The Advanced Selling Podcast: Sales Training | Leadership Coaching | B2b Sales Strategy | Prospecting Tips

Out of the box thinking continues this week with Bill and Bryan’s interview with Tom Heuer and Steve Coats, authors of "There is No Box." Sales managers and leaders should continue to listen to this session because is has to do with the very important topic of “comfort zones.” We all operate inside one and the authors give you some ideas on how to pull people out of them.

If you’re like most people in sales management, you struggle with motivating and leading your team. In this episode, Bill and Bryan interview the authors of "There Is No Box," a book on leadership. Authors, Steve Coats and Tom Heuer, redefine what it means to be a sales leader. Sales professionals will learn from this approach as well, since they are the ones calling on customers trying to help them "get out of the box." This is a good episode to listen to in a group setting. Ask youself the question: are we doing these things?

One of the most stressful times for both salespeople and managers is the dreaded “manager ride-along.” It’s that time when the salesperson inflates their daily activity to prove to their manager that they really are working hard. And it’s the time the manager gets to be really smart (and critical). In this episode, Bill and Bryan address this event from both perspectives and give some hints on how to make this a more resourceful, helpful event.

Airline pilots and sales pros have a lot in common. (Although people’s lives hang in the balance of the pilot—and maybe not the salesperson). In this episode, Bill and Bryan discuss the analogy in a way that you can learn from – that will help you know where you are with customers.

Sometimes in the sales process you won’t have a chance to work your “exploration magic.”You know that part of the process when you explore what their problems are – so you can recommend the optimum solution. In this episode, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale address the “one shot deal.” That’s when you have only one chance in front of the prospect to get to a decision. We don’t recommend you allow yourself to get to this point often, but when you do, take this episode with you.

Ever wonder why some sales teams get enormous results and others struggle? Do you think it has anything to do with the thinking/strategy of the team? Of course it does. But lost in the mystery of the high achieving sales team is practical advice of how to get there. In this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale address the very attributes that make great sales teams. Recently, Caskey held a seminar called Building Your Sales Dream Team. Listen to this podcast and if interested, you can get access to the content by emailing listener@advancedsellingpodcast.com.

If you’re a sales manager/leader, you should be constantly asking yourself, “How can I build a better team?” In this episode, Bill and Bryan help you with two big issues: how to continue to grow current clients; and how to keep from discounting to get business. This is part three of several podcasts for sales managers on how to assess your sales team’s competencies. If you’re a salesperson, no worries, this will be easy for you to take into your world.

Do you or your people lose deals in the 11th hour of the sales process? Or do you have problems differentiating your value from your competition? Most sales teams do. And in this episode, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale address this from a sales training standpoint. So, if you’re a sales manager or leader, and you are responsible for the professional growth of your team, listen up. You’ll hear exercises and wisdom from two guys who are in front of sales teams working on these issues every day of the year.

If you’re a sales manager you’re going to love this epsiode because Bill and Bryan talk about how to train/coach your sales team on two very important topics. Even though most sales managers don’t invest tons of time in training (they probably should) there are many coaching moments that happen between manager and seller. They address the thinking behind some of these strategic changes. On the other hand, if you’re a sales person, you will still get plenty of content from this episode, because they address two issues that hold people back – whom you call on at your prospect company and how you think about prospecting.

Can sales and marketing co-exist and work TOGETHER in a company? Many find angst and tension between these two functions. Our guests today shed light on how Yin and Yang, cats and dogs, and even sales and marketing people can work together...productively.

Well, no one ever admits that their ego gets in the way of success. Especially sales people--for it comes with the territory that you need a big ego to be successful in sales. Or does it? We think there are several questions you should ask in the sales process. But you won't be able to if you have your ego out of balance. In this episode, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale give you several questions you should ask and give you a way to get the rest of the questions via email.

Everyone wants to sell to large accounts. Is there any magic to it? Do you need a whale net to catch them? Well, there is some magic, and while we don’t review ALL the steps in this podcast, this is a start of how to begin thinking about your pursuit of the large account. Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale talk about pursuing the large account. You can also go to google video and search on Advanced Selling Podcast to see the video version of this.

Do you really know what your customers want from a sales professional? You might be surprised! In this podcast, Bill Caskey speaks with George Grubb, President of G&S Research, about what customers value from vendors. George works in the pharmaceutical industry, however much of what he has learned is directly applicable to sales of any kind. He also talks about the sales person of the future—and what attributes he/she will have.

In this podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale go back into our last teleseminar and select three questions that they get all the time: 1-How do you handle a follow up call after a networking event; 2-How to "get" someone to call you back; 3-How do you handle it when you are selling an off brand? They spend a few minutes on each question--and of course, a few minutes trying to bring humor to the episode. You can also see this episode on YouTube. Go there and search on "Advanced Selling Podcast."

Do you sell to women differently than you sell to men? Hmmm. Interesting question that we deal with in today’s podcast. Bill and Bryan speak with Brooke Green, one of our consultants, about the gender approach to selling. Being a woman in sales, she gets this question all the time from both her male and female clients. She also introduces the podcast audience to a new endeavor that will interest half the people who listen!

Can we learn something from the presidential candidates? Or, can they learn something from great salespeople? Well, we think the latter. In this podcast, Bill and Bryan take a look at the communication styles of those running for president and bring us some lessons in substance and style that we can use in our effort to generate sales. While this is not an episode with a specific political slant, it takes issue with MOST politicians and how they communicate their message.

You make calls all the time—interact with prospects constantly. And if you're like us, you have things that you face each and everyday that are unique, unusual, and which sometimes stump you. On this podcast we take one of the most common sales problems—how to keep the prospect excited—and keep things moving. And also we give our podcast listeners a preview of a One Hour Teleseminar we're doing on February 7 at 1:00PM EST. Go to www.askcaskey.com to find out more. And listen to this podcast so you'll get the answer to the question—and get a sample of how this teleseminar can help you. Oh, by the way, the telseminar is free.

Ever had a buyer change at the most inopportune time? Actually, it seems like that’s the only times buyers change—right when you’re in the middle of a sale. But what should you do about that? Most sales training doesn’t really address the seriousness of the issue. But Caskey and Neale do on today’s episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast.

Have you ever felt like you were obligated to quote? It happens usually when you have a client who is “going out to bid” and you’re invited to play. While we don’t like the whole ‘blind bid’ process, we do realize that sometimes you must play the game that way. “To quote or not to quote” that is the question. Bill and Bryan deal with this at length in this podcast. There are a variety of circumstances that dictate your reaction—and they give you some guidelines during this cast

So, how do you handle conflict with a prospect—yet still preserve their dignity? This happens a lot when your buyer has a distinct impression of your value or an opinion of their pain—and you know it’s wrong. If you mess this up, you’ll lose rapport. If you handle it right, you can get past it and move on. Caskey and Neale talk about being right versus being rich.