Jim Marshall

True sales professionals understand and appreciate the mental and emotional aspects of selling. It is a key factor in determining the extent of their sales success and, ultimately, the size of their paycheck.

Selling is about more than just...

I don’t have to tell you that sales can be a tough business. Just think about the rejections, dead ends, and endless price quotes and proposals that often don’t lead to anything.

Talk about tough!

Tampa, FL - April 13, 2023 - Jim Marshall and Clint Babcock from Sandler Tampa Bay have been honored with the David H. Sandler Award for their outstanding contributions to sales and leadership training. Named after the company’s founder and viewed as the highest honor bestowed by the Sandler organization worldwide, only one award is given each year. It recognizes superior achievement in sales and management training, business development and coaching, as well as faithful service to the Sandler organization and community.

For sales professionals, exceeding monthly quotas is always a major achievement. However, it is also short-lived as the new month begins and the meter resets to zero. Sales quotas are ever-increasing as the pressure to generate new leads mounts, which is why having a well-defined prospecting plan is crucial. 

Have you ever set aside time to meet with someone and, after just a few minutes, you realized the meeting was likely a waste of time and didn't need to continue?

In certain situations, such as an internal meeting with your team that concludes early, it's easy to dismiss everyone and give them time back into their day. But sitting through a meeting that has no point in continuing, such as a job interview with an unqualified candidate or an appointment with a prospect that has no interest, can feel incredibly awkward, especially if this meeting was originally intended to last much longer!

One way to combat this is by setting expectations beforehand with a strong up-front contract.

Think about the best sales presentation you've ever made. You researched your prospect. You put together a killer PowerPoint. You gave them all the reasons they should buy. Yet for some reason, they didn't become a customer.

Giving an effective sales presentation requires more than just having a well-crafted pitch and an excellent slide deck. It also requires a deep understanding of your prospect's issues and challenges - or "pain points." And the same thing applies to leading a team and managing your people!

It’s worth nothing that people have also used March Madness to refer to “a form of madness or uncharacteristic behavior said to affect people in March.” As the calendar year matures and you continue to evaluate your new business development efforts, it’s also a good time to examine those “less-than-productive” behaviors that might be working against you.

If you’re a business owner, manager or department head, you’ve probably found yourself, at some point, faced with that age-old conundrum: “How do I get my people to do what I want them to do? They know what their job is. We hired them because of their skills and experience. But I can’t get them to step up to the plate on a consistent basis!”

Chances are if you’ve been in sales for any length of time, you’ve probably got a pretty good handle on your product’s features and benefits. You’ve been trying to land an appointment with what could turn out to be a major customer, and they’ve finally agreed to see you. You can’t wait to show up with the presentation of your life!

No one needs to tell you that sales is a tough business: the rejection, the dead ends, the endless price quotes and proposals that often don’t lead to anything.