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Learn by Sales Challenge
Tips for Presentations and Sales Calls
Presentations are hard. And so are sales calls. As a public speaker by trade and inspired by many so-so speakers and their less than engaging performances, Bill has compiled a list of what it takes to deliver a good presentation. The same rules apply when it comes to making a good sales call.
Managing the Sales Process: From Getting Organized to Keeping Track
One of Bill’s mantras as a sales trainer is to never leave today without having tomorrow planned. You get to leave for home and leave work behind. Tomorrow is all planned. Go be present to your family. In the morning, you will walk in the door and already have your day planned out. Here are a few strategies to get organized.
Getting to the Next Level
You get to a plateau and you stay there, seemingly unable to break through to the next level. You want to end up with a plan but in order to get there, you are going to need to evaluate several aspects of your business. Bill has outlined a few tips and actionable resources in the form of Sales Vault content that will help you see a path to the next level.
Too Busy to Sell: “My Hair Is On Fire Daily”
This is a classic example of someone who’s not in charge of their own calendar. Everything seems urgent. The day is already already out of control, and it hasn’t even started yet. These tips and resources Bill has outline will help you lay some ground rules to regain control and bring the raging fire down to embers.
Selling when you’re an introvert…
The goal is not to change your personality. With a new mindset and a few strategies, you can become more comfortable in the sales role. Bill has selected some specific Sales Vault resources to help break down some sales barriers.
When you’ve never had to sell before but now you need to grow your business
When business stops growing organically, and event starts to recede, there is a way out. It’s time to start selling. Here you’ll find Sales Vault resources to get you focused on the fundamentals to recharge your sales engine.
Hiring the “right” sales rep and nurturing success
One of the big mistakes people make in hiring is they think this is a short term task. Not only is it ongoing, it doesn’t stop when you hire someone. You need to stay engaged in the onboarding, training, and early activities of a sales rep despite your other job duties.
Preparing to add a new sales rep
Do you need one? Absolutely! The only way to avoid hiring a sales rep is if you, the owner, are the sales rep and in that role 100%. Otherwise, your growth has a ceiling. But there are ways to set yourself (and them) up for success or failure. Here’s what Bill has to say on the topic and Sales Vault resources to consult for a deeper dive.
I hate selling….but I need to grow
Yeah. This is a tough one. Whether its laziness or procrastination or fear or something else, if you are not actively selling, you will—at best—maintain your existing sales level and—at worst—see a slow decline. Use these resources to inspire that desired growth.
Limiting the chaos when you’re crazy busy
“Crazy busy” is a temporary problem. If for some reason this feeling doesn’t go away, chances are you are suffering from some bad time management. In this post, Bill has outlined specific Sales Vault resources (Workshop Replays, Video Courses, Sales Tips & Blogs) to help you get from chaos to control.
Workshop Replays
Insider Replay: New to Sales Workshop
In this replay of Bill Farquharson’s “New to Sales” workshop, learn how to overcome challenges like fear of rejection, time management, and building client relationships. Gain confidence and improve your sales skills with practical strategies that help you solve problems and close deals.
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Insider Replay: Selling Promo
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Insider Replay: Marketing Workshop: The Future of Content Marketing
Explore how the future of content marketing is taking shape in this exclusive SalesVault workshop replay! Join Bill Farquharson as he shares AI tools and insights to transform how you create and deliver content, helping you stay competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape. Perfect for sales reps and business owners in the print and signage industries—watch now!
Insider Replay: Making Contact & Maintaining Relationships
Want to master the art of client connection? Watch the replay of Bill Farquharson’s October 29th 2024 workshop to learn today’s best practices for making impactful first impressions and maintaining client relationships in the competitive graphic arts industry.
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Insider Replay: Marketing Workshop: Building a Customer Loyalty Program
Ready to turn customers into loyal advocates? This week’s marketing workshop reveals proven customer loyalty building strategies specifically for the graphic arts industry. Learn how to design loyalty tiers, incentivize reorders, and retain high-value clients. Watch the replay now to see how a well-crafted loyalty program can transform your business.
Insider Replay: Selling to Different Personalities
Unlock the secrets of selling to different personalities! In this replay, you’ll learn how to recognize key personality types, use the DiSC model to adapt your approach, and refine your sales strategy for greater success. Watch now for actionable insights that can transform your sales performance.
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Insider Replay: Marketing Workshop: The Role of AI in Marketing
Curious about how AI can boost your marketing efforts? In this week’s Marketing Workshop, Bill Farquharson leads an interactive discussion on using AI to enhance your marketing strategy. Learn how AI can personalize your outreach, predict customer needs, and help you brainstorm new ideas! Click to watch the replay now.
Insider Replay: How to Create a Well-Rounded Sales Strategy
This replay of Bill Farquharson’s “How to Create a Well-Rounded Sales Strategy” workshop covers everything from marketing campaigns and client retention to time management and personal development. Learn the key strategies that drive sustainable sales success.
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Insider Replay: Marketing Workshop: What’s stopping you from running a marketing campaign?
Missed the workshop? Watch the replay of Bill Farquharson’s discussion on overcoming the obstacles that stop you from running a successful marketing campaign. From time management to creative ideas, discover strategies to kickstart your marketing efforts.
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Insider Replay: New to Sales: Solve the Problem, Earn the Order
In this replay of Bill Farquharson’s “New to Sales” workshop, learn how to overcome challenges like fear of rejection, time management, and building client relationships. Gain confidence and improve your sales skills with practical strategies that help you solve problems and close deals.
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Short Attention Span Sales Tips
Raise the Bar
An email arrives asking for a price quote. Attached is a copy of the competitor’s proposal. How do you handle that? This question from a Sales Vault customer resulted in the advice contained in this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip.
Reset Monday
A month ago, Bill Farquharson advised you to embark on a 90 day sales blitz. If you did but stopped or if you didn’t but should have, this Short Attention Span Sales Tip is for you.
Early Sales Intervention
One of the biggest reasons why new sales people fail is a lack of early intervention. In this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip, take a lesson Bill Farquharson’s grandson to find success for your new rep.
Time, Tasks, and Productivity
Ever notice how some tasks are best done at certain times of day? Yeah, Bill Farquharson has too, and he wonders if it has always been that way or is it an age thing. In this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip, he comments on the sales day and getting the right things done at the right time.
Amazon, Expectations, and Communication
A client asks when their job will ship. Knowing the complexity of the order, you say, “5 days” and watch the client’s face drop. What just happened isn’t fair, but it is the subject of Bill Farquharson’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip this week.
Bidding Differently
When you are trying to obtain new business via the bid, it comes down to a number and you’d better be the lowest. In this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip, Bill Farquharson talks about how to add context to your price and win without stripping away all profit.
Your Fall Sales Plan
And just like that, summer was over. Are you ready for the three most important selling months of the year? You will be after Bill Farquharson’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip.
After the Sting, an Opportunity
Frank Romano once joked, “Bill, you can make a sales tip out of anything.” That challenge is put to the test this week when Bill Farquharson discovers a hornets’ nest the hard way. Check out this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip.
Print is Dead…For Some
BREAKING NEWS: Bill Farquharson declares print dead! Caught with a hot mic, sales trainer and Short Attention Span Sales Tip creator Bill Farquharson makes an astonishing admission. Hear and read it for yourself.
Friday, What is up with you?
It used to be Friday was just another day in the selling week. But for a number of reasons, things have changed and sales reps need to think about how best to use the suddenly-quiet day. Find out more in Bill Farquharson’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip.
Short Attention Span Sales Blog
Do NOT Use AI For This
AI’s power and capabilities continue to grow and amaze. Use it for research. Use it for content creation. Use it for idea generation. Just don’t use it for….what Bill Farquharson talks about in his blog this week.
The Real Competitor
You probably think you know your greatest competitor. It’s a company you come up against time and time again, winning some and losing some. But your greatest competitor isn’t a company at all. It’s….the subject of Bill Farquharson’s blog this week.
Just Do It
The difference between the top sales rep and the also-rans comes down to one word…and you will find it in Bill Farquharson’s blog this week.
In Praise of Naps
What’s the secret to success for Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Mel Brooks, and dozens of other leaders in their fields? The afternoon nap. Grab your favorite blanket and a pillow and meet Bill Farquharson on the floor to learn more.
Owners, Are You Making This Mistake With Your New Sales Rep?
You hire a rep, you fire a rep. You hire a rep, you fire a rep. There are a lot of reasons for this repeat pattern but the problem Bill Farquharson points out in this week’s blog is one of the most common.
Make This Mistake Only Once
Imagine if you could back up time and redo the last 30 days. What would you do? Well, 30 days from now, make sure you have no regrets. Read more in Bill Farquharson’s blog this week.
A Filter for Uncertainty, Stress, and Anxiety
Stressed over a big meeting coming up? Carrying around self-doubt over a meeting with your boss? The future can give us all a reason to reach for the antacid, but Bill Farquharson has a better idea in this week’s blog.
Write Your Blog. Post Your Post. Tell Your Story.
The goal of a blog or LinkedIn post is to connect. In this week’s blog, Bill Farquharson tells you the best way to do that.
Another Great Use for AI
Too late to help with his angry email, a presenter gave Bill Farquharson a great idea for ChatGPT. Hopefully, it is not too late for you.
The Real Value of Monthly Sales Numbers
After an especially strong first 6 months of 2024, Bill Farquharson looks back to last year’s numbers differently than the average Joe. Instead of wondering if he was a success, Bill uses them as motivation. Find out how in this week’s blog.
On-Demand Courses
Basic Time Management: The Fundamentals
This is the first of two video-based modules setting the stage for you to improve your time management skills. Learn the not so secret secrets to good time management: preparation and planning is key.
Diligence: Engage the Plan
Now’s the time to apply that prospecting process with diligence: How many calls should you make? How much is too much? Get the answers to these questions and learn how to find a sales activity goal that is reasonable and achievable.
How to Create a Prospecting Process Course
Learn why you need an effective prospecting process and find tools to create one that works for you.
Pre-Call Research
When you research a prospect ahead of time, your sales pitch becomes so powerful, doors open appointments are welcome. Let’s explore how to accomplish this.
Where to Look for Leads
As the first of a four-part of the Sales Fundamentals Series, this video-based course focuses on some innovative ways to find quality leads.
Downloadable Tools & Templates
The Best (and funniest) Prospecting Letter Ever!
What would you want out of a good prospecting letter? An appointment, perhaps, but can you really expect to get that from just one single letter? Download Letter [pdf] An Insider Exclusive! Steve Block did it with this letter I’m about to talk about… Steve was one-of-a-kind. A Business Development Manager (think: Inside Sales and […]
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Whitepapers
Articles
That Time a Vacation Column Was Submitted
This column first appeared in Printing Impressions August 2020 © Bill Farquharson va-ca-shun (n): To not work. No, really. Submit a column, back away from the computer, and get lost. Go on… It was clear to everyone but him that he needed a vacation. COVID-19 quarantining had made him a little, well, more crazy than […]
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Wait…This Is Print?
This column first appeared in Printing Impressions April 2020 © Bill Farquharson Emma Louise, a Cornell University graduate student accompanied her father at a tradeshow. To call this a “print” tradeshow would be both unfair and inaccurate. Sure, print was present but it was displayed in many ways and on various substrates. The entire show […]
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5 Rules for an Effective Sales Meeting
This column first appeared in Printing Impressions January 2019 © Bill Farquharson “Sales meeting.” No two words in the English language cause a reps’ eyes to roll more than these. They will feign sickness or claim an emergency client meeting in order to avoid what they are sure will be a horrible experience. Then, when […]
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The Best Sales Rep You’ve Ever Met
This column first appeared in Printing Impressions March 2019 © Bill Farquharson In his 2014 Academy Awards acceptance speech for Best Actor, Matthew McConaughey famously stated that his hero was a future version of himself. His exact words were, “Me in 10 years. That’s who I chase.” Think about the sales person you were 10 […]
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Are You My Customer?
When you are just starting out, everyone is a prospect. Identifying the right target market requires a sales rep only to reach across the desk and check for a lub-dub, lub-dub sensation in the wrist. Beggars can’t be choosers and Newbies put up with a lot in order to gain a sale.
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Would You Rather, the Sales Edition
This column first appeared in Printing Impressions July 2019 © Bill Farquharson Google the phrase, “Would you rather” and you will find a bevy of difficult questions posing two options and asking you to pick one. They are not easy for both have consequences. There are many different versions of this exercise, one for kids, […]
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How to Make Your Sales Presentation Dance
This column first appeared in Printing Impressions June 2019 © Bill Farquharson Months of calling and convincing and cajoling and—if we’re being honest here—pleading has paid off and you are finally given the opportunity to make a sales presentation to that big fish account you have been coveting ever since you started in sales. This […]
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The Best and Worst Sales Questions To Ask
This column first appeared in Printing Impressions August 2019 © Bill Farquharson While it is valuable for a salesperson to ask questions — of him/herself, to and about customers, etc.— there are good questions and bad questions. Good questions are the ones that improve sales productivity, help understand what is being done well, and make […]
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You Are a Better Sales Rep Than Norm
This column first appeared in Printing Impressions September 2019 © Bill Farquharson He is Norm. Norm is a competitor of yours. As you size up the landscape of other printers in the area, he is just average. He is normal. He is Norm. As you work to increase your sales business, understand this: Norm is […]
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What’s in Your Basement?
Your driveway needs to be repaired. Actually, it’s beyond repair and will require complete repaving. Because a lawn sprinkler pipe runs under the pavement, preparing for that day will require a visit from the irrigation specialists. When the irrigation guy shows up, he wants to see your basement…
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