Practical Wisdom from Kahle Way Sales Systems
344 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsFocused on business professionals, sales leaders and professional salespeople we help you sell better, lead better and live better. Enjoy.
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Episodes
Traits of Great Business Leaders #6 - Humility
January 14, 2020 17:00 - 6 minutes - 10.6 MBIn this sixth of a series on the character traits of great business leaders, I identify one that might be surprising, yet is incredibly powerful – humility. Humility is often misunderstood. In this podcast, I describe it, and show how it is a powerful leadership trait.
Beliefs that Hinder Sales Performance #2 -- Problem Solver
January 09, 2020 12:00 - 9 minutes - 8.31 MBOver my 35 years of helping B2B sales forces to sell better, I have noticed a certain set of beliefs that crop up pretty regularly. These are unquestioned beliefs that serve to hinder a salesperson’s performance. This is the second in a series where I expose those beliefs: Good salespeople are good problem solvers.
Traits of Great Business Leaders #5 -- Integrity
January 07, 2020 12:00 - 9 minutes - 8.79 MBGreat business leaders exhibit many of the same character traits. Here’s number five in the series describing the top character traits of great business leaders – integrity. It is both good morals as well as good business. See how you measure up.
Beliefs that hinder salespeople: I must believe in the product
January 02, 2020 11:30 - 9 minutes - 8.55 MBOver my 30 years of experience working with B2B salespeople, I have discovered that there are certain common beliefs that most sales people never question, and yet which hinder their performance. In this first of series, I identify and discuss one of the most common: "I must believe in a product in order to sell it."
Make it easy to buy by reducing the risk
January 01, 2020 11:30 - 15 minutes - 14 MBSometimes it is so frustrating. You know you have a better product than that which your prospect is currently using. Your price is attractive, your service is outstanding. If the prospect would switch to your solution, you know they’d be delighted. You’d save them money, smooth out their processes, reduce their inventory and generally make their life simpler. So, why won’t they switch? Are people really that stupid? Or, is it you? Did you do something to put them off? ...
Traits of Great Business Leaders #4 -- Unwavering Self-Control
December 31, 2019 12:00 - 8 minutes - 12.3 MBThe best business leaders have acquired a similar set of skills. Without this set of character traits, it is difficult to lead a growing organization. In this series, I uncover a key set of character traits for great business leaders. This is number four – Unwavering self-control.
Myths B2B Salespeople Tell Themselves #1 -- Great Relationship
December 26, 2019 12:00 - 9 minutes - 8.64 MBThe sales profession is replete with myths that salespeople tell themselves, and then believe, that hinder their performance. This is the first of series on these myths. In this piece, we look at the idea that “I have great relationships with my customers.”
Traits of Great Business Leaders - 3: A quest for More
December 19, 2019 12:00 - 10 minutes - 10.2 MBGreat leaders have a number of character traits in common. This is the third in a series of articles dealing with the set of character traits that great business leaders exhibit – A continuous quest for MORE.
What American Idol can teach sales professionals
December 19, 2019 12:00 - 8 minutes - 7.7 MBWe’ve all seen the contestants on American Idol – some of which are horribly self-deluded. They think they have talent when they don’t. Unfortunately, that trait of self-delusion is common among more than American Idol contestants. Join with me as I dig into this issue and see to what degree you may be suffering from it.
Questions from Salespeople on Finesse and The Last Look
December 12, 2019 12:00 - 15 minutes - 13.8 MBIn this session, I respond to two questions from salespeople: One has to do with the idea of 'finesse' and the other on methods to insure that you get the 'last look.' My advise may not be what you were expecting.
Traits of Great Business Leaders - 2 The Ability & Propensity to Learn
December 10, 2019 12:00 - 10 minutes - 10.1 MBMore important than the business model in the long-term success of a business is the character of the CEO. In this series, I describe the top qualities of character that mark the successful business leaders. This is number two – the ability and propensity to learn.
Planning for Your Sales Success
December 05, 2019 12:00 - 16 minutes - 15.1 MBEffective salespeople think about what they do before they do it. That’s called planning. And, good planning requires disciplines and routines. In this podcast, I unveil a planning process that has focused and energized thousands of B2B salespeople.
Qualities of a Great Business Leader - 1: Unshakeable Work Ethic
December 03, 2019 18:00 - 8 minutes - 6.87 MBGreat business leaders invariably exhibit the same qualities of character. In this first of series, I look at the qualities of character that mark great leaders, with a deep dive into the first: An unshakeable work ethic.
How many calls should a salesperson make?
November 28, 2019 12:00 - 10 minutes - 9.94 MBThis is my answer to a question submitted by a sales manager: How many sales calls should a salesperson make? The answer may surprise you.
Improve Lackluster Sales
November 21, 2019 12:00 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBWhy is it so difficult to change our behavior? Why are managers and leaders frustrated in trying to help people do better and sell better? The stealth cause is an aspect of human nature that is rarely acknowledged and even more rarely overcome. I’m drilling deeper into the issue and offering some solutions.
How to Measure an Account's Potential
November 08, 2019 12:00 - 13 minutes - 12 MBIt is the information age, and effective sales people and sales organizations understand the value of collecting good information about their prospects and customers. Good information leads to good decisions. Sales Potential is one often neglected piece of information that every sales person needs to collect.
Building a Professional Reputation
November 01, 2019 11:30 - 7 minutes - 6.79 MBB2b sales is long-term endeavor. Some accounts take years to develop, and some buyer-seller relationships last for decades. Investing in a long-term reputation is, then, a wise choice. Here’s one of the best things to do to build that reputation.
Q&A -- Personal Finances
October 25, 2019 10:30 - 9 minutes - 8.9 MBBecause a salesperson’s income is often unpredictable, salespeople need to develop some disciplines and principles to guide their personal finances. This article provides some tips and techniques to manage your personal finances.
Difficult Customers -- 9 Tips to Help You Handle Them
October 18, 2019 17:00 - 7 minutes - 7.01 MBDealing with an angry or difficult customer is challenging for everyone. The stakes are huge, and the emotions can often get out of control. Here are nine proven tips to help you handle the next confrontation with dignity and competence.
4 Strategies to Protect Your Good Accounts from the Competition
October 04, 2019 12:00 - 10 minutes - 10 MBWe all know the feeling. Your key contact in one of your good accounts sheepishly admits that they have moved some business to a competitor. No problem with your service, it was just a price issue. Nothing is more discouraging. You’ve spent years developing this account, building relationships, working hard at meeting their needs, and then, in the blink of an eye, you lose the business to a price-cutter. Here are four proven strategies that will help you prevent your hard-earned...
Five Steps to Sales Mastery
September 27, 2019 19:00 - 18 minutes - 17 MBBecoming one of the master salespeople -- the top five percent in the industry -- doesn't happen by chance. It is the result of a disciplined approach to the project of improving yourself. In this podcast, I share some of what I've learned over my career as a salesperson and sales authority. Compare yourself to the five steps and put in place a set of behaviors that will eventually take you to the top.
When your customer says, "We are happy with the current vendor"
September 19, 2019 10:30 - 16 minutes - 14.1 MBOne of the most common thing sales people hear is: ”I’m happy with my current vendor.” In other words, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Here’s how to respond.
10 Tips to Overcoming Call Reluctance
September 12, 2019 20:30 - 13 minutes - 11.9 MBCall reluctance is the term used to describe a salesperson’s hesitancy to make the next sales call. It’s a common issue that can detract from a salesperson’s performance. In this piece, we provide some solutions.
Position Yourself with Power
September 05, 2019 11:00 - 17 minutes - 27.4 MBCustomers always create a perception about the sales people who call on them. Sometimes this perception works for us, and sometimes it works against us. By intentionally influencing our position with the customer, we can influence the customer’s perception and impact the sale. We can influence the customers’ view of us by how we position ourselves.
Betrayed! A Q&A for Salespeople
August 29, 2019 10:30 - 12 minutes - 11.2 MBWhat happens when you spend a great deal of time and effort creating a big proposal for a prospect, and discover that they gave it to their current vendor to match? Have you been betrayed, or is there some other explanation? In any case, what do you do?
Strategic Planning for Salespeople
August 22, 2019 10:00 - 11 minutes - 10.3 MBIn a misguided attempt to stay busy and see as many people as possible, too many salespeople subscribe to the theory that any activity is good activity. Sales people now must confront an overwhelming number of potential “things to do,” and that requires them to make decisions about which customers in which to invest their time, to prioritize their activities every day, and to continually choose from a menu of possible activities. In other words, sales people must now engage in strategic pla...
Motivating Yourself
August 08, 2019 10:00 - 11 minutes - 8.79 MBSales is an emotional roller coaster, and unless you figure out how to manage those emotions and keep yourself motivated, you’ll have a difficult time succeeding. Unpack this issue and gain specific ideas and techniques to keep yourself motivated.
Handling Objections
August 01, 2019 10:00 - 7 minutes - 5.79 MBIt’s the moment that many salespeople dread. You’ve asked the customer to do something – give you an appointment, issue a P.O., or schedule a demonstration and, instead of saying “Yes,” the customer gives you a reason why he/she does not want to do what you’ve asked him or her to do. Here’s how to handle the objection effectively.
The Four Biggest Time Wasters for Salespeople
July 25, 2019 10:00 - 13 minutes - 10.7 MBThe quickest way to improve your performance is to improve your use of time. Salespeople are often guilty of these four common time wasting habits. See if you are guilty of any of them, and then eliminate them to improve your sales results.
Think a Lot!
July 18, 2019 10:30 - 11 minutes - 8.32 MBSalespeople are overwhelmed with too much to do and not enough time in which to do it. Something must change. The best way to take control of your time is to change the way you think and the amount of time you spend thinking. In this post, we share three specific ways to do that.
Adversity
June 27, 2019 10:00 - 7 minutes - 8.38 MBThere is something about adversity that has the power to linger forever in our memories, shaping our character and molding our behavior for the rest of our life. Here are three keys to dealing with it effectively.
Live Deeper -- Part Two: Stay Balanced
June 21, 2019 21:00 - 42 minutes - 33.1 MBFew sales people ever stop to give thought to what it means to stay balanced. Using a sailboat metaphor, we look at six specific initiatives to bring your life into balance and empower you to work at the most effective level. This is a higher-level practice for the serious professional.
LIve Deeper
June 14, 2019 22:00 - 19 minutes - 14.9 MBIn our chaotic economic environment, countless things demand your attention and divert your focus. In this unprecedented environment, we need to have a greater understanding of how we can become more effective and less scattered. That means understanding how we make decisions, and attending to the deeper issues that impact everything else that we do.
The Five Most Common Mistakes Salespeople Make -- Part Five
June 07, 2019 10:00 - 14 minutes - 12.8 MBSalespeople have a tendency to repeat certain negative behaviors and turn them into habits. Generally, they are not even aware of them. These negative habits detract from their performance. Here's number five on the list of the five most common sales mistakes.
The Five Most Common Mistakes Salespeople Make -- Part Four
May 31, 2019 10:30 - 8 minutes - 7.68 MBThere are certain negative habits that B2B salespeople commonly create. These unconscious habits reduce their effectiveness -- and most don't know that they have them. Here's number four in the series.
Five Most Common Mistakes Sales People Make -- Part Three
May 17, 2019 10:30 - 7 minutes - 6.86 MBOver the decades that I’ve been involved in sales, I’ve worked with tens of thousands of sales people. Certain negative tendencies -- mistakes that sales people make -- keep surfacing. Here is number three of my top five. See to what degree you (or your sales force) may be guilty of them -- Mistake Number Three: Contentment with the superficial
Five Most Common Mistakes SalesPeople Make -- Part Two
May 10, 2019 19:00 - 7 minutes - 6.55 MBOver the decades that I’ve been involved in sales, I’ve worked with tens of thousands of sales people. Certain negative tendencies -- mistakes that sales people make -- keep surfacing. Here is number two of my top five. See to what degree you (or your sales force) may be guilty of them.-- Mistake Number Two: Lack of thoughtfulness
Five Mistakes SalesPeople Commonly Make -- Part One
April 19, 2019 10:30 - 19 minutes - 14 MBBusiness to business sales people often make the same mistakes. Most are not even aware of them. In this series, I’m going to describe the five most common mistakes sales people make, and provide a step-by-step format for overcoming them.
Entertaining Your Customers Strategically
April 05, 2019 14:00 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBThe idea of entertaining your customers is often a after-thought for many sales people. From my experience, strategically entertaining your customers is one of the best things you do. Join me to unpack this issue, and gain several ‘how-to- tips.
The Value-added Sales Call
March 13, 2019 11:00 - 11 minutes - 9.97 MBWe all know it -- customers have less time to see salespeople today than ever before. They have too much to do and not enough time in which to do it. That makes the job of the field sales person much more difficult. That's why the 'value-added sales call' is so important. Dig into this new challenge with me.
How to Sell Commodities
March 01, 2019 11:30 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBHow do you sell when the competition has exactly the same product? Are you reduced to being the low price? Unfortunately, many sales people have never thought deeply about how to effectively sell commodities, and resort to discounting. Here’s a proven, effective approach.
Multiplying Your Sales Opportunities
January 25, 2019 21:27 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBThe heart of sales is the sales opportunity. Increasing the number of sales opportunities bring greater sales. Let's dig into this issue together.
Positioning Yourself With Power
January 24, 2019 16:19 - 35 minutes - 11.6 MBThis is one of those nuances that the very best sales people grasp, but the bulk of sales people never catch ~ positioning yourself in the mind of the customer to viewed as someone of competence and integrity. Join with me to dig into it.
What to do about backorder and customer service problems
December 24, 2018 11:30 - 7 minutes - 7.23 MBHere's my response to this question: Help! I’m so frustrated. I just attended a “sales training” program that never addressed the real issues that I have to deal with every day. What causes me problems is not my lack of sales ability, it is my company’s back orders, the lack of responsiveness and competence in my customer service people, and the mistakes in delivery by the warehouse. Those are the real issues. What can I do about those things?
Basics of Negotiation for Sales People
December 21, 2018 21:02 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBThere are some fundamental principles and practices of negotiations that every B2B salesperson should master.
Price Increases
December 18, 2018 17:12 - 4 minutes - 4.1 MBEvery B2B sales person has to deal with the unpleasant task of communicating price increases to the customer. Here's one big issue to keep in mind.
7 Strategies to Communicate Price Increases
December 18, 2018 15:17 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBCommunicating price increases can be tricky. Here are some proven ways to do it.
Is The System the Solution?
December 17, 2018 11:30 - 11 minutes - 10.7 MBAt its most fundamental level, business is always and only about three things: Money, people and systems. There is a huge body of content revolving around money in business. When it comes to people, as an element in business, there is an equally impressive body of knowledge and infrastructure. When it comes to systems, however, there is not nearly the quantity and quality of conversation. And yet effective systems are, at the very least, just as nece...
Call Prospects Every Hour?
November 17, 2018 12:00 - 6 minutes - 5.58 MBHere's a question sent it be a sales person: "My boss recently decided that we must call prospects once every hour, every day, until we get a yes or no, regardless of what they say, or if it’s voicemail. What’s your opinion of this?" Listen as I respond to this question.
Collecting Past Due Receivables
October 09, 2018 12:00 - 6 minutes - 6.48 MBShould sales people collect past due receivables? This is a nitty-gritty question for B2B sales forces. Listen as I unpack an answer.