Selling Skills Archives

Reinventing the Digital Sales Training Playbook – Five Critical Success Factors

by Diane Burgess-Faber

In the world of communications training, 2021 was a pivotal year. We saw tremendous growth in the sophistication of digital training environments, as companies adopted digital approaches to deliver exceptional learner experiences that help their workforces succeed.

by Diane Burgess-Faber

Change Management, Digital Transformation, Sales Readiness, Selling Skills

Go Big: Plan Your Own High-Impact Virtual SKO

by Karen Bintz

Sales kickoffs (SKOs) serve many purposes, not the least of which is to motivate and inspire your customer-facing teams. A successful SKO arms your sales teams with new and refreshed skills. They leave the SKO energized to engage with customers and win upcoming opportunities.

by Karen Bintz

In-Person Presentations, Sales Readiness, Sales Training, SCI-PAB, Selling Skills, Virtual Presentations

The Top Sales Skill for 2021!

by Allison O'Brien

Sales professionals need a mix of soft skills to be successful. While rapport building is often considered the top sales skill, listening is the most critical skill for closing sales, and building long-term client relationships. Learn 3 crucial tips to closing sales, and why listening is the top sales skill of 2021.

by Allison O'Brien

Listening Skills, Sales Readiness, Sales Training, Selling Skills, Soft Skills

Tell a Story. Close a Deal. Even on Zoom.

by Michael Albert

A sales presentation is too important to be diminished to a sideshow in your client’s day. There are several ways to remedy this situation, but one of the most effective techniques is the use of STORIES.

by Michael Albert

Communication Skills, Selling Skills, Storytelling, Virtual Presentations

How Well Does Your Team Handle Tough Questions?

by Heather Muir

Challenging questions, even confrontational ones, present an opportunity. Tough questions, when handled well, can help you and your team strengthen credibility and gain support for your ideas and solutions. The only question is, how to do it well? Learn Mandel’s 3-step model for skillfully responding — not reacting — to tough questions with confidence and ease.

by Heather Muir

Communication Skills, Conversation Skills, Executive Presence, Influencing Skills, Presenting to Executives, Sales Readiness, Selling Skills, Soft Skills, Technical Professionals

Influencing Others Through Story; A Valuable Lesson from Game of Thrones

by Brad Holst

What inspires and motivates people to action? Here’s a hint: it’s not a PowerPoint deck filled with data points and analytics. Learning how to share a powerful story can positively influence others and help your ideas become memorable. Perhaps you need to promote a new idea or close that crucial sale. Learn how some of the most successful business ventures today got their start from sharing a powerful story and how you can make your own narrative work for you.

by Brad Holst

Business Transformation, Communication Skills, In-Person Presentations, Influencing Skills, Messaging Skills, Selling Skills, Storytelling

Because Executive Briefings & Meetings Don’t Run Themselves

by Kelly Reeves

Executive briefings. Big sales meetings. Project pitch meetings. What do they have in common? The stakes are sky high. There’s a lot riding on them for you and your company — revenue, reputation, productivity. Do your people have, both, the presentation AND facilitation skills to ensure their success? Read the blog to find out and to get your free Discussion Leader Self-Assessment Tool and Facilitator Checklist.

by Kelly Reeves

Briefing Center, Presentation Skills, Presenting to Executives, Sales Readiness, Selling Skills

Want Your Presentation to Be Memorable? Follow the Rule of Three

by Brad Holst

Memory almost full. Imagine that warning flashing brightly on the forehead of every audience member. A successful presentation isn’t just about the speaker’s dynamic energy or their confident manner in front of an audience. Without compelling, easy to follow content, it doesn’t matter how comfortable you are in the spotlight. You and your topic will quickly be forgotten. So how do you ensure lasting, memorable impact? Learn how to be remembered by leveraging the ancient, globally relevant, and scientifically proven rule of three to focus your content, motivate your listeners, and make your executive presence shine.

by Brad Holst

Communication Skills, Critical Thinking Skills, Event Preparation, In-Person Presentations, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Presenting to Executives, SCI-PAB, Selling Skills, Slide deck, Storytelling

Do Salespeople & Technologists Communicate Differently?

by Suzanne McLarnon

Do salespeople and technologists communicate differently? Is one group better at presenting than the other? Can the two ever agree on how to present or what info to share? Corporate Workforce Development expert, high-tech industry veteran, and former Mandel client Suzanne McLarnon shares the secret behind developing both sales and technical professionals into superb communicators.

by Suzanne McLarnon

Briefing Center, Communication Skills, Influencing Skills, Sales Training, Selling Skills, Technical Professionals

Questions I Wish I’d Asked (How to Improve Sales Conversations)

by Diane Burgess-Faber

What’s the secret to wildly productive first-time sales meetings or conversations with executives? Thought-provoking questions. Read the blog to find out why—and how to tell if YOUR questions are thought-provoking enough to make customers want to learn more.

by Diane Burgess-Faber

Conversation Skills, Influencing Skills, Sales Readiness, Selling Skills

The Power of “What If” Storytelling

by Diane Burgess-Faber

A well-crafted story gives power to your ideas and recommendations like nothing else can. If there's one type of story every salesperson should have in their toolbox, it's the "What if" story. Read the blog to learn what a what if story is, how to tell one, and why it's so effective at connecting with customers and getting them to a decision faster.

by Diane Burgess-Faber

Briefing Center, Sales Training, Selling Skills, Storytelling

Most Popular Skill-Building Content of 2017

by Heather Muir

As the year comes to a close, here's a look back at Mandel's most popular skill-building content of 2017. Whether trying to make a great first impression, give a persuasive presentation, or convince others to support your idea, how you communicate will be key to your success in 2018. To help you prepare, we’ve curated this list of the most downloaded skill-building content just for you.

by Heather Muir

Conversation Skills, Presentation Skills, SCI-PAB, Selling Skills

The Secret to Connecting on LinkedIn

by Heather Muir

If you want to connect with more people on LinkedIn, I have a foolproof tip: Make a real connection. What I mean is, if you want to productively connect with someone—whether virtually through a social network or in-person—don't send a generic invite. They don't work. Read the blog to find out why, and what you can do instead to craft irresistible LinkedIn messages or networking emails that get results.

by Heather Muir

Conversation Skills, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Selling Skills

3 Tips to Help Salespeople Generate Higher Margins

by David Mears

Could your salespeople be eroding profit margins through excessive discounting? Or through unnecessary product, service, or contractual give-aways? Margin erosion usually stems from the failure to establish differentiated value early in the sales process. Here are 3 tips you can use to turn margin erosion into margin generation.

by David Mears

Sales Readiness, Sales Training, Selling Skills

Are Your Sales Reps Failing to “ROI Justify” Their Proposals?

by David Mears

When prospective buyers ask sales reps to justify ROI, it's typically NOT because of a lack of data or information about your products and services. Rather, it's because they haven't quite fully bought into your sales messaging or your messenger. Read on to learn what customers are really thinking when they ask for ROI justification, and what your reps can do differently.

by David Mears

Sales Readiness, Sales Training, Selling Skills

In Sales, Content Delivery Is King

by David Mears

You've probably heard the expression, "Content is king." And, it's likely your company has spent a lot of money creating content that supports successful selling. But even the world's greatest message or content will fail to persuade if your sales reps can't deliver it effectively. When it comes to sales performance, here's why content delivery is king.

by David Mears

Executive Presence, Sales Readiness, Sales Training, Selling Skills

Mismanaged Meetings: Stop Wasting Scarce Executive Time

by David Mears

Executive time is a scarce commodity. Why do meetings squander it? Because, too often, they fail to focus on the strategic issues that are most important to executives. They fail to drive progress on the decisions that need to be made in order to move your business forward. Here are 3 things you can do to change that and to insure your executives' time is well-spent.

by David Mears

Conversation Skills, In-Person Presentations, Presentation Skills, Presenting to Executives, Sales Readiness, Selling Skills

Do You Demonstrate the Most Desired Interpersonal Character Trait?

by David Mears

What characteristic do we prize most in the people with whom we interact? Learn how our perception of this trait is influenced by communication skills.

by David Mears

Conversation Skills, In-Person Presentations, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Presenting to Executives, Selling Skills

Why People Aren’t Hearing Your Ideas (And What to Do About It)

by Brad Holst

What can you do to get your ideas heard and to be recognized as a driver of innovation within your company? Every time you present your ideas, whether formally or informally, try to do these six things.

by Brad Holst

Conversation Skills, In-Person Presentations, Presentation Skills, Selling Skills, Virtual Presentations

Are Buyers Using Idea Voodoo on Your Sales People?

by David Mears

Did you know that 58% of B2B sales processes end in "no decision" rather than "won" or "lost"? Is "idea voodoo" to blame? Find out why it's so darn hard to get buyers to make decisions these days and what you can do to overcome it.

by David Mears

Conversation Skills, Selling Skills

Is Your Organization Lacking the Key Catalyst to Successful Innovation?

by David Mears

If you think about it, your organization’s performance depends on its best ideas being turned into profitable innovations. Yet, 87% of executives believe major unexploited opportunities, ones that could make their companies market leaders, are overlooked. Why are so many companies struggling to innovate? (Hint: It's not a creativity problem!)

by David Mears

Conversation Skills, Messaging Skills, Presentation Skills, Selling Skills

INSIGHTS

Mandel Concepts