He was not a commercial success during his lifetime, but on May 15, 1990, his "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" sold for $82.5 million at Christie's. Here's how artist Vincent Van Gogh described his approach to painting. "Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."

The "art of selling" requires the same ...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: Can a politician teach you anything about sales? Benjamin Disraeli was a British Prime Minister. "The fool wonders, the wise man asks," he said. Of course, a wise man also knows what he doesn't know. Who are you seeing today? What question do you need to ask that person?

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Chris Lytle Tip -- Focus: "Chronic preoccupation" is epidemic. It means thinking about what you aren't doing rather than paying attention to what you are doing. Cell phones and wireless email now interrupt meetings and derail trains of thought. It's very difficult to be there for your customer when you're available to everyone else. What can you...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: Want to be more persuasive? Dale Carnegie offered this timeless advice for winning people to your way of thinking: "To get the best of a situation, avoid arguments." Selling is not about fighting your way to a sale. It's about finding a fit between what your company offers and the solution or outcome that the client ...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Meeting Tip: The very best meetings with prospects are two-way exchanges of information. Getting people involved in a sales conversation is a lot different than making a sales pitch. "Don't spend hours and hours doing a fancy PowerPoint presentation," suggests a buyer. "Come to me with an idea and let's talk about it." Bringing...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Tip: Don't worry about being liked. The prospect doesn't have to like you to buy from you. The prospect does have to trust you and your company. The prospect has to need or want what you're selling. You have to have a service or product to fit the need. Your timing has to be right. And the prospect has to believe that he or ...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Tip: Life is a seminar, and lifelong learners get more out of life. What lessons will you learn today? Who will your teachers be? You never know. Just be open to learning from everyone and every experience.

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Chronic preoccupation is epidemic. It means thinking about what you aren't doing rather than paying attention to what you are doing. Cell phones and wireless email now interrupt meetings and derail trains of thought. It's very difficult to be there for your customer when you're available to everyone else. What can you do to bring more customer ...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Tip: Sales experience is measured by the number of prospects and customers you've met with. "Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem," said Dr. Henry Kissinger. He may not have been thinking about sales, but his advice applies. The more meetings, the more sales. The more sales, the more ...Read more

Chris Lytle Business Tip: Procrastination keeps you from failing, but only temporarily. Want a reason NOT to dial the phone or write that big proposal? Prospects can't say NO to a call you don't make or a proposal you don't present. The late CEO of Coca-Cola, Roberto Goizueta, said, "The moment you let avoiding failure become your motivator, you...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Tip: "When I'm selling at my best, I'm more playful," said a seminar participant recently. "Work is more fun than fun," suggests Noel Coward. Selling at your best is fun. You smile more. You are more at ease with your customers and they react accordingly. Customers sit through plenty of boring meetings. What can you do to add...Read more

Many salespeople are drilled in the art of "handling" objections. You can memorize counter arguments to the objections that prospects raise most often. Perhaps you have noticed that whenever you deftly parry an objection, the buyer comes up with another one for you to parry. This can go on indefinitely. This is not selling. This is arguing.

It ...Read more

Success can be deceptive. When things are going well, it is comforting to believe that they will always go well. Jim Dickie of CSO Insights nails this kind of thinking with this statement: "Level two companies are driven by ‘tribal folklore’—the belief that, 'If we keep doing the best practices of the past, we will keep hitting our numbers...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Success Tip: Looking for the quickest route to success? Heed this advice from writer Henry Miller. "In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest." So here's the easiest route to sales success: Fill the ...Read more

Chris Lytle Success Tip: Try this before your next meeting. Sit quietly for a few minutes (even if it's in the parking lot in front of the customer's business). Think about your favorite beach or other "happy place." Now, imagine how you want to feel when you return to your car after your meeting. As the meeting progresses, your subconscious ...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: A top-producing salesperson recently had a Botox injection to eliminate some lines in her forehead. According to a colleague of hers, this sales pro is can hardly wait for the effects to wear off. Why? She can't frown. When the customer reveals a problem or pain, all she can do is look back at him with her unfurrowed brow....Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Management Tip: Too many companies have wishes instead of standards. "I wish my people would make more calls," one manager told me. A standard is a measurable indicator of performance involving a consequence. If you're a manager, confront lack of sustained effort with coaching. If you're in sales, take action instead of looking...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Management Tip: Too many companies have wishes instead of standards. "I wish my people would make more calls," one manager told me. A standard is a measurable indicator of performance involving a consequence. If you're a manager, confront lack of sustained effort with coaching. If you're in sales, take action instead of looking...Read more

Chris Lytle's Sales Tip: Does this sound like any sales operation you've worked for? "When generals are weak and lack authority, instructions are not clear, officers and soldiers lack consistency, and they form battle lines every which way; this is a riot." Sun Tzu's warning to military leaders is great advice to sales managers. Deploying ...Read more

Chris Lytle Sales Tip: "The juggler can't tell you which ball is more important. Drop just one and the show is over." I was particularly intrigued by this thought from Joan Magretta's book, What Management Is. In selling you have to have a lot of balls in the air because some will drop. But the show is not over. You simply add another prospect ...Read more