Dr. Lill’s Blog

Time is perhaps a salesperson’s most precious commodity. Although a continuous supply of time is available, it cannot be stored for future use, and it cannot be reclaimed if it is wasted. When you realize that life itself consists of time, the value of time becomes...

Everyone starts out each day with the same amount of time – some simply make better use of it than others. Herbert Hoover wrote a book during the time he spent waiting in railroad stations. Noel Coward wrote the song, “I’ll See You Again,” while caught in a traffic...

Whether you are an experienced salesperson or just beginning, the most threatening element in the sales situation is often the looming fear of being rejected. Part of your success clearly depends on your style of selling, but perhaps more important is how you handle...

Although closing a sale is actually natural and easy, far too many salespeople have adopted such a distorted view of the close that they dread trying, even though the close is their reason for being there. In fact, statistics tell us that in about 60 percent of all...

Closing the sale is a natural conclusion to a carefully prepared and well-conducted presentation to a qualified prospect. However, the most important factor in successfully closing a sale may not be having the lowest price or even the best product. Your attitude is...

Your success in dealing with objections depends on your attitude toward those objections. Do you look at them as obstacles or opportunities? An objection is anything the prospect says or does that presents a hindrance to the smooth completion of the sale. Professional...

There is no doubt that choosing the proper time to answer an objection is just as crucial as the answer itself. Timing is important for any negotiation. To maintain control of the presentation you should choose to handle objections when the timing is favorable. There...

“Your price is just too high.” Six words that drive salespeople to the brink of insanity. Learning to handle the price objection is one of the greatest challenges in professional selling. You cannot avoid talking price, but bring it up after the prospect has had the...

There are few “never do this” rules in the negotiation game. Ethical guidelines vary from company to company and across industries. What’s fair game in a foreign land may be absolutely unethical here. No matter how ethical and empathetic a negotiator you are, you will...