Mark Jewell's Blog: Selling Energy, page 200

How to Respond When a Customer Asks You to Lower Your Price

There are certain people who will not do business with you unless you lower your price.  They’ll feel as if they’re winning or scored a real deal. 

The Best Times to Ask for a Referral

Have you asked for a referral lately?  There are at least six times when you should ask for a referral. 

Discover Your Internal Compass

The business world isn’t always known for its best examples.  Companies rise and fall when they are led by power-hungry and selfish leaders.  Employees work from day-to-day without a sense of loyalty or passion, proving that fear and intimidation can only take success so far.  The reason is simple: when the person (or people) in charge decide their own self-interests take precedence over the “why” of their business, they have lost their way. 

Weekly Recap, October 21, 2018

Here are our favorite sales-enhancing tips from this week's Selling Energy Blogs...

Public Speaking Tips from the World Champion

Jerry Seinfeld once observed that according to several studies, most people’s number one fear is public speaking.  Death ranks second, leading to him comically conclude, “Does that sound right?  This means to the average person that if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” 

Reframing Renewable Energy

I was walking past an Apple Store while exploring a neighborhood with my family.  There wasn’t anything particularly unusual about seeing one; however, I did note a sign in the front window: “100% powered by renewable energy.” Time has passed and this trend has only increased, and of course the usual demographic is going to be impressed with that sort of thing.  However, we’re not in the business of selling exclusively to clients or market segments interested in renewable energy.  

How to Be a Good Sales Manager

A sales manager should always be asking his people for stories so their Success Story Archive™ becomes a living document.  He should be quizzing his people to make sure that they have read all of them, because when they're out in the field they’ll need to remember them.  

9 Ways to Improve Sales Performance

In the words of that famous race car driver, Mario Andretti, “If everything is under control, you’re going too slow.”

True sales professionals are always looking for ways to deliver greater results in a shorter period of time, and with the help of enlightened sales coaching, a lot of progress can be made in short order.  At the end of the day, though, success will be a function of the sales professional’s attitude, goals, and a willingness to be held accountable to those goals.

The Repeat Customer

Finding new prospects is a time-consuming activity and often requires a great deal of research, cold calling, email campaigns, and so forth. If you’ve ever done repeat business with a past customer, you know how time-efficient (and financially rewarding) it can be. When is the last time you combed through your customer list to consider how you might continue to provide value for them?

Learning When to Make the Jump

In the business world, there is always an element of change at work in our lives.  As your career progresses it’s possible to find yourself with a completely different set of priorities or a new outlook on your situation.  It may be time to try something completely new.  As scary as that next step may be, you don’t have to rush yourself.  After reading the book When to Jump, you’ll understand why.