Blogs from Art Waskey

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Organize Solutions to Meet Personnel Needs

Personnel issues, if left unaddressed, can create chaos and derail business operations. Remember, when working with others, there are no absolutes. You need to organize principles and solutions to meet needs. Here are four ways to organize solutions. Delegate...

Keep Your Business on Track

Keeping your business on track with good people management As an executive sales manager, I found that many work-related problems I encountered did not originate from business economics but from personnel issues. As organizations grow and develop, staffing needs...

Automate to Stay Competitive

With the latest technology, you can streamline operations, improve customer service, and stay competitive in today’s market. Using automation tools has become increasingly important to achieving that goal. Automation inside the shop Fastenal, a large US distributor of...

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Getting the contract signed

Once you have identified your customer’s needs and those making the purchasing decision, move into investment discussions and present your solutions. You are ready to get a contract signed. Customer...

Pricing — A Data-Driven Process

Technology has changed the dynamics of pricing strategy. With digitalization, information is now readily available to measure customer performance. Additionally, analyzing price increases is now a...

Building a Successful Team for the Digital Age

Changing Sales Dynamics In the book, Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters states: “If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention". As a result of digitalization, sales dynamics are changing at an...
Shifting Sales and Service Channels

Shifting Sales and Service Channels

Stay Flexible with your Service Channels I recently went to the hardware store to purchase some plumbing supplies for a home project. I was delayed...

Treat Them All the Same

Treat Them All the Same

Now that I am no longer a Vice President at a well-established welding and gas distributor, I find it interesting to note how some people treat me...

Who Is Really Making The Big Decision?

Who Is Really Making The Big Decision?

A sales rep came to me excited but concerned about a potentially large sale. He relayed:  â€śI have a new account that has a perfect application...

Selling to a Unique Interest

Selling to a Unique Interest

Selling is about developing trust that evolves into long-term personal relationships.  I find it most difficult to get past the initial...

It All Starts Inside You

It All Starts Inside You

Stay Positive and Busy I recently received a call from a successful and highly skilled sales executive. I had watched him grow his base of quality...

4 Tips for Speaking Like a Pro

4 Tips for Speaking Like a Pro

I received an email from an engineer inquiring about my seminar, “Speaking with Confidence.” He told me he had to give a five-minute presentation to...

Relationships Matter

Relationships Matter

I was concerned that my salesperson wasn’t fully committed to building relationships of trust with his customers before trying to sell them our...

Securing Lasting, Up-Front Commitments

Securing Lasting, Up-Front Commitments

Presenting your solution to a customer’s problem before securing their commitment can have negative consequences. Be sure you don’t become the...

The Firm Up-Front Agreement

The Firm Up-Front Agreement

Are you often excited to make a sales call because you know you have a product or service that your prospective customer desperately needs? ...

5 Reasons Contracts Work

5 Reasons Contracts Work

I remember when your word was your bond and was all that was needed to form an agreement. In the last 20 years, however, verbal contracts have all...

The New Face-to-Face

The New Face-to-Face

When I retired in November of 2018, I knew I wanted to continue to chase my other passions: writing, public speaking, and consulting. When I...

3 Reasons to “Just Do It!”

3 Reasons to “Just Do It!”

Our company has a great motto: “Do what you say you are going to do, how you say you are going to do it, when you say you are going to do it, no...

Turning a Bid into Business

Turning a Bid into Business

I was traveling with one of our sales representatives when he informed me that we needed to stop at an account and pick up their annual bid request....

4 Lessons from a Mattress Salesman

4 Lessons from a Mattress Salesman

My wife had recently noted that our bed was beginning to have two distinct sags, and so on my lunch break I stopped in a mattress store.  A...

What’s Your Perspective?

What’s Your Perspective?

How important is perspective to your success in sales? Consider this. A shoe salesman finds himself on a remote island among a tribe of people who...

Getting the Call Back

Getting the Call Back

You try and try to get a potential client you know needs you to call back, or email, or whatever. Check out this story and couple tips to convert...

The New Face-to-Face Call

The New Face-to-Face Call

Is virtual sales the future? The most outgoing professionals in business, salespeople, are now required to stay home due to pandemic quarantines. As...

Knowing What your Customer Means

Knowing What your Customer Means

Understanding your customer’s goals is critical to success in sales. If you don't know what the customers goals or needs are, you may be left...

The Time for Prospecting

The Time for Prospecting

Making prospective calls is always an important part of a sales reps’ agenda, but sometimes prospecting doesn't take as high of a priority as it...