Tag Archives: Harvard Business Review

Sales

The Art of Selling Is in the Heart, Not the Brain


It is all too easy to forget this fundamental in our age of ROI, NPV and Cost/Benefit, but it is critical to remember –  At it’s core, buying is an EMOTIONAL decision.

I was reminded of this today when I picked up a tweet from the Harvard Business Review that mentioned the concept in a blog post by Clif Reichard.   Cliff is a 55 year veteran of sales and customer service.  We can all learn a lot from that type of experience.

Cliff says that  “…Many sales organizations do little to create an emotional connection with prospective customers and concentrate instead on hype-filled sales pitches. We do the opposite: By conveying our warm feelings, we create an emotional bond without appearing phony or insincere. Then, by making an objective presentation, we show that we respect our customers’ ability to make their own judgments. The art of selling is in the heart, not the brain…”

Being honest with yourself, when is the last time that you and your team put as much energy into the heart of a pursuit as the brain?

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Sales

You Can’t Cut Your Way to a Funnel


Here is a link to today’s Harvard Business Review “Daily Stat.”  Interesting research numbers on firms and their behavior during the recession.  http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/dailystat.php?date=021010.     HBR says “Sales reps get hit with double whammy…”   The gist: 67%. That’s how many companies froze or reduced lead-generation budgets for sales reps last year, at a time when salespeople needed help the most, according to CSO Insights’ survey of more than 2,800 companies worldwide. The percentage of reps making quota in 2009 dropped to 51.8% from 58.8% a year earlier, the survey shows.

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