Steven Reeves
Steven Reeves
Consultant, author, software entrepreneur, business development professional, aspiring saxophonist, busy publishing insight and ideas. Boomer turned Zoomer - thirty year sales professional with experience selling everything from debt collection to outsourcing and milking machines to mainframes. Blogger at Successful Sales Management. Head cook and bottle washer at Front Office Box.
It’s Never Too Early In The Sale To Say No
Sales prospects don't like being told No by people doing the selling, which perversely means that's exactly what sales professionals should do. That sounds a...
Selling Around The Enterprise Gatekeeper
All enterprises have gatekeepers - managers appointed to play buyer when the sales people come calling. It's all about hierarchies, and organisation charts,...
Are Accountants Smarter Than Sales People
Are accountants smarter than sales people? Surely most think they are. And those IT guys, the HR staff, and virtually anybody who...
Selling To Big Companies – Carry A Big Stick
When you're selling to big companies you need to speak softly and carry a big stick - to quote a saying popularly credited to...
The Critical Success Factor In Any Sale
Is there a Critical Success Factor in any sale - one single element which increases the likelihood you'll win if it's there, and almost...
The Sales Prospects You Don’t Want
When is a sales prospect not a prospect? We just posted Making Lead Generation Make Sense at our other blog and it was syndicated...
Strategies for ‘Too Big to Fail’ Sales Deals
Every so often a sales deal comes along which is Too Big to Fail. Anybody involved in the world's second oldest profession will...
The 3 Greatest Sales People Ever
Who would you choose for your list of the 3 Greatest Sales People Ever? There's no shortage of candidates when you consider all...
Never Mislead A Prospect
Do you ever mislead a prospect in your sales pitch, either deliberately, or simply by leaving something out? If so you won't be...
Making Lead Generation Make Sense
Anybody who's been selling for more than a couple of months understands lead generation programs aren't what they're supposed to be. All too...
What Sales Managers Can Learn From Pay Per Click
You probably noticed - sales managers are one dimensional thinkers, mostly at least. They have to be. The revenue target is a...
Yes You Can Sell
Everybody can sell. It's really quite simple. You learned the basic skills before you could talk. Just add some insight....
The Sales Manager’s Dilemma
Nobody should generalise about sales managers. There are so many different types of business, and so many different ways of making them work. There...
B2B Selling Isn’t Black Magic
Selling B2B products or services doesn't involve any form of magic, black or any other colour. But it does require discipline and focus. There...
The Salesman and His Magic Pen
This story about the salesman's magic pen illustrates how the smallest detail, or idea, can make a big difference in any sale. It's another...
Selling to Sales People With War Stories
How do sales people sell to other sales guys? You might think they get very technical, preening themselves with demonstrations of their intellect. You...
Two Words Made Him A Millionaire
In every sale there's more money to be made than the seller thinks. And yes, that means you and your deals. Here's an interesting...
Selling From A Different Direction
Are there times when you'd do better approaching sales from the other direction. Times when the prospect doesn't seem to be listening, even though...
Advice For New Sales Managers
Here's some interesting advice for the new sales manager - another story from the Sales Front Line. My friend Jack had been a hot shot...
Hiring A Sales Manager With How Instead of What
Hiring a sales manager? Forget the What and question the How. Interviewing for the sales manager's job? Forget the What, and...