that most other salespeople don’t?

Everyone wants to differentiate themselves in the eyes of buyers. Yet they often pick the most conventional, beige, bland and predictable ways of demonstrating it. They pick the latest fads or are forced to do something that once worked, 15 years ago, for their manager and is now labelled as a “methodology”.
There are some great [...]

I am watching American Idol and I am bored.  Now it is Simon’s turn to critique another generic singer.
He says, “The problem is that you are completely forgettable.”
Exactly.  Although there are thirty-six finalists, maybe three of them are memorable.  This is bad news for the other thirty-three.
Here is the deal – when you gain the stage you [...]

The challenge with talking about sales presentations is that it immediately invokes an image of a one way conversation. The only thing that can be worse is if it included a PowerPoint presentation read by the presenter. To me selling and presenting are two different things that only on occasion and under specific circumstances go [...]

Now, I’m no Anthony Hopkins, but training in acting and theater has definitely enhanced my sales career. With one foot in the world of theater and the other in the realm of business, here are a dozen suggestions to help you perform effective sales presentations.