I almost hate, but definitely do not like discounting the price of our offering. However, there are times when you or the company you work for, feel like throwing out a reduced price to a prospect may get the deal done, especially if it’s the end of the month, quarter or year. Maybe you have a prospect that’s just not moving and you think that offering a discount will get them over the fence. Hopefully you actually know if price is really the issue and you’re not just grasping at straws to get the deal done. Assuming you’ve done your homework and you have a good relationship, making a concession on price can work if it’s done the right way.

If you’re still sending emails that have opening lines that include, “Just checking in” or “Circling back!”, please stop it. Take this as a sign, they don’t work. They’re annoying and every sales person on the planet has tried them with little to no success. Here’s some other opening email lines that you should absolutely avoid if you want anyone to respond to you.

You’re already calling, emailing, LinkedIn’ing (I know that’s not a word), video messaging and some of you are even direct mailing. So why aren’t you texting?

Texting is one of the least adopted technologies by sales reps who responded to surveys by HubSpot and others, but I can argue it’s one of the most effective...if done correctly.

Let’s face it, most proposals sent out by sales people suck. I’ve seen em…so many. And most of them are terrible, but why?

As a salesperson, you know your product or service inside and out, you know (I hope) how it helps the prospect, and you’ve discussed (I also hope) at length what your offering will DO for them as specifically as possible, prior to sending the proposal. So why do most sales proposals suck?

It makes sense that a team that works together will accomplish more than a group of individuals working alone. After all, more people means a greater number and diversity of ideas, more hands to lighten the workload, and more accountability to get the job done right for the good of the group.

It's that time again: The holidays are over and everyone is diving head-first into their New Year's Resolutions. While personal goals may include working out more or taking up a new hobby, business leaders typically resolve to improve their organization's people or processes.

Hiring is no easy feat (not to mention it’s costly). But hiring for sales and business development puts even more pressure on hiring managers. After all, your salespeople are the ones who will be in the trenches with your customers, representing your company.

As a business development professional, your job is to orchestrate the execution of big picture goals. The best way to do this is to get your company's departments working together, but that's often easier said than done.

Most salespeople don't know how to sell.

In fact, most salespeople just show up to client meetings and proceed to throw out all of their product's features and benefits. "This is who we are, what we do, how long we've been in business, blah, blah, blah. Here are seven case studies and whitepapers, blah, blah, blah." Then the salesperson sits there, hoping their 35-page deck got through to the prospect, who probably isn't a decision-maker anyway.

Finding superstars isn't easy, and resumes and LinkedIn profiles can easily be misleading. Before you hire your next salesperson, regardless of level within your organization, read this for some tips on what you should look for, what you should ask, and how you should ask it.