What's hot, what's not?

If you're looking for someone who knows what works and what doesn't work in sales, then trainer Skip Miller is your guy. He recently put out a "Hot or Not" list that makes it clear what you should be doing - and what should be retired.

Not
Face to face sales calls. Seeing the same people just to ask them, "How's it going?." These can also be called doughnut drops, or fancy doughnut drops. If you are going to see a customer face to face, it better be with someone who is ready to spend money.

Hot
Qualification skills. Getting 5 or 6 out of 10 from 2 out of 10. You have to qualify over the phone, over the web, over the Internet. Qualification skills aren't just for the new or inexperienced salespeople, they're also important for the major account salespeople.

Not
Products, new products, and better products. If you are a company that is going to dedicate more than 35% of your company's sales kick-off meeting to products, you are doing it all wrong. It's about the value your customer will get from your solution.

Hot
Financial and ROI questioning skills. Have you read "Understanding Financial Reports" from Merrill Lynch? Google it and you'll be surprised how easy you can you can turn all that financial "stuff" into benefit selling.

Not
Prospect - Qualify - Demo - Propose. It is absolutely amazing the number of companies still selling demos and proposals. Please get a clue. The goal is not to sell a proposal or a demo. "Once we get them in the demo, they will see the value." You're dreaming, right?

Hot
Having the prospect qualify themselves. Come up with a questionnaire or a visual buy cycle map that walks the prospect through an evaluation of your product and service. Think of homework assignments your prospect must do before you give them a demonstration or a proposal. In these tough times you have to improve the quality of the pipeline, not just the quantity.

A recognized authority on the psychology of sales performance, Skip Miller has helped countless companies, already at the height of success in their respective fields, achieve an even greater level of sales productivity and success. Learn more at www.m3learning.com