Sales Training Archives - Braveheart Sales Performance

Need to Sell More with Fewer People?

In 2020, we saw numerous companies freeze hiring, and many even reduced headcount. And now in 2021, there’s still much trepidation for going back to “business as usual.” There may not be much excitement to add sales headcount either. So, the age-old question exists. How can I get my current sales team to sell more?

Two Ways

There are two tried and true ways to sell more:

Work harder – “If they only would prospect more, hunt harder, in short, work more, then maybe there would be more business closing and more revenue.” It’s another age-old question, if they were able to do […]

Three Steps to Improved Negotiation and Sales Success

What happens when a salesperson isn’t an effective negotiator? Often, they simply write a proposal.

I’ve observed it happen many times. Somehow the salesperson thinks that if they put the information in writing the prospect will buy.

The truth is that a proposal should really be a confirmation of what has already been agreed to, or has been determined that the prospect wants, needs, and is interested in buying. These factors must first be understood before creating a proposal.

Effective Negotiations

So how can a salesperson become an effective negotiator and understand these factors? Well, an effective negotiator is really just a skilled communicator. […]

The “Fact” that Prospects Are Honest Is Hurting Sales Growth

85% of salespeople have self-limiting beliefs that hurt their sales effectiveness. 85%! Huge!

And one of the most common Sales Self-Limiting Beliefs we see in sellers is the belief that Prospects Are Honest. The number actually went up one percentage point since I last reviewed the data in October 2019.

You probably have heard the old adage, “How do you know a prospect is lying? Their lips are moving!” LOL

All Kidding Aside

Most prospects are not deliberately being dishonest with sellers. They are telling little-white-lies such as.

“I need to think it over.”

“Now just isn’t a good time. Can you check back […]

Hedgehog Your Sales Organization

Years ago, while I was working for a company in the sales trenches, a fellow salesperson was always struggling to make his number. He would fight and claw to get approval on small opportunities that were not really in our sweet spot. He would go to the mat to get a discount for a prospect that wasn’t quite right for our business – happy to negotiate internally with our boss to get the client a better deal rather than stand his ground and get them to pay what our services were worth.

Two Factors and a Need

I didn’t realize it at […]

The 5 Requirements to Maximize ROI on Sales Training

It shouldn’t be surprising that we spend a lot of time training sales teams and coaching the sales team leaders. Our experience doing it for clients provides much insight into how to get maximum benefit from this kind of help. Here are five elements that must be considered before any money is spent on sales training.

Can sales training be embedded into a repeatable selling system and process within your CRM? Teaching and training won’t stick for most people unless it is embedded in the system they use on an ongoing basis. Asking the right questions and employing the newly learned […]

Stop the Discounting…Even When Business Has Slowed

We are seeing a selling panic ensue due to the turmoil of the last few months. Salespeople have been doing anything to win business, no matter what the price. This trend obviously isn’t a good one, so I have reviewed some data and contemplated exercises to help salespeople sell value rather than sell based on price,

Yes, we can certainly coach salespeople on what to say and when. But that likely isn’t enough. You see, selling value isn’t just a tactical skill set. It is a combination of skill set and mindset.

There are many factors that go into the […]

Beliefs Are More Powerful than Skills

I heard author and motivational speaker, Gabby Bernstein, doing a radio interview recently. In it, she made the statement, “Beliefs are just thoughts you keep thinking.” It resonated with me. She was specifically talking about fear and how it becomes not only a habit but an addiction. I, of course, thought about it from the perspective of sales.

Beliefs Limit Success

We know that an overwhelming number of salespeople are sabotaged by their own beliefs. Regardless of an individual’s current success in sales, they can limit that success just based on thoughts they repetitively think. Of the last 100 salespeople we analyzed, […]

Too Dependent on the Sales Manager to Close Business? Time to Sharpen the Saw

As I work from my home office, I hear the buzzing of saws cutting down tree limbs on behalf of the electric utility. I guess it is considered essential…but that is another topic. The noise does make me think about sharpening the saw. And, especially what a great time it is to help salespeople improve their skills to become independently successful.

Don’t Repeat History

Taking a lesson from the last recession, there are many salespeople out there who are successful in strong economic times but suffer in downturns. Frequently they lack the selling competencies that will support their sales efforts, but more […]

Lessons from the Last Economic Crisis for COVID-19

Braveheart Sales Performance turns eleven years old on March 25. So, if you do the math you will realize that we started the company in 2009. Smack dab in the economic aftermath of the Great Recession. Sure, it was risky. But it seemed less risky at the time than placing my future in the hands of executives of large companies. And, I knew there was a need for our services. Boy was I right. More than I ever expected.

During the recession, it became painfully obvious that many salespeople were not skilled sellers at all. They were merely product pushers and […]

More Coaching, Even Poor Coaching, is Better than None

I cannot impress enough the importance of sales manager coaching and doing it a bunch. I have stats to back me up. Check out this data curated by Objective Management Group on about 5,500 managers and their teams.

Ineffective coaching still yields significant improvement.

You can see, even if the manager isn’t effective at coaching their team, just spending 50% of their time doing it will increase seller effectiveness. And this increase is greater than what effective coaches can produce with their ability alone (without coaching at least 50% of the time). Crazy, huh?

So exactly what do I mean by coaching?

Think of […]

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