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Articles on the latest trends in business, sales, customer service, web, SEO and management.
Here you will find a comprehensive list of current sales techniques, with their advantages and drawbacks and the context in which they should be used. You can then choose the sales method that suits you best, depending on your industry and your personality. If you want to learn more, take our online sales course. SONCAS […]
Tariff wars generally go against the basic principles of the market economy, laid down by David Ricardo in the 18th century, but some still believe in them, like Donald Trump and his economist Peter Navarro. The countries affected by this war are going to fight back, and to do so they have many means at […]
Calls scare a lot of people, including intelligent people who are comfortable face-to-face, but they also scare young people who communicate mainly by text. You need to master the telephone to develop your business, find a job, keep track of your suppliers and go about your daily life. I created my business by making a […]
The customer brings in the money and keeps the whole organization alive, so the customer must be the priority and the sales technique must be centred on them. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. Customer-centric organization The entire organization must be customer-centric, so we speak of a company whose center […]
The AIDA technique was developed in the late 1800s by an American advertiser, Elias St. Elmo Lewis. It is based on the stages a customer goes through before buying and taking action. To learn more, you can take our online sales course. The stages Applications Its applications are especially obvious in advertising, but also in […]
Donald Trump is now imposing 25% tariffs on Canada, changing his mind and rates every day, and will soon be imposing them on Europe. This is easy enough for everyday consumer goods, much less so for social networks and digital communications, partly because we’re used to it, and partly because we think that, since we […]
Artificial intelligence is now available to everyone, and every salesperson should use it to increase sales and easily develop new markets. In this article, we offer a practical example that any salesperson or sales manager can carry out with the free tools available to them. To learn more, you can also take our online sales […]
There are now six chatbots using artificial intelligence. Which one is the smartest, and what are their strengths? When to use them? We’ve asked each of them the same question, so you can judge the quality of their answers and choose the one that suits you best. Here’s the question we asked them: which is […]
If you have an online store, you’d be well advised to abandon Paypal and choose another payment system. I’ll explain why. The advantages of Paypal Paypal offers several advantages for merchants: The disadvantages of Paypal Paypal’s disadvantages are prohibitive for merchants, and I’d go so far as to say that they encourage fraud by certain […]
After testing AI on the search “how to sell”, this time I am testing it on the query “how to prospect to sell more”, with three different tools: OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot and Google’s Gemini. I will let you judge the quality of the answers for yourself, and I will give you my own opinion […]
I decided to ask the same question, “how to sell”, to the two main artificial intelligence tools of the moment, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot. Here are their answers, followed by the practical conclusions I draw from them. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. How to sell from Chat GPT […]
In a previous article, we reported on the many pitfalls of Google Ads, whose objective is to increase your spending in order to increase their income rather than to increase your sales. Here are the solutions we’ve tested and which work. Campaign objectives Google Ads offers Display campaigns, which let you appear with ads across […]
The survival of some companies and online stores depends on their visibility on the web. With Google’s algorithms constantly changing, it’s becoming very difficult to appear through natural referencing, so the use of paid keyword campaigns becomes an attractive alternative. We’ve tested them and the results are not at all what you’d read in articles […]
Complementary selling consists of adding another sale for the same customer in order to improve their satisfaction while increasing the bill. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. Complementary and enriched sales Complementary selling aims to add a product or service so that the offer is more complete, whereas upselling consists […]
The CROC technique is perfect for booking appointments over the phone and for prospecting. Its simplicity lets you memorize the steps easily and focus on being effective. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. The CROC technique Making contact The first contact is key, because the customer takes about 4 seconds […]
The SBAM technique is perfect for customer service and sales in-store, at trade shows and fairs. It’s simple, easy to apply and covers the key points of service. Issues All too often, when we walk into a store, no one notices us, or a waiter glances at us, notices us and then goes back to […]
The BEBEDC sales technique is a method for checking the key points of a B2B sale. It is a sieve for selecting the requests and quotes that can bring in the most. It is a method for building a quality pipeline. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. The BEBEDC technique […]
The elevator pitch is a communication exercise that aims to present the benefits of your project to someone in 30 seconds to 2 minutes. In French, it is called an « argumentaire éclair ». To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. The principles Some studies show that a person only has […]
Among sales techniques, the ADAPAC method makes it easy for a beginner salesperson to memorize the stages of a sale. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. There is also the PADAPACS variant, which adds Preparation before the approach and Follow-up after the close. ADAPAC – Sales techniques: steps The approach […]
Some people think that it’s impossible to learn to sell, that you’re born a salesman, that you’re not an innate salesman, that it’s better to look for another profession. Of course, some personality types are more inclined than others, but the good news is that sales can be learned, and is accessible to everyone. I […]
PSAI is one of the sales techniques centred on the customer and their problem. It is roughly the French equivalent of the American SPIN technique, which is widespread in North America. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. Description of the PSAI sales technique It’s hard to sell to a customer […]
BANT is a sales technique that is more about filtering customers by their level of interest than about selling. It is therefore a good idea to use it alongside a technique such as SPIN or SOS. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. The BANT technique Benefits Disadvantages How to apply […]
It’s said that technology helps improve customer service – sometimes true, more often false. There are two types of malpractice: those caused by humans and those caused by machines. The worst human practices I’m sure you’ve all encountered them. I do not blame these agents: if they are not trained in customer service, they cannot […]
Upselling Upselling is a sales technique that consists of selling the customer a more expensive product than the one they intended to buy. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. The different types of upselling Sales techniques for upselling Preparation Questions to ask the customer How to argue for upselling during […]
Sales prospecting is becoming more and more difficult, and many now prefer digital marketing, yet it is still the best way to grow your business. We present the different strategies and how to put them into practice. To learn more, you can also take our online sales course. Telephone prospecting Telephone canvassing is the best […]
The DISC sales technique has been very popular for a few years. It is based on analyzing customer profiles in order to adapt to them and optimize your communication and persuasiveness. To learn more, you can take our online sales course. Principles of the DISC sales method The technique is a psychological analysis of the […]
The SNAP sale technique is unusual: it does not suit every sale, not every salesperson accepts it, and it is often poorly described, probably because those who describe it are not real salespeople. I have had the opportunity to see it used by exceptional salespeople and manipulators, and I describe it to you in detail. […]
The Challenger Sale technique, developed by the Americans Dixon and Adamson, is the one most talked about today. They believe that selling is getting harder and harder in today’s world, and that some salespeople, the challengers, do much better than the average and work differently, by not being afraid to challenge their customers. To learn […]
RFM is a method for segmenting the customers of an online or traditional store in order to determine the best follow-up for them, optimize the use of the available sales and promotion resources, and increase sales by optimizing resources. To learn more, you can take our online sales course. The RFM in-store sales method Here […]
The SPIN sales technique comes from the United States. It relies on understanding the customer’s situation, highlighting their problem and its consequences, then the benefits of our solution. Unlike other methods such as the CAB technique, the key point here is not to offer a solution before the customer understands that they have a problem. […]
The SOS global solution sales technique is an advantageous replacement for cross-selling and upselling techniques, thanks to a global solution that will best satisfy the customer through a combination of products and services that you offer because you are the specialist in your field. The idea is not to try to add extra products one […]
Salespeople realized that it was easier to sell to customers with a problem than to those without. This led to the development of techniques such as SPIN, which are based on the customer’s problem, the aim of which is to increase perception by asking about the consequences for the customer. The difficulty is that many […]
The CAB sales technique is simple and perfectly suited to repetitive, simple sales of products and services, while taking customer expectations into account. It is a structured sales technique based on the product, but taking the customer’s needs into account. To learn more, you can take our online sales course. Description of the technique Benefits […]
The CAP technique is a simple technique suited to the regular sale of identical products or services, without having to know the other person, unlike customer-centred techniques. It is a structured argument based on the product’s technical characteristics and the advantages they provide. To learn more, you can take our online sales course. The CAP […]
The SEC method is a method for the psychological discovery of a customer, derived from a simplification of the SONCAS method, which some salespeople find hard to apply. Instead of choosing among six motivations, you choose among only 3, which cover all 6. Another advantage: if you are not sure you have identified the right […]
SONCAS is the best-known method for categorizing customer motivations. Salespeople know that you don’t sell features, you sell profits, and there are millions of products and services to sell, and therefore millions of possible profits. The advantage of the SONCAS method is that it categorizes every purchase into just 6 motivations that are easy to […]
Many companies want to conform to the doxa and play the game of wokism to try and increase their sales, and they’re heading for bankruptcy. This phenomenon is not new to Anglo-Saxons, and is even described by the hard-to-translate expression “Go woke, go broke”. woke companies There are a number of cases, which we shall […]
One summer vacation in Brittany, the family decided to eat at a crêperie. My sister gave me the name and the time, and we met there at 8.30pm, but there was no one there. After 20 minutes of waiting, I decided to start trying to call the other participants, and ended up learning that the […]
Some negotiations can be very short, but a negotiation generally follows these stages. AND REMEMBER, A BAD DEAL IS BETTER THAN A GOOD JUDGMENT! Jean-Pierre Mercier To learn more, you can take our online sales course. Our online sales course All our online courses
CRM is central to the work of salespeople, so let’s take a look at your options. No CRM Except in certain stores or boutiques, this is not a viable option for a serious seller. CRM allows you to : A salesperson who speaks well but isn’t organized can’t succeed and will create complaints that will […]
Many people think that they’re worth what they are, that their value depends on their diploma, their school, their years of experience, their “acquired rights”, but this is not true. How to strengthen your negotiating position Your negotiating position depends on your desire to reach an agreement. The stronger your desire, the more concessions you […]
I have penetrated the world of Russian disinformation networks to better understand their mechanics, but also their state of mind. I offer you a summary of how they do it, this article complements those written on social networks and sources of information on the war in Ukraine. Russian troll farms in the news We talk […]
With the tariff war, the world economy is in turmoil, and it is hard to understand what is happening without knowing the basic principles of economics. I will try to describe them as simply as possible, along with a short economic glossary. A better understanding also helps you make the best decisions for your assets. […]
You have to sell yourself for everything: raise your salary, change jobs, get an assignment, find a job, join a charity. We’ll show you the difficulties and techniques involved in selling yourself both in general and more specifically during a recruitment interview. I’d like to share with you my experience as a consultant, but also […]
Reformulation is unfortunately the part most often forgotten by salespeople. Yet it is key to the success of the sale. Depending on the sales school, reformulation may take place at the end of discovery to verify information, or at the beginning of reformulation. For us, it’s a pivotal stage in its own right, to emphasize […]
Many people are keeping abreast of what’s happening in Ukraine, but are often a little bewildered by contradictory information and forecasts, without being able to assess their veracity or origin. Here’s a short guide to the information you’ll need. The different sources of information There are four main sources of information: It’s worth noting that […]
Social networks are evolving, and evolving fast. Their role is growing so much that they are taking readers away from the traditional media, which defend themselves by claiming that their information is verified and reliable. This may seem obvious to the general public, but those who are interested in current affairs know that the major […]
To increase sales, the best preparation enables the best improvisation during the sale itself, which is the first step to success.
The aim of making contact is to create a positive atmosphere, a climate conducive to sales. Some salespeople even go so far as to say that they want to make a friend of the customer by finding a common ground, called an anchor, with the person they’re talking to. Before making contact, if you are […]
Discovery on sale is the most important stage of the sale, because it’s when we understand the customer’s need, or even create that need. Discovering the need isn’t very difficult: just ask him what he’s looking for. On the other hand, it’s quite dangerous, because if they’re looking for a product or service you don’t […]
Many financial advisors feel that the figures set by their management are too high, that they are already working too hard, that the pressure is too great. Why? because they don’t know how to sell financial products or services, even though this can be learned. And yet the best sometimes sell three times as much […]
Corporate communication isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t have the right tools to improve exchanges between your teams. With more and more companies around the world teleworking and exchanging information remotely, these tools and tips are increasingly valuable to professionals who want to keep their teams working cohesively and efficiently, but this time from […]
Telecommuting, or remote working, will become the norm, but in a controlled way that respects teamwork within the organization. The advantages of teleworking The forced choice of telecommuting has led to the discovery that it offers numerous advantages for both companies and employees: Disadvantages of telecommuting/remote working The advantages have their corollaries and they are […]
How to organize a Facebook campaign. All marketing experts agree that Facebook campaigns are essential for boosting your e-commerce web marketing . In 2019, Facebook was the third most visited website in the world, with 2.23 billion users: an inexhaustible manna of potential customers. SMEs are not to be outdone, as they alone account for […]
Distance selling has become indispensable for any salesperson who lives with the times, and even becomes a necessity for survival in the event of a pandemic when almost everything is closed. It’s become so important that I recommend recruiting your remote salespeople to see how well they’ve mastered the technology. Here are the winning recipes […]
The containment measures will disappear, but it is it is clear that habits are going to change for good, in general and in the sales in particular. Paradoxically, this will help imaginative companies to recruit better salespeople for new practices who will stay. We’ve already described the advantages of using search engines to find a […]
Remote sales via webinar is the practice of organizing a remote sales meeting using video conferencing to avoid the need for the salesperson or customer to travel. It’s also known as a virtual sales meeting, or videoconference. Why remote sales meetings Distance selling becomes a basic skill for all competitive sellers, even a necessity in […]
The conclusion or closing of the sale is key, because without the success of this stage there is no sale, and therefore nothing for the seller. A good salesperson who doesn’t know how to close is a salesperson who has prepared the ground well for a competitor’s sale to his or her customer, in short, […]
Videos have become the primary means of training young people, YouTube is their favorite search engine, distance learning is gradually nibbling away at traditional face-to-face training, and a number of training companies are developing their own training programs. online training catalog The world of training is changing, and we’d like to introduce you to the […]
The vast majority of savers think that when they place their money with a financial institution, they pay between 2% and 3% in financial management fees. Here’s a look at how much you actually pay and how you can protect yourself. Announced and actual gains One day I decided to call my advisor at a […]
SMEs and start-ups are all the rage these days. These companies are highly valued, characterized by their dynamism and perceived as veritable idea factories.But small businesses don’t always have access to large financial resources, so they have to be particularly creative when it comes to marketing and sales strategies.On the web, it’s particularly complex to […]
Objections are often considered the most difficult part of the sales and business development process. In fact, there are a lot of misconceptions about how to respond to customer resistance.
Working in extreme heat calls for a minimum of precautions for you and your team. Here are a few simple principles to apply. If you’re leading a team in hot weather Working in high heat: before work – Assess the risk that heat can pose to your team: Type of work: Muscular work is the […]
During my sales training sessions, I often hear employees reply: “I was hired to do customer service, not sales”. The question to ask is whether or not sales and customer service are the same thing. In the public sector Clearly, if the employee is part of a service-only organization, such as a government agency, there […]
Instagram has over 800 million users worldwide, 9 million in Canada and 16.4 million in France. The network is considered to be dynamic and creative, and its rapid growth has quickly attracted brands who have bet rightly on it as a cutting-edge communication channel, especially among young people, some of whom are now abandoning Facebook. […]
A good product or service salesperson needs to know exactly what he or she is selling, believe in it, establish a relationship with the customer, understand or create his or her needs, respond to objections, close the sale, follow up and also publicize his or her offer on social networks. Know your product or service […]
How do I use LinkedIn? Your company is growing, you’ve gone through the various stages of launching it, creating a website, prospecting for customers, launching your product…However, you’re looking for new ways to develop your business. But you still need to know which one to use and how to use it.In this article, we’ll give […]
What are the stages in selling a product or service? how to sell this product? Here’s a simple method for optimizing every key selling point. The profiles of good salespeople are different, but the stages of a sale have the advantage of being the same for all sales reps, with only the sales pitch changing. […]
Register Unfortunately, these are increasingly unstable times, but one person’s misfortune can be another’s gain. Some savvy investors make big gains playing the stock market, others suffer big losses, and why? Because there are principles to be respected, and these can be learned. Earning money from home or from your vacation spot is the dream […]
The big question on the minds of marketing managers and business founders is whether to invest in an SEO or Adwords strategy. Both are part of SEM (Search Engine Marketing), but offer very different advantages, and we’ll take you through them. Defining campaign types SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is also known as natural search engine […]
If this article on how to avoid drowning saves one person, I’ll be happy. According to prevention specialists, 90% of adult drownings at sea are caused by swimmers exhausted trying to get back to their starting point in currents.The sea is the place where most drownings take place, so here are a few simple solutions […]
Retail sales are now divided between internet sales and in-store sales, which are declining in proportion to web sales. What does the future hold? Selling on the web Web sales can be broken down into two systems: Platforms such as Amazon, Kijiji and Le Bon Coin, which allow individuals to put whatever they want up […]
We’ve learned that the marketing mix is made up of 4Ps and must be harmonized with the target, but we’re now seeing 5Ps, 7Ps and even 10Ps. Let’s take a look at the evolution, but also the redundancies and inconsistencies. As the P’s are derived from English, we’ll put the French equivalents beginning with a […]
Every marketer dreams of creating buzz with viral content. And with good reason: it’s a highly effective and economical way of raising brand awareness, building a database or establishing a special relationship with existing customers.Although some content goes viral by chance, a recent study has shown that viral content has certain things in common: it […]
How to save a company from bankruptcy? There are many reasons for a company to go bankrupt, but there are ways to get out of it, such as increasing sales, using web marketing and specialists. Reasons for the difficulties faced by companies There are many reasons why companies find it difficult: Loss of market due […]
Qwant, the French search engine. Today, the three biggest search engines are Google, Yahoo and Bing. They know everything about you, even the searches you want to keep secret. There’s no doubt that government agencies are able to obtain the contents and know you better than you know your parents. Do you want to go […]
In a win-win negotiation, both parties must benefit from reaching an agreement. It is said that you are not worth what you are, but what you know how to negotiate. What are our strengths? How does negotiation differ from selling? What are the main techniques? The negotiator’s strengths A negotiator’s main strength is the other […]
All managers talk about delegation as the miracle solution, yet few actually do it, and even fewer know how to delegate in the right way. Here are a few pitfalls to delegation, but also some practical solutions. Barriers to delegation Many managers complain about working too much, being exhausted, working overtime, having to replace incompetent […]
We therefore propose a sales and marketing assessment tool, based on questions to be asked during a conversation with the director or vice-president of sales and marketing. You can then not only diagnose the function, but also assess your contact’s skills. Is it always the right person in the right place? Evaluate your customer’s ability […]
Customer service and mastery of all points of contact with the consumer is the key to an excellent customer experience. A bad customer experience Let me start by telling you a little story. One day I decided to invite my wife and a few friends to a restaurant; having heard of a good address in […]
There are many ways to increase sales in a company, and training your sales staff is one of them. I’d like to present the different solutions available to you, their advantages and disadvantages, so that you can make the choice best suited to your company and your needs. Sales conference A motivational speaker delivers a […]
It’s hard to deal with a liar who has total mastery of the art of deception. Here’s a series of questions to help you interrogate a liar, unmask him or her and put him or her up against the wall. Liars are very difficult to catch because they excel in their art of communication. In […]
The web marketing of the future will have nothing to do with the marketing of the past, or even the marketing of today. We present you with a perspective from the consumer’s point of view, the powers that be and the counter-powers. Marketing principles In the beginning, marketing meant choosing a target and adapting the […]
The future of call centers and customer contact, the customer relationship center.There are three generations of call centers: the telephone-only call center, the customer contact center that uses a multi-channel approach, and the customer relationship center that combines a multi-channel approach with a global approach to customer needs. The first two generations have specialized agents […]
Coaching salespeople isn’t easy, but it’s a sales manager’s best tool.The more competitive a sport, the more coaching the champion needs. Sales management is one of the most competitive areas of a company, and yet, contrary to popular belief, few sales organizations have implemented an effective sales coaching system. This is all the more paradoxical […]
Telephone solicitation has always played a key role in business development, and telemarketing has long been the best means of market penetration in recent years. However, telephone solicitation is now being called into question by certain specialists who believe that the Internet has transformed the market, and that customers no longer want to be harassed, […]
There is some debate about the usefulness of business coaching. Some companies believe that their employees are experienced, sometimes even more so than the managers, and that this would be a waste of time. Others feel that a manager who has to supervise a team of 12 people, each doing a different technical job, can’t […]
How to organize an annual departmental post-mortem meeting in a company The purpose of the post-mortem meeting is to take stock of the good and bad of the past year, and to learn from it for the coming year. The first phase inorganizing a meeting begins with preparation: all participants are invited to reflect, in […]
What to do in the event of a terrorist attack and how to survive. Our specialty is synthesizing guides and arguments in the field of sales, marketing and business, but current events lead me to synthesize solutions in terms of safety, I also add my experience in combat sports whose principles are the same, whatever […]
Choosing the right training is key to the development of your resources and the success of your organization. Here are some key points to follow. How to choose a course As soon as you ask your management for a promotion, they tell you: “Do you have the skills for this job? What training have you […]
The sales equation is made up of 3 numbers: number of contacts with customers x closing rate (also known as transformation rate) x average sales = total sales All salespeople and marketers have to deal with this equation and work to optimize each of the terms in the equation. The question is, of course, how […]
The impact of technology on time management Technology is supposed to help us, and yet the more it does, the less managers know how to prioritize. This same technology puts all information on an equal footing that we find very difficult to sort out. Technology and its impact on time management A 2014 study shows […]
How to run an efficient, time-saving sales meeting.The strategic sales planning meeting should be a ray of light giving salespeople direction throughout the year. On the contrary, many companies give their sales reps sales targets without any real strategy for achieving them. If they don’t succeed, it’s easy for sales reps to blame marketing, targets […]
Your website is dropping in Google, why?Your site has disappeared from the first pages of Google, calls are dropping, internet orders are plummeting, the impact is being felt on overall sales, and you don’t understand why you’ve dropped from the first page to eighth. You call in your in-house specialist, but his answers don’t suit […]
