From the CEO's Desk: Lessons About Sales

Due to the negative reputation built over time, salespeople are typically stereotyped as used car salesmen. Despite the negative perception people may have of the profession, today's salesforce is made up of ethical and trustworthy professionals who understand the principles of effective selling.   How to break the salesperson stigma Gain confidence by knowing the pain, the gap, and the need of the customer Ask question instead of always making a presentation Find balance when dealing with a sales situation and sales tension   In today’s episode of the ACCESS Points Podcast, Davin Marceau and Mike Kelley share an insightful conversation about lessons in sales. They will discuss some identifying points about why salespeople are ineffective and why it is so hard to be a good sales representative. As someone who has worked in the sales industry for over 25 years, Mike will also share his lessons learned and what it takes to make a successful sale.   Enjoy!   In This Episode 1:48 - What most people perceive about the sales profession   7:06 - Why people are so negative about salespeople   7:54 - Common mistake salespeople make   8:29 - The process Mike and his team follow before a sales meeting   10:13 - Mike's sales process and strategy   19:05 - What separates a great sales representative from the rest   20:44 - Mike's advice for future sales executives     Favorite Quotes "The biggest challenge, the biggest difficulty that many salespeople have is that they never learned early in their career that it's not about telling how great you are. It's about finding out what that customer needs." – Mike Kelley   "I think one of the reasons why everybody is so negative about salespeople is because when the sales guy comes in, all he’s doing is just pitching, pitching, and pitching." - Mike Kelley   "Frankly speaking, in this business early on, the pathway that many salespeople took was to provide so much information that you confuse the customer to a point that they'll actually get scared enough to buy something." - Mike Kelley   "In so many cases, whether or not we're dealing with C-level people in the hospital or we're dealing with analysts and the IT department, or medical records folks, everybody comes at this with a different need. They come to it with a very intimate knowledge of all the problems that happen." - Mike Kelley   "If there is an opportunity to sell something out there, if you're a good salesperson, you're going to go after it no matter how busy you are." - Mike Kelley   "If you have a limited amount of time, the areas where you want to go and the places where you want to go and the people that you want to sell have to meet certain criteria. They got to meet a profile." - Mike Kelley   "You've got to put the time and the effort into getting very good at your craft so that you've got that confidence level to be able to work with that customer." - Mike Kelley     Visit ACCESS EFM: Website Facebook LinkedIn Twitter   Click here to listen with Access Points Podcast