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June 6, 2013
Moving Up the Ladder: 4 Best Practices to Demonstrate Your Capability
There is a difference between expressing an interest in career growth and proving yourself ready.
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
You're at that crossroads… You'd like to get ahead, to take on some new responsibilities, to stretch to the next level. But how do you go about convincing the “powers that be” that you are, indeed, ready?
One way is to simply ask. There are many ways you can simply ask, stating your desire to move up the company ladder. You can toss your hat into the ring when a job opens up. During performance reviews, you can...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Professional Development on June 6, 2013
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May 12, 2013
The Difference Between Price & Value: Create A Profitable Balance
Learn to close more sales without discounting price.
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
It is imperative that every professional seller understand the difference between price and value. Many do not. Instead, sellers often use these words interchangeably. They use words like “value” to signify the cost of an item. This blurs the lines between value and cost or investment.
When value and price are thought to be one and the same, the inevitable result is that value gets diluted.The other components of...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on May 12, 2013
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May 7, 2013
To Be More Effective, Be More Reflective – The Art Of Mirroring
Reflecting The Words, Mood, Behaviors & Gestures Of Others To Be More Effective In Your Job
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
In the workplace, there are many situations in which it would benefit us to put other people at ease. But that's not always easy to do. So here's the simple psychological technique you can use. It's one you've already mastered, because we all do this naturally with the people we are closest to.
This technique can come in handy when you need to establish rapport with someone. It helps to ease tensions when a conflict is brewing....Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Communication Skills on May 7, 2013
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April 9, 2013
Is Your Sales Pitch Working? 6 Steps to Open More Sales
Learn to differentiate yourself from other sellers and develop new customers.
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
I’ve met and worked with over 10,000 sellers in my career. I can only remember two who truly loved the work of genuine cold-calling. In the past few years, sellers seem to like cold calling even less. That’s because empowered buyers see fewer reasons to accept cold calls. In fact, buyer research says that buyers would prefer not to interact with sellers at any stage of the buying process.
That news is both sobering...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on April 9, 2013
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April 1, 2013
3 Communication Techniques To Lead Effective Conversations
Steer the Conversation by Asking Better Questions
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
In the workplace, there’s something about questions that makes people uncomfortable. As a result, we often fail to ask the questions that would elicit information we need in order to be effective. There are three essential communication techniques you can use to break through these barriers and steer toward effective conversations.
1) Share Your Intention
2) Be...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Communication Skills on April 1, 2013
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March 19, 2013
Three New Approaches to Making Effective Sales Calls
When Does Persisting become Pestering?
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
Auto dialers and CRMs, along with Sales Managers everywhere, are being questioned by Sales Reps due to escalating expectations & monitoring systems requiring more aggressive prospect follow-up. Most Sales Reps remain skeptical, feeling that following up too soon or too often will look pushy.
Usually, it’s the sales reps who win on this one. They may, if pressed, make the call, but they will choose not to leave a...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on March 19, 2013
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March 12, 2013
Learn to Use Delegation as a Tool to Develop & Engage Employees
8 Essential Steps to Develop Others Through Effective Delegation
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
You’re good at what you do, but you may be doing too much by hanging on to work that you shouldn’t be doing. No matter what your job title is, there are people around you who could take on some of your tasks. Delegating some of your work to them will benefit you, them, and your company.
This isn’t about offloading work that you don’t like or feel is too big a burden. Thinking of delegating in that...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Communication Skills on March 12, 2013
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February 26, 2013
Be More Candid in Your Professional Conversations
Learn what to avoid & how to best prepare for candid discussions.
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
In any given work week, there is at least one conversation you’d rather not have. One conversation that you know won’t go well, where people will express emotions that make you uncomfortable. One conversation where you may hold back because you don’t trust your own emotions or reactions. One conversation that can overshadow the whole day, week or workplace. Why not dodge these uncomfortable conversations altogether?...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Communication Skills on February 26, 2013
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February 12, 2013
Take Pride in the Profession of Selling
Why did you choose a career in selling?
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
Ever notice how often professional sellers will express a certain shame or reluctance in admitting their job title? Someone says “so what do you do?” and the seller responds almost apologetically or sheepishly instead of with pride. And when you ask people “why did you choose a career in selling?” the response is almost always that selling was not their first choice.
Let me play back a recent conversation...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on February 12, 2013
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January 7, 2013
Before You Respond, Make Sure You’ve Got the REAL Objection
A Seller’s Guide to Averting Rejection
By Deb Calvert, President, People First Productivity Solutions
There are, of course, right ways and wrong ways to respond to buyer objections. This blog post doesn't go into that. Instead, this post focuses on a fundamental first step that most sellers forget when responding to an objection.
Unless you take this critical step, no response to the objection will really be adequate. You’ll lose valuable time and blow “hot air” no matter how eloquent and technically correct...Continue reading
By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on January 7, 2013
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