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Rick Davis

Rick Davis

  • Why "Useless" Information Is No Trivial Pursuit

    Knowledge that you regard as irrelevant to your needs could be just what the client needs, and what clinches the sale.

     
  • Want To Sell Better? Prospect More

    It might seem counterintuitive, but the best way to avoid sales crises and frenzied selling tomorrow is to do more prospecting today.

     
  • How LinkedIn Can Help Make You a Better Salesperson

    10 reasons why LinkedIn is a great way to use social media as a sales tool.

     
  • Pilgrim's Progress

    If you have ever failed to achieve a New Year's resolution, it's probably because you didn't come up with a process to achieve your goal and measure your progress. Suppose you wanted to lose weight. A trimmer waistline is the goal. The effort it takes to get there–in this case, an exercise regimen...

     
  • Mail Enhancement

    There are better ways to use e-mail to make sales.

     
  • Screen Gems

    You have heard those words dozens of times in your life and probably said them hundreds more. Everybody knows that selling is a numbers game, but surprisingly few actually take time to measure the data that create predictable success.

     
  • Tale Gunner

    Capture big sales by learning to incorporate details into a compelling story.

     
  • Make Big Mo Your Friend

    The Fallacy of the Close is that it's about the anxious moment when the salesperson makes the all-or-nothing request for the order. It's really a series of small victories, no one of which may be the one that clinches the deal.

     
  • Let Your Fingers Do the Talking

    Sales managers frequently ask me, "How many accounts can I expect one salesperson to manage effectively?" Rick Davis says. His answer: It depends on how you use electronic tools.

     
  • Choice Words

    What is better than cold-calling? Making the phone ring.

     
  • Avoid Guilt-Edged Bonds

    My builders are not as friendly as they used to be," one colleague recently complained to Rick Davis. But that's the problem, Davis says: the colleague is basing the relationship on friendship rather than on business needs.

     
  • Care Package

    Create a culture where all staffers want to serve the customer – and will sign their name to their work.

     
  • Why I Love Price-Fixing

    Too often, Rick Davis argues, when outside sales reps are given freedom to negotiate prices, they tend to go in just one direction: down. In this "Sell Sheet" column, Davis suggests that one way to keep OSRs from giving away profits is to take away their power to negotiate.

     
  • Ties That Bind

    During my tenure as sales director for a millwork manufacturer, one of our most valuable distributor customers considered our Delores the best sales rep they ever had. But co-workers regarded Delores as their biggest nuisance.

     
  • Type Cast

    One characteristic that distinguishes Sales Leaders is their chameleon-like ability to adapt to differing personalities.

     
  • Prep School

    Here's a horror story that I hope never happens to you. I was hired to travel with a sales rep who I had told to plan a "perfect" day of outside sales activity.

     
  • It's Good To Be Pie-Eyed

    Ships rise and fall with the tide. Most building material companies' fortunes do the same based on the housing market.

     
  • Counter Revolution

    ProSales this month focuses on introducing new products to the market. Here is how I recommend you think about selling new products: Avoid hyping features and benefits. Rather than sell what the product is, sell what the product does.

     
  • Delay Is Not Defeat

    As the economy continues to sputter, expect as well a continued slowdown in decision-making.

     
  • The Write Stuff

    Here's a philosophy to help you get through what's likely to be another tough year: Accept what's going on, and learn.

     
 
 
 
 
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