Last Monday, January 6, was apparently the most depressing day of the year. I heard this on the radio as I was driving to work, trying to shake off the cobwebs from the holiday layoff. It makes sense: I got used to the idea of kicking back, eating everything in sight, and spending some extra quality time with the family. Sure, I think many of us get used to the idea of living like a retiree. Unfortunately I'm about 20-30 years away from that... depending on how well the ole' 401K decides to perform.
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Some people don’t always like the idea of summer ending and fall kicking in, but it is honestly my favorite time of year. Not only is fall a time for beautiful weather, apple picking, and pumpkin lattes, but it’s my favorite time when it comes to sales. With the summer months behind us, we are now well into the new season, everyone’s back and ready to close out the year strong. Directors and VPs are either looking to spend their remaining budgets for the year, or they are planning ahead for 2014. As a result, they are all willing and open to talking when they receive cold calls.
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Too many sales reps rely on their customers to coach them through the sales cycle.
However, we need to learn to be the coach. A book that’s bringing sales strategies to the next level is The Challenger Sale. Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson suggestively describe how salespeople can fit into 5 different categories: the Relationship Builder, the Reactive Problem Solver, the Hard Worker, the Lone Wolf and the Challenger.
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