June 2016 - Business LockerRoom

Monthly Archives: June 2016

Jun 28

Regarding Your (Gross) Margins

By Kelly Riggs | Sales + Leadership

One of the most significant challenges that confront sales management is the salesperson that insists on cutting prices to gain business. Although salespeople have no shortage of excuses for taking a little off the top, it is my experience that this pervasive problem is almost always a sign of poor or undeveloped selling skills. To be clear, there are times when companies or salespeople should choose – strategically – to lower a price and, as a result, accept a smaller margin. But, while there can be good, rational reasons for cutting your price, the much more common scenario is that salespeople simply use a lower price to close a deal because they lack the skills to present and negotiate value.

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Jun 07

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

By Kelly Riggs | Sales + Leadership

This past week the OKC Thunder managed to squander a 3-1 series lead over the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Western Conference Finals. As a fan, that one was difficult to swallow, although, to be fair, it’s not unheard of. Still, I can’t help but think that the Thunder managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They took a game from the Warriors on the road, pummeled them twice at home, and had tremendous momentum to go with their 3-1 series lead. And then they went all “Wendy’s” on us…

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