The Blog - Where Business Collides with Human Nature

Playground Lessons Not to Follow in Business Negotiations

We were all taught basic playground etiquette growing up. These life-lessons aimed to keep us out of trouble and provided us with some basic rules about respect and how to resolve conflict.

However, when it comes to achieving business success, playground lessons don’t always apply. Negotiation skills, such as those taught in the best negotiation skills training, must now replace the old playground tactics. While you can still maintain friends in business, as you could at school, it is smart to prioritize the best negotiation strategy while considering consequences and foreseeing outcomes.

Here are five playground lessons that do not apply when negotiating -- and the new counter-lessons you can use to ensure negotiation success.

Topics: Sales Business Culture Negotiation

The End of Sales and Marketing as We Know it [video]

Sales people are avoided, marketing departments fill a void with hype or pretty pictures and the real power of influence has moved to people in the street. As buyers gain more power with better resources and rely less on marketing messages or sales people, what is the magic bullet for growing business?

Huthwaite brought together a world-renowned team to explain the changes in the market we have today, the importance of sales and marketing alignment, and how to focus on your buyer.

Topics: Marketing Sales

Consideration, Respect and the Devil

Don't talk to sales people, they are the devil.  If you act like a sales person, people will think you are the devil.  Labeling people is detrimental to good relationships.  It is a bit like saying "all blondes are dumb" or "all accountants are boring".  If you label people, you are the devil.

Sales people can seem like the devil.  So can entrepreneurs who are too focused, marketing strategists who don't connect well, working mothers who are over their head or someone who is having chronic health issues.

Topics: Sales Deep Thoughts Leadership Communication

The ARUBA Marketing™ Checklist aka Getting a Yes

To hear a "yes, I will buy", everything must line up perfectly. To get the yes, here is your ARUBA Marketing™ checklist:

Potential buyers:

  • Are paying Attention
  • Find your message Relevant
  • Understand the message, language, product and service quickly.
  • Believe that it will benefit them
  • Believe enough to take Action - by buying and sharing. (and linking)

In short, the acronym to help you remember is ARUBA, where people not only vacation but also represents when people are most comfortable to move forward.  

Topics: Sales Marketing Plan Marketing Strategy Methodology

The Seven Most Powerful Words to Change People's Minds

You may get proposals, ideas, and pitches several times a month.  You likely here a  dialog about the "unlimited potential" and how "the possibilities are endless". 

Words and phrases can work on both our emotions and imagination and push to take action of even the most analytic mind. 

Those who are making a pitch may use any of these seven big and powerful persuasion words:

Topics: Sales Leadership Communication

How to Make a Pitch Presentation for a Get-Rich-Quick Program

When considering which method you use to make an impression on potential customers, you will remember that the basic psychology of humans has not changed.  What will astound or impress the average person is bigger and brighter and the bar is raised every year.  After watching the Mars landing live via the Internet, it is more difficult to impress. 

Making a sales presentation or pitch that will pursuade someone to buy is a simple formula and you have heard it so often, you may have it memorized.

It might go somthing like this:

Topics: Sales Marketing Plan Communication

Outbound Lead Development - Old School or New School

I’m from the old school, the place where you sent a letter of introduction, made a follow-up phone call, scheduled a meeting, and made a sales presentation that hopefully enabled you to close a sale. The new school doesn’t work that way. The new school is about social media, the use of technology, and in-the-know buyers. 

Topics: Sales Marketing Plan Selling Outbound Marketing

A Great List of 13 Online Scheduling Software Programs

Scheduling meetings shouldn't require multiple emails. Give prospects and customers appointment scheduling power with a meeting scheduler.

A meeting scheduler is software that facilitates a group of individuals scheduling a meeting easily and quickly.

Rather than having back-and-forth conversations finding a time that works, a meeting scheduler is a link that your team can send to one or more individuals allowing them to see available times for the person or group they are trying to book with.

Topics: Software Time Management Sales Free Software