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Quote Bill is an outstanding sales trainer. He is an excellent listener, very reliable, and encourages lot's of class participation for sharing of knowledge and best practices. He takes the goals of the companies he works with very seriously and puts us on the path to meet and exceed those goals. He does this by training the individuals on the front lines-the sales people, to realize that what they do each day is nothing short of extraordinary. He challenges the "Top Performers" to really push themselves, and that is exactly what we do. Quote

Kristi Dohrmann, Schwickert's, a TectaAmerica Company

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    The Sales Success Code: Turning Desire into Ability - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, November 29, 2010 - I am fascinated by the way clients, prospects and salespeople, in general, define success. It is usually very personal and intimate, and reflects their perspective on their own life. Some define it in terms of income as in "he who dies with the most money” is deemed successful. Others use the importance of their job to determine whether or not they are successful. A third group speaks of balance, though it is rarely achieved.

Personal Sales Health: You Better Get That Looked At - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, September 6, 2010 - I have been blessed with continuous good health and rarely visit a doctor. This fact gives me a false sense that there are no issues lurking below the surface and I will live forever. Many salespeople exist in the same fantasy world when it comes to their PSH or “personal sales health”. All salespeople have PSH issues below the surface; however, winners find a way to deal with them every day so they don’t adversely impact success.

That Inner Drive Distinguishes Top Sales Performers - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, August 9, 2010 - I interact with thousands of salespeople in the course of a year and I find that the top performers have one particular quality that they share. This commonality is woven into the fabric of their genes and is as important as the air they breathe. It is a fierce desire to compete either with themselves or with those who they determine to be rivals.

Getting the Most From Your Team - Read more...
Featured August 2010 - If your response to, “how are you getting the most from your team?” is to work them harder and faster until they drop…there may be a better answer. Many businesses are working with less manpower than ever before to perform the same, if not greater, tasks. If you find yourself in this situation with morale slipping downward and the economic head trash squeezing the life out of your staff, you are not alone.

The Language of Sales - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, July 26, 2010 - I have the pleasure of training and coaching in different parts of the world. This is a blessing as well as a curse as I get to experience the international sights of our marvelous world, but am constantly reminded that I’m linguistically challenged. When I travel, I am continuously amazed by the children of each country who are able to speak perfect English, while I barely manage to hack up their language.

Salespeople, Time for Your Mid-Year Reality Check - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, July 12, 2010 - We live in a complex world and I typically find myself moving at the speed of light through my day. As a business owner as well as the Chief Sales Officer, I must maintain a clear focus on the prize: a delicate balance between running the business and hitting my sales quota. In order to be successful, I must prospect, train, coach, consult and administer the needs of my growing company each week of the year. To do this I have created a visual that focuses my energy on what’s important. My visual is a sheet of paper that has two triangles on it. On one triangle, the points are wake up, work hard, go home. On the other, the points are work hard, make money, have fun! The first calendar I described is the “busy work” triangle and the other is the “balanced performance” triangle. My focus, as you guessed, is the latter.

Have You Earned the Right to Close? - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, May 3, 2010 - There are a lot of great movies that have been written about selling. In fact, Amazon lists the top ten sales movies when you search the site, and, unfortunately, none of them present the sales profession is a very favorable light. Movies like Boiler Room, Used Cars, Tommy Boy, Wall Street, Tin Men and even The Godfather come to my mind when I do a quick scan. Yes, The Godfather! Who can forget the memorable sales pitch from the movie, "I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse."

Why Can't My Sales Team Reach its Goals? - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, April 5, 2010 - As we near the end of the first quarter of 2010, I find that I am being bombarded with questions from business owners as to why their salespeople are struggling to achieve the company sales goal. They say things like...

BHAGS Fly Free: Reduce Waste, Increase Productivity - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, March 8, 2010 - One can’t help notice the high concentration of television ads a national airline carrier has dedicated to extolling their no-fee luggage policy. The ads are quite good and very effective in calling to mind the additional costs other airlines have added to the average passenger's travel expenses. The ads strike an emotional nerve that makes us resent the other airlines who do, in fact, charge for a necessity such as luggage.

A Year of Living Dangerously will do Wonders - Read more...
As seen in the Business Ledger January 25, 2010 - Welcome to 2010 and the beginning of the rest of your life. We are almost finished with the first month of the year and many business owners and salespeople have settled into some extremely productive or unproductive behavior patterns driven by their daydreams and fears.

Stay Committed and Avoid the Holiday Slide - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, December 28, 2009 - I was sitting in a coffee shop reading a book in early November when I overheard two salespeople talking about the current state of their business. One was explaining to the other that he looked forward to this time of year because all his customers were out of money and all of his prospects were going to wait until next year to purchase.

In Praise of the Warriors - Read more...
As seen in the Business Ledger November 30, 2009 - I have been spending a lot of time in airports during the past six months, as my clients and prospects are awakening from the daze they experienced due to the current economic conditions. My “first born” life script has driven me to arrive for my flights extremely early as that’s what we “first borns” do to make sure we don’t miss our flight. (Our birth order position within our family unconsciously pushes us to act a certain way.) Additionally, constant flight delays have lengthened my wait and given me even more time to do my favorite thing… people watch! I love to observe the behavior of people as they move through malls and airports as they follow certain inexplicable patterns of action.

Fifteen Years and Counting, Full of Memories and Lessons - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, November 1, 2009 - October 24, 2009 is a special date for me as it marks the fifteenth year I have been operating my training and consulting business in the Naperville area. After 21 years and various positions at four major companies, I left corporate America in 1994 and purchased a Sandler Training franchise unaware of the wonderful journey that awaited me. My business card said “sales expert” but I hardly felt like one. In fact, I felt like an imposter until I had a conversation with my mentor, David Sandler, who gave me a piece of advice that is still holds true today.

Don’t let your sales staff hold hostage your future - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, October 5, 2009 - I love small businesses and their owners. I spend much of my day marveling at the great accomplishments of this hearty bunch of entrepreneurs who pursue their dream and formulate the backbone of our business society. They are the lifeblood of this country. there is a soft spot in my heart for the struggles they endure as well as the challenges they must overcome to succeed.

Seminar training alone doesn’t help boost sales - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, August 24, 2009 - After a lifetime of bad golf, in 2009 I decided to make a commitment to improve my game from embarrassing to acceptable, realizing that I will never qualify for the Senior PGA. In the past, however, this commitment meant spending a week pounding balls at the local golf range before an outing so I wouldn’t humiliate myself.

Sense of entitlement triggers low work performance - Read more...
As Appeared in the Business Ledger, July 27,2009 - I didn't begin my business life with a burning desire to become a career salesman. As shocking as it is now, I actually thought that I might become a dentist until it registered that I would really have to put my hands in some other person's mouth. Did you ever question your choice of a career in sales? We are a nation of salespeople; however, far too many in the field "default" their way into the profession and develop a comfort zone that turns into a mediocre career. Employers encourage this mediocrity by paying a "livable" base salary and a commission structure that is supposed to motivate their team to sell more.

Keep Your Antenna Up - Read more...
As Appeared in the Business Ledger, May 18, 2009 - This year marks the 15 year anniversary of my business. It's a milestone that caused me to pause and think not only about the multitude of lives that I have touched in that timeframe but also my mentor, David Sandler. He gave me a piece of advice that I have never forgotten and has driven my success, "Keep your antenna up and unconditionally commit to success."

Ban Your Proposals and Close More of Your Sales - Read more...
As Appeared in the Business Ledger, April 20,2009 - I propose a ban on proposals! I find them to be an enormous waste of time as no one has ever, in the history of sales, purchased anything solely based on the proposal. We unwittingly taught all prospects that they simply have to ask and we will provide them with all the information they need in order to deal with their problem.

Looking for Work...Make an Impact!! - Read more...
As seen in the Business Ledger March 23, 2009 - The latest unemployment figures are staggering and, in fact, are the highest in recent years. The jobless surge is being fueled by employers who are reducing head count as a response to their declining bottom line. The broad brush that is painting the army of unemployed covers those who are high performers as well as those who are non-performers.

Wake-Up Call helps - Read more...
As seen in the Business Ledger February 23, 2009 - I have been doing a lot of traveling during the last two months. In spite of Chicago's "brutal" weather and some minor inconveniences, my flights and hotel reservations have gone remarkably smoothly and I have experienced a high level of customer service. This is a great way to end 2008 and begin 2009.

Is this the right time for your business & self makeover? - Read more...
As seen in the Business Ledger January 26, 2009 - Now is the time of year when we begin to hear a lot about changes that people are trying to make in their lives. I couldn't sleep the other night so I turned on the television to pass the time and was bombarded with messages from paid infomercials touting all the changes they claimed I need to make in my life. I heard more than I considered necessary about diet, exercise and the power of positive thinking to name a few. When I switched to the news, even our new President-elect spoke about the change that was coming.

Goals without plans just well-intentioned daydreams - Read more...
As seen in the Business Ledger December 22, 2008 - I am a "serial goal setter"! I have used goals, all my life, to chart my path and measure my progress. Perhaps it's my need to be in control that has driven me to do this or my desire to anticipate what may be looming over the next horizon. Be that as it may, I do know that far too many sales people allow others to chart their course. They blindly accept yearly quotas as their goals for the New Year, never imagining they could enhance their results by layering personal "quality of life goals" on top of them.

Customer Appreciation 101: Valuing your clients - Read more...
As seen in the Business Ledger November 24, 2008 - I recently severed relationships with several suppliers that I have used for a number of years. I "fired" my auto insurance carrier; merchant card supplier, postage meter company, carpet cleaning provider and others I no longer believed valued our company as a client. I had faithfully utilized and paid for their services but began to feel our business was either unappreciated or taken for granted. I sensed that these vendors must be actively pursuing new business because they were spending no time assuring their existing customers, like me, were satisfied. When I communicated my "firing" decision to them, I was offended by a few who offered to reduce their fees! Why now? Others said nothing as though it was expected, or worse, they just didn't care.

Pursuit of a Passion - Read more...
As appeared in The Business Ledger, November 10, 2008 - I've never considered myself of an outdoorsman. To be an outdoorsman, for me, was to be a rugged individualist who hiked, camped, hunted and fished with worms on the end of a hook. When I grew up in upstate New York, my outdoor sports of choice were baseball and basketball. All the kids in my neighborhood played them so I played them too. Other than that, the closest outdoor activities I could relate to were performed by Davy Crocket and Daniel Boone on "The Wonderful World of Disney."

Strength of Relationship Determines Success - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger October 27, 2008 - Spend some time in the psychology or self-help section in any bookstore and you'll find hundreds of books written on transforming troubled relationships. Whether husband/wife, parent/child, friend/friend or employer/employee they dominate the shelves promising THE magical solution to resolving any issue imaginable.

Tough Times all for Tough Salespeople - Read more...
As appeared in the Busines Ledger September 29, 2008 - We all hear countless foreboding comments regarding today's business environment. "Times are tough," "we're heading into a recession," and "the economy is tightening" are thoughts many fellow business owners have recently expressed in my training sessions.

Sales is a Game - Read more...
As appeared in the Business Ledger, April 28, 2008 - Do you "sell to live" or "live to sell"? I have been training sales people for over 15 years and have found a common trait in the highest performers: they "live to sell". They love prospecting for new business opportunities. They love being in the role of "closer". Their sales quota is a benchmark that they regularly exceed because just hitting quota makes them "average". They don't hide from the fact that they sell by putting words like "account manager" or "territory manager" on their business cards. They have turned the buyer-seller relationship into a game-A game with rules that they create!