This is my 15th Horse Fair! What could possibly be different? As I loaded up the minivan with promo material, samples and booth accessories, I was dreading the next 4 days. Every year, for the last 15 years, I made the journey to set up and work the booth at the national horse show. […]
As a salesperson, you can tear down the walls that separate! As a sales trainer, consultant and coach, I start the process with a deep dive into current sales team strengths/weaknesses and the reinforcement or changes needed. This discussion typically goes on with the general manager or VP of Sales. In almost every case, […]
Internal Networking: “Quit Coveying” at Sales Meetings! We could see Rob, our sales manager, coming from across the auditorium. We knew we were in trouble. Not real trouble. Just that humorous kind of trouble that he used as a great management tool. It was July and like many companies in agribusiness, we were having our […]
My guess is yes. Working with sales managers in agribusiness on a daily basis, I hear this complaint a lot. “We launched a great Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program, but the sales team just does not use it.” “We spent a lot on it and it has the capacity to do great things.” “However, we’re […]
Nobody likes to be surprised after the sale “I didn’t realize I only had a week to use the service!” “You didn’t tell me there wasn’t downside protection on this option strategy” “If I’d have known that, I never would have bought it!” Ever hear these comments from a customer? Do you hear them too […]
Practical Steps to manage your fears when selling Jody was calling me from the prospect’s parking lot. A bit nervous to make her first call on a prospect alone, she phoned to “just talk” for a few minutes. It didn’t take long to realize the anxiety around this call had been building with Jody […]
What to do when your customer is super busy – Planting & Harvest Strategies for the Ag Sales Professional As Dave and I pulled onto the farm, we could see all the hustle and bustle going on. The weather broke, the planting window was open and this producer was in a full panic to get […]
How can Reality TV help you be a better Ag Sales Professional? Twenty-one years ago, I was running hills on a training run to get ready for my 7th marathon. As I did, something snapped in my ankle and suddenly I was in extreme pain and couldn’t put weight on it. No, it wasn’t my […]
I really shouldn’t call them traps because I truly don’t think our customers are setting a trap. They are just busy people and want to get right down to the point. As most of us know, the sales process involves – Connecting-Asking good questions to uncover needs-Presenting a solution to those needs-Closing […]
Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of training many salespeople in the skills and art of becoming an Ag Sales Professional. While it’s true that selling is selling, there are some specifics that help when you know the industry you are training in. For this week’s article, I started to think about how I […]
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