Selling without a sales playbook is akin to building a house without a blueprint. Are you setting your salespeople up for success by giving them the tools and roadmap necessary to get there? Every industry, company and individual has their own way of selling. Even the most well-established organizations will have different managers within who lead their teams in their … Read More
Squeezing the Lemon: The Power of One More
You know about BDU’s philosophy of “squeezing the lemon“, and part of what makes this philosophy so impactful is the power of doing just one more activity, no matter how small, as it can lead to big results. Lisa recently had the pleasure of conducting a training session for one of BDU’s clients on “The Power of One More.” Why … Read More
Ten Tips for Time Management
Time is our most valuable resource so it’s important that we know how to make the most of it. You know about BDU’s philosophy of squeezing the lemon to maximize every opportunity and get the most “juice” out of everything you do, but what else can you do to make sure you’re being productive each and every day? We’ve created … Read More
How Do YOU Avoid or Get Out of a Sales Slump?
Everyone who is in sales has probably experienced the dreaded sales slump. Your numbers are down, you have no great leads in the pipeline, and you feel stagnant with your progress and efforts. What do you do when it hits? How do YOU get yourself out of a sales slump and back on track, and what do you do to … Read More
Sales Leaders, Does Adding Pressure Help Your Underperformers?
It can be challenging to figure out how to best handle a direct report who is just not performing well. Our first inclination as sales leaders may be to put more pressure on the underperformers. While you may have a few salespeople who perform better this way, adding pressure might end up doing more harm than good. Sometimes underperformers have … Read More
Sales Leadership Tip: Setting Key Numbers and Getting Buy In
Want your direct reports to buy in when setting key numbers and quotas for them? It’s all about steering the conversation and allowing them get involved in the process of determining their own goals. By doing so, they’ll ultimately be more willing and committed to achieving them. As sales leaders, we know the importance of having frequent conversations with our … Read More
For 2023 Sales Success, Do You Need to do MORE or do BETTER?
If your 2022 activities didn’t yield the results you desired, it’s time to determine if you should start doing MORE or if you need to look for ways to do BETTER. It’s the beginning of a new year, and with it comes a fresh start to set yourself up for sales success. If you haven’t already, take some time to … Read More
Year-End Checklist for Sales Leaders
As the year comes to an end, it’s important as sales leaders that we do all we can to fulfill our one-line job description: to help our direct reports be as successful as possible. Here’s a handy year-end checklist you can download and use to help your team finish out the year strong and set yourselves up to hit the … Read More
“Squeezing the Lemon” for Sales Leaders
If you’re a sales leader, it’s important that you know about BDU’s philosophy of “squeezing the lemon” to be productive and get the most from all you do. As sales leaders, we’re so busy juggling so much every day – especially if we carry a bag ourselves – that we need to make sure we’re doing all we can to … Read More
How to Build a Team of Sales Superstars – “Smashing the Plateau” interview with BDU’s Lisa Peskin
Are you, or is your team, having trouble meeting and exceeding sales goals? Do you know the important ingredients to smashing the sales plateau and reaching the next level? Can you identify your triage areas, the three areas that if approved upon will have the biggest impact on your performance or the performance of your team? How do you work … Read More
Re-Engage Your Unresponsive Prospects Right Now
We’ve all been there with an initially warm prospect that’s suddenly gone cold. You’re trying to close the sale and they’re just not moving forward. Maybe they’ve stopped returning your calls or emails, or they’re responding with some strong pushback. When you need to re-engage your unresponsive prospects, there are several things you can do to move things forward. How … Read More
Year-End Sales Success Starts at Halloween
Being in sales can often feel scary as we put ourselves out there and face rejection, but with these three sales tips you can calm those fears and achieve success. Your year-end sales success starts NOW, around Halloween, but it doesn’t need to be scary. Now that we’re well into the last quarter of the year, it can feel overwhelming … Read More
Networking: BDU’s Five Key Tips for Attracting Influencers
Most sales professionals understand that networking is a key component to business success. Perhaps you’ve attended a handful of networking events but haven’t gotten much out of them. At Business Development University, helping you take things to the next level is what we do…here are some key tips for attracting influencers. Networking is so much more than just showing up … Read More
5 Tips for Becoming a Sales Leader
The sales world is competitive, and you need to separate yourself among the competition. In this post, I’m going to offer a few simple tips for becoming a sales leader, and effectively managing a sales team that produces results. As a sales manager you have a one-line job description: make your sales team successful. Sound easy? Actually, this can be … Read More
Three Reasons Your Salespeople Aren’t Doing What They Need To Do
If you’re a sales leader, you’ve likely experienced times when your salespeople aren’t doing what you’ve told them to do. You know that your one job is to help your direct reports be as successful as possible, but what do you do when you’ve provided someone with ample training, tips, feedback and support and they are simply not taking your … Read More
Decision-Maker or Not Decision-Maker?
One of the biggest challenges that a sales person faces is reaching the right decision makers within the companies they are prospecting. It is often times very easy to set appointments with low level, non-decision makers within organizations; so we set those appointments because it feels productive, without asking ourselves if the person we’re meeting with is “decision-maker or not … Read More
The Ups and Downs of Sales
The sales profession is a wonderful one, if you can deal with the psychological aspect of dealing with the constant pressure and the ups and downs of sales. For those of you who know what I mean and have experienced those peaks and valleys, I have great news – There is a way to avoid the lows. It took me … Read More
Going from Good Salesperson to Great Salesperson: Focus on the Gap
How do you go from good salesperson to great salesperson? Whether you’re a salesperson or a sales leader, it’s important to identify triage areas so you can focus on the gap and make the necessary tweaks to boost performance and potential. You’ve likely heard us talk about BDU’s triage philosophy of identifying the top three areas that, if improved upon, … Read More
Providing Effective Feedback: Tips For Sales Managers
Providing effective feedback is a tool to help your sales professionals improve their performance ongoing. It is not meant for them to feel bad, guilty or shamed for a situation; it is so that they walk away with the tools to perform better in the future. For many sales leaders, feedback is a critical tool for encouraging the right behaviors … Read More
Five Secrets of Successful Sales Leaders
As a sales manager or leader, you have a one-line job description: to make your sales team as successful as possible. In order to be a great leader, you first need to build trust within your team. Then, you’ll need to figure out what needs to be done to maximize everyone’s performance and potential. From our years of experience working … Read More
Back to In-Person Meetings? Don’t Give Up Your Zoom Meetings Just Yet!
In 2020, the pandemic brought with it the drastic shift away from in-person meetings and suddenly everyone was on Zoom. This meeting platform that most of us had never used before was becoming our virtual office space. Now, many of us are returning to in-person meetings after two years of virtual chats and “Zoom fatigue.” However, we can’t discount the … Read More
Boost Your Close Ratio: Always Set a Next Appointment
Want to improve your close ratio? Always set the next step at the current step when it comes time to go for the close! It’s common during the sales process for a prospect to go dark once they’ve received a quote or proposal from you, and you may find it difficult to reconnect with them once they’ve gotten all the … Read More
3 Steps for More Effective Sales Coaching Meetings
Do you feel your sales coaching isn’t quite getting your sales team where it wants to be? Read on below for some simple steps for more effective sales coaching meetings. Coaching is in place for one specific purpose, to help improve your team member whether it be productivity, client services, appearance, conversation or anything else that might be standing in the … Read More
Stop Showing Up and Throwing Up
Heave you ever heard the expression “stop showing up and throwing up” when it comes to sales calls and presentations? It’s an important piece of advice. Last week a neighbor called and asked if I’d sit down with her to discuss a business opportunity. I told her that I was not a good prospect and was extremely busy with Business … Read More
Prospecting Tip: Take Note of Note Taking
In sales, you know the importance of paying close attention to your clients or prospects. During a meeting, you’re not only listening to what they are saying but also of picking up on their nonverbal cues as well. You’re paying attention to their facial expressions and body language, as well as how they’re listening to what you’re saying and their … Read More
The Top 4 Tips for Overcoming Objections
It can happen at various points throughout the sales process: you’ll be presented with some sort of an objection. How do you confidently handle objections and navigate pushback from your prospective clients in order to land the sale or opportunity? We’ve added this post to include a few tips for overcoming objections and putting prospects at ease. This is a … Read More
Start Helping, Not Selling
Although I have been in sales in one capacity or another for over 30 years and BDU is a sales training, coaching and consulting company, I am a big believer that nobody in the whole wide world wants to be sold anything. So I tell people that they should stop trying to “sell” anything and instead start helping, not selling. People or companies are seeking … Read More
Ask BDU: New to Sales Leadership? Do These Four Things Right Now!
Investing in a sales leadership course is a crucial step to take when being promoted from sales to sales management. Question: After being one of the top sales performers at my company, I was just promoted to the position of sales manager. While I am very excited, I am extremely nervous as I’ve never had any experience or formal training … Read More
Thinking in Threes: Listen to Lisa’s Interview on the Top 3 Podcast
Lisa was recently welcomed as a guest on the Top 3 Podcast, hosted by her long-time friend Marcia O’Connor, CEO and Founder of The O’Connor Group. Listen to the episode now to hear their discussion about the importance of being purposeful in all that you do, as well as how to maintain proper relationships. You’ll also learn about BDU’s triage … Read More
Lisa’s Secrets to Sales Success: What She Wishes She Had Known 35 Years Ago
Lisa was thrilled to be invited back to chat with Fred Diamond on his Sales Game Changers podcast recently! The conversation centered around all that Lisa has learned in her 35 years in sales and sales leadership, and she shared some of the secrets to sales success she wishes someone had shared with her when she was getting her start … Read More
How to Get Your Team Hitting Their Goals: 5 Steps for Sales Managers
Do you have a sales team of dynamic individuals that is struggling to achieve your company’s sales goals on a consistent basis? Do you have a clear vision for how to get your team hitting their goals? Perhaps the roadblock to your team’s success is the lack of a succinct game plan, utilizing each account executive’s individual talents and strengths. … Read More
7 Tips for How to Help Your Close Ratio
Closing ratio is how many proposals convert to sales. So, if you close one client for every four proposals, your close ratio is 25 percent. Do you know how to help your close ratio improve? If you find that your close ratio is not where it needs to be, that your proposals on the street are not converting BDU suggests … Read More
”Squeeze the Lemon” in Every Moment, Big or Small
By now, you probably have heard all about BDU’s philosophy of “squeezing the lemon” to get the most juice out of everything you do each and every day. To fully “squeeze the lemon” and be more productive, it’s important to also think about what more you could be accomplishing throughout your day. How can you maximize every moment, and especially … Read More
AWE’s September Roundtable: Getting in Front of Decision-Makers
BDU’s CEO Lisa Peskin was honored to facilitate the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs’ September Founder’s Roundtable. Current and prospective AWE founder members joined Lisa for a discussion on the topic, “How to Get in Front of Prospective Clients / Reaching Top Level People.” Getting in front of decision makers can be a challenge, so there are some key things to remember … Read More
Determine Your Desired Outcome
The people you meet with on a regular basis typically fall into one of three different categories: your prospects, your clients, and your centers of influence (COIs). There are a variety of different outcomes you can aim to achieve depending on the type of contact you’re meeting with, as well as your initial agenda, so it’s important that you determine … Read More
Want Sales Success in Q2 (and Beyond)? Do These Three Things Right Now
There are three things that all salespeople need to do right now if they haven’t already to help maximize their performance and potential, as well as set themselves up for not only a strong second quarter but the rest of the year: 1. Stop, Start and Continue Take a moment to reflect on your activities and performance from the first … Read More