It seems since time immemorial, organizations have been faced with deciding whether to position themselves as a lowest cost seller versus a provider of value. In fact, just last week, I had this same discussion with an executive regarding a fairly new mortgage start-up. It came as no surprise that the new company believes they […]
The Continuing Debate of Selling Price vs Value Read More »
In a recent sales training class on prospecting, I wrapped up the session with three important keys to the mental side of selling. They are: 1. Keep positive people around you, not negative; 2. Commit to learning because it makes you more confident and; 3. Access experts when you need them. No one can know
Three Golden Mental Rules of Selling Read More »
In my consulting practice, I find that “winging it” is a common approach for many sales organizations. Why are so many companies willing to leave their sales results to chance? One of the primary culprits is when lenders do not have a clearly defined structure that originators are required to follow. A structure
Are Your Originators Winging It? Read More »
There is no more overused term in selling than the words “customer-centric.” Everyone says they put the customer first. Originators will even tell you they know exactly what the customer wants. But thinking that you know what the customer wants is not the same thing as delivering what the customer needs. We’ve heard the same
Is Your Sales Organization Customer-Centric? Read More »
In a recent training engagement with experienced B2B originators, I looked up their profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to familiarize myself with the students. How many do you think were active social media participants or even had an updated LinkedIn profile? None. Zip. Zero. I was shocked. When I asked why this was the
How Does Your ZMOT Rate? Read More »
Many originators and managers will readily admit that the current market is competitive but when asked specifics, the majority —especially at the originator level — cannot explain the marketing position of the competition and its local originators. When managers fail to instill a discipline of knowing your competition inside and out, the inevitable result is
Are Your Originators Performing Competitive Analysis? Read More »
Since the 1980’s the most popular sales training method has been on needs-based selling. Even today, many mortgage companies teach this approach to originators as a tactic for prospecting for brokers or referral sources. The trouble is that needs-based selling is no longer effective in a world where buyers have unlimited access to
Still Using Needs-Based Sales Training? Read More »
Similar to sports and other competitive efforts, in selling the difference between winning and losing is very small. The difference between being first or second often comes down to a fraction of a second in a horse race or making a few putts over four days of competition in golf. This law of incremental differences
Do Your Originators Sweat the Small Stuff? Read More »
From the beginning of time, business has always looked for ways to do things faster, better, cheaper or friendlier (the four horsemen). Just as my grandparents saw the automobile and airplane industry develop and I have seen the computer and communication industry go from zero to incredible, the next generation will experience even more technological
Are You Ready for the Four Horsemen of Business Success? Read More »
Conventional wisdom dictates that originators complete to do lists to succeed but the problem is that lists don’t work and can actually get in the way of real progress. Why? To do lists are tasks of everything that is on a salesperson’s plate for a day. What this translates into is an unstructured collection of
To Do Lists Don’t Work! Read More »
