Sales Loudmouth

A Community for Professional Sellers

Sales Loudmouth

The Rhythm of the Sales Process

"What are you going to have?" Dick asked over his menu.

We had convened at the local barbecue joint which neither of us had yet tried. Dick had declared that one could tell the worthiness of a barbecue place by the human attributes assigned to the pig on the sign. This restaurant was called The Dancing Pig and the sign featured a fat, pink, dress-wearing pig standing on her back legs and spinning a hula hoop around her middle. Based on Dick's definition, this was barbecue heaven.

"A ...

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 12/22/2011 4:54 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

A Book Review: "People Follow You" by Jeb Blount

Sometimes I review books. Most of the time, I have no relationship with the author and feel free to write whatever I want. For those of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while, you would agree that I am, generally, not afraid to say what is on my mind.

But, this book is different. I know the guy who wrote it. We’re not best buddies and we don’t hang out but I’ve contributed to his blog (salesgravy.com) – the ...

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 11/18/2011 11:51 PM | Add Comment

Using Gasoline to Kill Ants

Just because you buy something regularly or use it consistently, that does not make you an expert on how that something works. Most of us would agree with that when we start thinking about our car or other complicated machinery. We might even agree when our thinking goes deeper and we confront the chemical complexities of our pest control or even our detergent. After thinking about it some more, we might just wholeheartedly agree that just because we buy something that doesn't make us an expert on how it works.

Take for example, ...

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 11/11/2011 3:30 PM | Add Comment

Delight or Die

When a media seller accepts money for an advertising campaign, they accept responsibility for the success of the campaign. But, they ultimately have very little to do with the success of the client's business and the confusion between these two very disparate objectives causes much heartbreak for both media sellers and high-level business decision makers.

To see what I mean, let's take a look at two examples.

I am on an Airtran flight from Atlanta to Houston and shortly after take-off, the flight attendant appears with a basket full of ...

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 9/30/2011 8:52 AM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

The Root Cause

Maddy would not sleep. At eighteen months, she has simply decided that being awake all the time is the best course of action and so she refuses to go to bed. Her father, Josh, loves Maddy very much and he knows that she must get the proper amount of sleep to grow strong and be healthy, so he desperately tries to get her to sleep. The first thing he tries is putting her to bed when he and his wife go to bed at 11 p.m. His theory is that when Maddy sees that everyone in the house ...

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 9/19/2011 7:08 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

Productivity Tips from the Field(s)

What do you say when your wife tells you that your son's soccer league needs coaches and experience doesn't matter? If your son is four years old, tell your wife that you're allergic to grass. If that doesn't work, try explaining that coaching would interfere with your new interest in mapping the phases of the ...

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 8/17/2011 12:05 AM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment

Relational versus Transactional Consumers

The Academy of Marketing teaches media sellers how advertising really works so they can have deeper, more meaningful conversations with prospects and customers. But, deeper and more meaningful conversations about what?

About what is likely to happen when the prospect buys the advertising that the media seller is offering.

Unlike traditional process sales trainers, The Academy of Marketing doesn't teach tips, tricks and techniques for qualifying prospects or cold calling or getting appointments. We teach consumer behavior and demonstrate to media sellers how their advertising customers can use ...

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 7/8/2011 12:28 AM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment

In Media Sales Your Product is Advertising

"What do you do when your air conditioner breaks in the middle of July?"

The question is being posed by my partner, Josh, in front of a roomful of broadcast media sellers as part of an exercise during a recent training event being performed by The Academy of Marketing.

"Let's make a list of the things you do from the moment you realize the air conditioner is broken until it is fixed," Josh continued. He turned to the whiteboard with a red marker in hand and waited.

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 6/28/2011 11:58 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment

The Truth about a 3 Frequency

Part 2 of 2

Right at 8:30a the sales team filled the room. I was still sitting there with my fresh pad of paper thinking about the implications of what Dick was about to share with the rest of the sellers. Dick quickly drew us to order and then gave us an update on our sales figures and a couple of housekeeping items before opening up the doors to the whiteboard and asking for definitions of a 3-Frequency.

Nancy jumped right in and said, ...

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 3/7/2011 6:01 AM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

In Search of a 3 Frequency

Part 1 of 2

Coming in a little earlier than usual on Wednesdays had become my habit because Wednesday was sales meeting day. When we had sales meetings, I liked to get in and prepare for the day before the meeting so that I wasn't thinking about all that I had to do during the meeting. Later in my radio sales career, I was surprised to learn that some sellers dread the sales meeting. Thinking back on it now, the reason is clear - they didn't have Dick Harlow.

Dick ...

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Posted by TRohrer1 at 3/3/2011 5:55 AM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

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