Chris Lytle Sales Management Tip: Too many companies have wishes instead of standards. "I wish my people would make more calls," one manager told me. A standard is a measurable indicator of performance involving a consequence. If you're a manager, confront lack of sustained effort with coaching. If you're in sales, take action instead of looking...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: Want to be more persuasive? Dale Carnegie offered this timeless advice for winning people to your way of thinking: "To get the best of a situation, avoid arguments." Selling is not about fighting your way to a sale. It's about finding a fit between what your company offers and the solution or outcome that the client ...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: Just in case you haven't gotten around to re-reading Plato, consider this: "Self-conquest is the greatest of all victories." Plato's advice resonates 2400 years later. To triumph in sales you need to defeat your own bad sales habits and make yourself do the things--every day--that you already know will help you win more ...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: Just in case you haven't gotten around to re-reading Plato, consider this: "Self-conquest is the greatest of all victories." Plato's advice resonates 2400 years later. To triumph in sales you need to defeat your own bad sales habits and make yourself do the things--every day--that you already know will help you win more ...Read more

Chris Lytle Proposal Writing Tip: I once interviewed 40-plus clients of a major Canadian corporation. "What does good look like in a written proposal?" I asked. The consensus was that conciseness is good. "Edit and summarize," they said. "Cut to the chase" came up a lot too.

Check the length of your next proposal. What words and sections could...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: "The juggler can't tell you which ball is more important. Drop just one and the show is over." I was particularly intrigued by this thought from Joan Magretta's book, What Management Is. In selling you have to have a lot of balls in the air because some will drop. But the show is not over. You simply add another prospect ...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Tip: Every salesperson I talk to says that face time is harder to get. One way to get more is to ask for the appointment one week, two weeks, even a month ahead of time. Busy people find it hard to squeeze you in today or tomorrow, but can build their day around their meeting with you next week. Added bonus: When you tell ...Read more

Chris Lytle Proposal Writing Tip: I once interviewed 40-plus clients of a major Canadian corporation. "What does good look like in a written proposal?" I asked. The consensus was that conciseness is good. "Edit and summarize," they said. "Cut to the chase" came up a lot too.

Check the length of your next proposal. What words and sections could...Read more

Chris Lytle Business Tip: Procrastination keeps you from failing, but only temporarily. Want a reason NOT to dial the phone or write that big proposal? Prospects can't say NO to a call you don't make or a proposal you don't present. The late CEO of Coca-Cola, Roberto Goizueta, said, "The moment you let avoiding failure become your motivator, you...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: If you've ever made less than a positive first impression on a customer, remember this advice from a very wise person: "No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."

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Chris Lytle's Success Tip: "Companies that are truly successful are different from their competitors. It gives them control over their destiny. If you are not different, your dumbest competitor will set your prices. And, the market will show you no respect." Benson P. Shapiro may live in an ivory tower as Harvard's Malcolm P. McNair Professor of...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: Can a politician teach you anything about sales? Benjamin Disraeli was a British Prime Minister. "The fool wonders, the wise man asks," he said. Of course, a wise man also knows what he doesn't know. Who are you seeing today? What question do you need to ask that person?

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Chris Lytle's Sales Tip: "When I'm selling at my best, I'm more playful," said a seminar participant recently. "Work is more fun than fun," suggests Noel Coward. Selling at your best is fun. You smile more. You are more at ease with your customers and they react accordingly. Customers sit through plenty of boring meetings. What can you do to add...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Tip: Every salesperson I talk to says that face time is harder to get. One way to get more is to ask for the appointment one week, two weeks, even a month ahead of time. Busy people find it hard to squeeze you in today or tomorrow, but can build their day around their meeting with you next week. Added bonus: When you tell ...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Success Tip: Looking for the quickest route to success? Heed this advice from writer Henry Miller. "In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest."

So here's the easiest route to sales success: Fill the ...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Tip: Sailors and salespeople should heed this advice: "If there is no wind, row." Slow times may require that we revisit the basics and redouble our efforts. Be relentless in filling your sales pipeline. Prospect, seed, dial, contact, meet, propose, and ask for the order.

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