Are you at all surprised to learn that 64% of salespeople don’t close? Some of your peers in sales management are shocked into disbelief by the 64% statistic; others say the number probably is too low! However you may feel about it, that’s what our current research on the topic of Asking for Com...

“Scott, you mentioned that a salesperson can develop relationships with customers that the Internet and direct mail can’t match,” she said. “Here’s some research that agrees with you. This is a white paper from The Sales Board, the company that created the Action Selling ® system."...

Scott opened his briefcase and fished out two things. One was an ordinary notepad. The other was a colorful laminated card. One side of the card illustrated “The Action Selling ® Process.” The other side showed something called the “Ask the Best Questions Map.”...

Scott walked into Christine's office on a January Monday morning with no idea what to expect. When you're a sales rep and the branch sales manager asks if you have some time to meet with her, you make the time. So here he was....

Your competitors are killing you on price. Your margins are shrinking to the vanishing point as customers challenge you to meet or beat the lowest price available for the goods or services you sell. Your company's profits are taking a hit....

By the sixth hole, Harry knew he was doomed. Mitch was on fire—striping it down the fairways, hitting shots onto greens that knocked the flags down, and putting like a demon. “Going to win back the money I took from you the last time we played, is that it?” Harry asked....

From the start, this had been anything but a typical sales call. If he's got a product pitch, I haven't heard it, Bradley thought. He knew he had revealed far more information about Bridgeco - its workings and its plans - than he ordinarily would regard as any of a salesperson’s business....

“First, thanks to your integrated online system, customers can access your entire supply chain to order parts, components and programs. That’s what ‘best acquisition system’ means. Second, your tech-support people are available 24/7 online, and your field technicians can be reached during wo...

“Questioning the client is how you ‘sell yourself.’ It shows that you’re interested in the customer’s problems, you want to understand them thoroughly, and you’re thinking about how you can help. In a word, you’re acting like a real consultant.”...

They moved to a small conference table across the room from Harry’s desk. “I’ve been thinking about our conversation last week, and something puzzles me,” Mitch said. “The things you said about my call on Cheryl Gross made a lot of sense. But how were you able to diagnose the problems so q...