Category Archive

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

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

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

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

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

Business Development University (BDU) is pleased to announce the addition of Heather Herrington, Esq. to the BDU team as a Professional Services Coach and Trainer. Prior to working at BDU, Herrington was a practicing attorney for 12 years. She’s an avid networker and connector who has held leadership roles on the boards of both industry and non-industry organizations. Throughout her … Read More

The holidays are truly a time to appreciate the company of good friends, family and loved ones.  But between all the eggnog and cookie tins, it’s easy to forget that the New Year is also a wonderful time to reflect on the past year professionally. It is a time to review your progress on last year’s goals and to set new … Read More

Not a day goes by that we don’t appreciate our team and our clients too, It’s a shame it takes Thanksgiving for us to thank each and everyone of you. And to thank you for your business may seem so very cliché, But without your trust and commitment we wouldn’t be here today. We couldn’t be more grateful or thankful … Read More

Every Sales Manager has a one-line job description – to make their sales associates as successful as possible. There are 5 key areas that every Sales Manager should be focusing on so that they have a handle on their team’s goals and motivations: Average Sale – If we divide out the total sales needed by the average sale, it will … Read More

Back in my days as VP of Sales, I used to say I could spend the entire day, every day, engaged in mail management.  Every day I would get upwards of 30 voice mails, more than 50 emails, and a stack of paper that was responsible for the death of a small forest.  But I quickly learned that spending too … Read More

Sales and business development are a function of three key areas.  So if your sales aren’t where you think they should be, you need to ask yourself three questions: Am I doing the right activities to fill the pipeline with qualified prospects on a consistent basis? Do I have a good process, once I’m in front of prospect or suspect, … Read More

In order to maximize top line growth, it is important to examine 5 critical components of a sales organization by asking the following question: Do you have the Right number of the Right people doing the Right number of the Right things Right? The first aspect of growing a sales organization is to evaluate whether you have the right number of sales people working for you. As companies grow, there … Read More

Weeding through and responding to email is one of the most time consuming activities we might have on a daily basis. When I was VP of Sales at ADP, between snail mail, email and voice mail, I could spend all day with mail management.   Today, it is primarily email that bogs us down and the most frustrating thing about it is … Read More

The most customer facing group we have are the professionals answering the questions our clients are asking every day. Their interaction is a rapport building opportunity to create a customer loyalty experience, but it is also the best opportunity to identify other needs of theses clients.  There isn’t a better time to close than after an objection or issue has been … Read More

  There is a line in the sand for sales professionals as well as non-selling professionals that need to develop business.  That line is the imaginary line that if crossed, takes someone from being a professional “sales” person to that unprofessional, pushy “used car salesman” type individual.    So many business developers are so afraid of people viewing them as too … Read More