There are two types of brochures a salesperson can use to increase their persuasiveness.

The first type is called a SALES AID. A sales aid is used during a call to assist the salesperson in explaining and promoting their message. Effective sales aides have a lot of photos, but few words, allowing the rep to provide their message during a call.

The second type is a LEAVE-BEHIND brochure. Leave-behind brochures are meant to be standalone documents with lots of writing to deliver your complete story without any human input.

The challenge is that most marketing departments don't see the difference between these two brochure types. Most sales literature produced today are leave-behind brochures. Look at the persuasive challenge keeping a buyer’s full attention if the rep is using a leave-behind brochure with lots of writing to distract the buyer while your rep is presenting.

Does your team have both types of brochures currently available? Sales aids to use when in front of a buyer and leave-behind documents to add to your messaging as they leave their call?

Today’s video talks about the two types of sales literature needed and how, with the proper sales tools, your team can sell even more!

Trade show selling is an important way for companies to reach both prospects and existing customers. But too many make the assumption, because they have experienced salespeople, that their reps are also experienced in working trade shows.

Are you, like most, spending more time talking to your reps about when you want them to work your booth than you are telling them what you want them saying when they're in the booth?

Most sales reps come to trade shows uncoached and unprepared, so they have to make up their own selling messaging as the show progresses. What can you do to make sure that your reps understand the goals for being in a trade show of generating more business leads, making new contacts and reinforcing relationships with existing customers?

Today’s video talks about this challenge in reps unprepared for your next trade show booth and how you can help define and practice your messaging so your team can have a successful trade show and sell even more!

The job of sales manager has always been important to a sales team.

But look, fast things have changed and evolved over the last 50 years in selling. Your competition has increased, gotten more competitive, and a lot tougher. Today, we're in a hypercompetitive reality that has meant the job of a sales leader has become even more critical to help salespeople deal with all these aggressive challenges we're facing today.

The problem, though, is most sales managers are still using the old stuff that worked ten or twenty years ago. Most followed a more traditional style of management, which was a very reactive position.

Sales managers would tell their sales team, “My door is always open. Call me when you need me!” But all that meant was they were a reactive problem-solver.

These older-style sales managers actively supported their salespeople, but they weren't really leading them.

The average manager today still only deals with the same four issues, dealing with special pricing, expediting, problem solving, and customer thank you calls. A very reactive support position for the team.

But in today's hypercompetitive world, we need more. Success in leadership today is based on sales managers becoming more selling-process coaches and leaders.

The difference…the old traditional style of management, this reactive style, focused on results only. The only questions these managers traditionally asked were “What?” and “Who?” questions. “What are you going to close this month? Who's it going to be?”

What we need to do today to become stronger coaches and leaders of our team is to shift more of our coaching and leadership to look at the process of “How” they sell and “Why” buyers buy. “How are you going to go after that account? Why aren't you also calling on the owner?”

Today, effective sales leadership has become the most critical variable in the success of a sales team. By helping them improve their messaging, improving their structures, and in getting more help to guide them through this process.

What are you doing as a sales manager about changing the way you coach and lead your team? Because we know you're good. Now the only question is, are you ready to help you and your team to get even better?