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If you start with the right people…for the right reasons, deal with potential problems in the early stages of the process, rigorously qualify opportunities, and ensure that you and your prospects are on the same page at each stage of the process, you’ll be able to complete the selling process in a shorter period of time… which in turn means more sales… and more profit or commissions.

Each time you entertain a negative thought about your ability to achieve a goal, solve a problem, or deal with any situation, you’re poisoning your own well - filling your subconscious with negative unproductive thoughts that it eventually accepts as FACTS, despite the lack of any evidence as such.

A critical part of any sales approach is finding out what the available budget is – the investment.

However, many selling professionals skip a candid discussion about investment entirely, then try to sneak in their pricing at the end of their presentation or by sending a proposal. Does that work? No. It usually results in a “Let me think it over” response.

You may have heard the old saying that 90 percent of success happens between the ears. That’s easy enough to say. But what does putting this principle into practice really mean? What does it look like when it shows up, in a discussion with a prospective buyer, as part of who we really are?

Did you ever have a conversation with a prospect who suddenly, and for no apparent reason, became unreceptive to perfectly good advice?

Has this ever happened to you? You’re in the middle of your second or third “good discussion” with a prospect. Everything’s going great. The prospect seems engaged and positively disposed to work with you.

Has this ever happened to you? During an initial discussion with a prospect, you make it a point to review your pricing information. You put everything right out on the table. The prospect tells you the price you mention “looks fine” (or is “OK,” or “seems fair,” or is “in the ballpark,” or any similar piece of vagueness). The prospect then tells you to put together a couple of samples, designs, or a proposal.

Having a big pipeline of “prospects” is typically seen as desirable. The more prospects you put into the pipeline, the more will eventually emerge as customers. At least that’s the theory!

Most everyone knows the importance of defining their goals, but very few actually take the time to determine precisely what they wish to achieve, and then build a plan to accomplish just that.