Your weekly source of sales, marketing, customer service, and management insight - compliments of ETE REMAN

Sales

CAUTION: Tactical Teamwork in Progress

In many sales positions, you hear reps say things like, “I can sell 5 ____ and there’s my car payment.”  There is definitely a thrill in making a sale all by yourself (and getting the credit), and being looked at like a successful sales person. On the other hand, team sales have a place and […]

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Walkin’ the Line

Growing up, my gramma was always the queen of colorful country colloquialisms. Some left me scratching my head (I still don’t know what gobbledygook is). But others were little gems of country wisdom. “He’s as windy as a sack full of farts,” to describe a particularly loquacious individual. “He’s so full of s#*% his eyes […]

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Are You Throwing the Stick or Chasing Your Tail?

A day in the life of most salespeople is typically driven by a rousing game of fetch. We throw out a proposition or an idea, and we expect our prospects to react in a way that leads to them recognizing value and pursuing a partnership. The pitfall with this approach to sales is that it […]

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Blood, Sweat, and Trans.

If you ask me, Vince Lombardi was a first class salesman.  During his time as an NFL coach, he sold his coaching methods and knowledge to hundreds of professional football players and owners (fans). His quotes are famous, so I’m sure you’ll recognize this one: “Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard […]

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Is Your Plan Mudder-Tough?

We’ve recently formed an ETE Tough Mudder team. What’s a Tough Mudder? A gruesome, 10-12 mile military-style obstacle course of pure pain that 8 of us have decided to tackle together. A team of all ages, background, sizes, personalities, and skill levels on a mission to finish this race as one crew. You might think […]

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I Made the Sale. Now What?

Salesmen have one important job: to close. But if that were all it took, selling would be easy. Every salesman knows that selling is not only in the initial sale (which feels really good), but in what comes after. I call it the art of finessing. When you finesse, you skillfully handle a situation with […]

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Friends with Business Benefits

In the world of sales, it’s sometimes hard to get away from the general thought that one side is taking advantage of the other. If it seems like only one person greatly benefits, most can’t help but picture a greasy used car salesman that is just looking to make a quick buck and take you […]

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Attention, Sales Guy: Forget Fashionably Late

“Ok great – We will see you at 9:00am at my office.” The meeting time is set and the location has been agreed upon. You’ve spent weeks preparing a presentation for this customer, and have probably reviewed most details in your head several times over. But what time are you going to show up? Is […]

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Getting Psyched for Sales: A Tommy Boy Lesson

In sales, there aren’t stadiums of fans cheering your name and wearing your jersey or Roman Coliseums with thousands of screaming people. Heck, for most of us, our big sales events are a telephone call, an email, or at best an office visit. So, how do you get your mind right to bring your “A” […]

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Spring Training

Winter is over. Spring is here. Baseball is back in full swing, and you just got an email letting you know your favorite golf course is taking tee times. If you’re like many of us here at ETE, your office conversation lately might consist of figuring out when you’re going to a ball game, scheduling […]

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