The Advanced Selling Podcast: Sales Training | Leadership Coaching | B2b Sales Strategy | Prospecting Tips

In this week's episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey interviews a special guest, Dan Heath, the author of the Made to Stick. He joins us today to share his insights on helping OTHERS understand your ideas and helping YOU communicate them better. It seems in most sales training, we talk about communication skills, but spend little time talking about the thinking behind communicating ideas. Dan has researched why/how some ideas stick and others don't. And since professional selling revolves around how compelling you make your ideas for the prospect, Dan was the perfect guest. These are skills that you can learn and apply immediately to your sales strategies to help increase sales. Make sure to go buy Dan's book, Made to Stick. Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

In this week's episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale answer those "what do I do when?" questions that sales professionals have every day. This is an episode that helps sales people new and old who are curious about what to do in certain situations. Business-to-business sales training and development isn't always about "theory." Sometimes it's just about practical advice. This episode will help you to say and do the right things in those places where your deal might be on the line. Sometimes just a third party--like Caskey and Neale--can shed just enough light on a subject to give you a new way to think about old problems.

In today's podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale address the New York Times piece on Income Inequality--and how sales professionals are in the right spot to be at the correct end of the income spectrum. They address the core competencies of the "top one percenters" (those who earn over $340,000/year)--and where to go to get that training. This sales podcast is a good way to check your own skills in the entire domain of business--not just selling. This podcast will expand your thinking about your self, your future and the possibilities that exist when you grow your skills.

In this week's episode of the Advanced Selling Pocast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale discuss stalled deals. A lot of sales people find themselves stuck in the middle of a deal, where they have the potential buyer interested in their product or service, but they can't seem to close the deal. Have no fear, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale are here to help you jump start those stalled deals with their innovative techniques and tips. This will help sales people of all levels spend time closing more deals instead of wasting their time and money on a deal that isn't going anywhere. Don't miss it.

In this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale address the mental side--inner game--of sales. "How you think determines how you act" is one of our favorite sayings. And Caskey and Neale discuss new possibilities in thought which will immediately change your behavior--and ultimately, your results. Want to be massively successful in sales or business? Then, this is one of the most critical pieces of information you need to learn in order to become great. For you sales managers, forward this on to every one of your people--and use your next sales meeting to discuss your opinions on this piece.

In this week's episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale discuss how to appeal to the economic buyer. In their consulting practice, it never fails that one of the biggest challenges for sales people is "selling to groups." The bottom line is that everyone in the group MUST be on the page. However, the economic buyer (the person in charge of money) is one most likely to have their own style of buying that may or may not match up with yours. Bill and Bryan give you new ways to think about these problems that come up over and over to help the economic buyer get away from the price page, and onto everyone else's page. This is a very crucial part of the selling cycle that can make or break most deals. If you want to call in and have your question answered by Bill and Bryan, call 317.722.6299. Use your first name only.

Ever wondered if the sales training you're getting was actually the best available? Or whether what you were learning was actually making you better? In this week's episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale discuss the mistakes that sales trainers make that mess up sales people and how they sell. Have no fear though--if you find that you are a victim of 'sales training malpractice,' Bill and Bryan have plenty of tips to get you on the right road to better selling. This is an eye opening episode that you don't want to miss. Also, email us at listener@advancedsellingpodcast.com if you want to be considered for our one hour coaching call. We'll then take the best of those private calls and put in a podcast episode.

In this week's episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale discuss the knack of having good, truthful conversations with your prospect. What should you listen for? How can you find the heart of their problems and reasons for buying? Listening should be a big part of any sales strategy consequently, they discuss how much sales people should talk, and how much they should listen. Bill and Bryan act out (they're always acting out) these teachings, so that you can apply them to your selling strategies immediately.

In this week's episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale discuss how to overcome your fears of cold calling and prospecting. In sales, the majority of the business you generate is from calling on new prospects. Even though those first phone calls are some of the most dreaded parts of sales, they CAN be mastered. And like we say, 'make your biggest weakness your biggest asset' and watch success ensure. The mind is telling you something if you have fear. It tells you "you aren't looking at the situation "correctly." Caskey and Neale help you change your thinking around these aspects of sales so the "phobia" evaporates. Don't believe us? Listen and see!

In this week's episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale take a look in the mail bag and pull out some questions from our listeners. Bryan and Bill discuss what to do when the other sales people in your office start to single you out because of your success. This is a really interesting discussion that helps you reflect on your "inner game" and helps you to continue to sell more and become more successful.

In this week's episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey interviewed John Hirth, a sales development trainer from Chicago (www.johnhirth.com). John gives us his take on how the profession of selling has changed in the last 10 years. His answers may surprise you. And they will definitely enlighten you. If you know how selling has changed, then you'll be better equipped to change, intelligently, with it. Intelligent change will give you the strategy and insight needed to grow your revenue. After the interview, Bill and Bryan Neale talk about what you can do to start changing your approach with your customers, which will keep you running at your peak sales level.

In this week's episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale give you interesting (and innovative) tips you can use to make better use of your time. You have only so many hours in the day/week and year. How you use those hours are at the core of how successful you are. For example, have you ever thought about how many hours/year you could save if you could communicate your message better to your prospects? This is a fast moving--lightning round type of podcast, where Caskey and Neale go through some systemic ways to improve your time management--and the production you get from the hours you spend.

In this week's episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale discuss various sales scenarios that you might find yourself in, and what to do in them. This episode gives you some fresh ideas for solving old problems. Don't miss it.

This episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast is the second in a series that began last week. In this episode Bill and Bryan discuss your “comfort zone.” We all are very aware of what is inside and outside of our comfort zones. Bill and Bryan want you to step just a little bit outside of that comfort zone; to what they call, “the warning zone”. In the "warning zone" your mind is telling you that you are somewhat uncomfortable in the situation you're in. One of the best ways to step out of your comfort zone is to talk about money right off the bat. Get your price on the table so that during the first meeting you will know if there is any reason to proceed after this call. The lesson here is: stop wasting time trying to sell them something that they can’t afford--or don't want to afford. After that, you can slowly build more confidence doing other things outside of your comfort zone, thereby creating a larger comfort zone, which will enable you to achieve more during a sales call.

In this first of a series, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale discuss a theory called "Time Optimization," which is optimizing the time you spend by doing your "highest use activity". This is not a lesson in time management. Rather, it is a manifesto that calls for a different way to look at the time you spend in sales activities. Most sales people waste their most precious asset--their time. How will you find out what Bill and Bryan have in store for you? By listening, of course. Enjoy.

In this week's episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale talk about ending sales calls with a good understanding of what is going to happen next, instead of letting the deal become stalled. So how do you do this? It's pretty simple, at the end of a sales call, you need to know if you and the prospect are going to continue moving along with this deal, or if this just isn't going to work. This is very important for you, because it will help you waste less time on deals that might not happen, and allow you to have more time to spend on the ones that will happen. There are many other vital parts to this process in this episode, so don't miss it. Please feel free to contact us at listener@advancedsellingpodcast.com or on our new toll free number,1-877-637-8853.

Happy New Year from all of us at The Advanced Selling Podcast! We decided that in order to get you off on the right foot this year, we would discuss the rules that all sales people should abide by: "The Commandments of Selling". Most sales training deals with what to say. But in the commandments, we deal with sales strategy and modern thought. Everyone needs standards and rules to keep us on track--physically and mentally-- during the selling process. This week Bill and Bryan give you their version of the commandments. If you get this urge to share an additional commandment, call us at 317-722-6299 or email us at listener@advancedsellingpodcast.com.

In this week's episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale recommend changes you can make in the New Year. But don't wait until January 1st to start. Get a 'head start' for another year of high achievement. They discuss how to take your sales from good to "elite." These five best sales strategies/ practices are: talk to the right people, become an expert in something, nurture your network, get picky about your clients, and decide what's possible. Come to think of it, these are great strategies for increasing your sales in the year to come but even better strategies for your business life. Have a great Holiday from the staff at The Advanced Selling Podcast!

Happy Holidays Everyone! The year 2006 is rapidly coming to a close. And speaking of closing, in this episode of the Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill and Bryan discuss some different and innovative closing strategies that will help you get more decisions, quicker. Also, email us your questions and programming suggestions for next year at listener@advancedsellingpodcast.com. So pay attention, take notes, and resolve to close more deals in the year to come.

When salespeople walk into a company for a sales call, they don't always realize the landscape they're about to experience. Salespeople need to understand the people inside the company--those stressed and overworked souls. And the executives you're meeting with don't seem to put much focus on communicating the company vision to their staff. Therefore, few know it. Therefore, when meeting with these executives, your job as a salesperson is to engage them in conversation about the company's and their pains, and their visions for the future. By discussing this, you and your prospect will have a better understanding if your product or service will be a perfect fit. In this podcast, you'll get some tips on how to better navigate through this landscape.