Rick Wong's Blog, page 5
August 10, 2017
The No. 1 Way to Determine if Your Company is Thriving – or Dying
When your business is growing fast, what is there to complain about, right? Well, a client of mine just discovered that even such a scenario has its pitfalls. The client’s business was split up into territories, with one territory showing a blizzard of first-time customers. As I sat in an operations review with the teams, […]
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July 27, 2017
3 Steps to Practical, Actionable, Problem Solving
Bringing people together to solve problems is what the best salespeople do well. Selling is about solving problems in ways that convince people to engage effort and resources they might not have done without your influence—including buying your product or service. Here are the three steps to practical, actionable, problem-solving. 1. Document WHAT you see, hear, and/or know, […]
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July 20, 2017
This is the Habit Your Customers Hate
Too many salespeople have a habit that I call over-pitching and under-relating. I’ve seen such behavior first hand and I can tell you the outcome: the customer runs as fast as he or she can to get away from such people. Let me give you an example. In the late 1980s, Hewlett-Packard was leading the […]
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July 13, 2017
What Happens When You Start with the Wrong Visibility with a Customer?
Being successful comes down to hard work, showing up the right way, at the right time, with the right people – and sometimes with a broken calculator. That’s right, a broken calculator. A beat-up, malfunctioning, Hewlett Packard 41C with “Chris” engraved on the back. A calculator that had seen its owner through many hours of […]
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July 6, 2017
3 Activities to Exploit the Summer Slowdown and Boost Value
Many industries have a notable summer slowdown. It’s prominent in America between June and September when school is out, the weather is great, and vacations happen. Many European and Asian companies also experience a slowdown during this period. Even so, the summer slowdown doesn’t have to be a selling slowdown. You still can enjoy some vacation […]
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June 29, 2017
5 Fundamentals That Will Forever Shift Your Thoughts on Rejection
If you’re in sales (or in any business) you’re going to face rejection. A lot. Every time you present the merits of your offering you stand the chance of being rejected. While many people understand it’s just part of the job, others become paralyzed by the fear of “no.” That fear prevents people from prospecting. […]
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June 22, 2017
The CEO Magazine: 5 Habits of the Best Salespeople
Thanks to The CEO Magazine for giving me space to share what I’ve learned from the many great salespeople I’ve had the fortune to work with during my career. In The CEO Magazine article, I outline the five common traits in great salespeople that directly address what customers look for when deciding from whom they […]
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June 16, 2017
The Angry Secret – How to quickly Win Lifelong Customers
In Winning Lifelong Customers with The Five Abilities®, I advise, “Being dressed down can dress you up.” In the heat of the moment, you can overlook that an angry customer is talking to you. They want you to know why they’re angry and they’re more open and direct. When this happens, you have a great […]
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June 7, 2017
Out of the Cold – The Proven Value of Cold-Calling
I hear from salespeople, sales managers, marketers, founders, etc., that cold-calling is dead. Wrong. Social media makes your company visible and credible but selling proves your viability, capability, and reliability. For that, you need personal – not virtual – contact! Effective cold-calling is more important than ever before because your prospects get more information than […]
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June 1, 2017
5 Ways to Become More Reliable to Customers
To establish a strong connection with a customer that can lead to a long-term relationship, you must be reliable. This is something that doesn’t happen once you make the sale — but before. Five key actions that lead customers to rely on you: Be unreasonably accountable. No matter how much planning you do, the unexpected […]
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