Author Archives: "James Olsen"

Many struggling sellers believe master sellers are saying magical things that are getting customers to buy from them.  The reality is most master sellers: 1. Have a crystal clear idea why they are calling their customers 2. Use a simple approach 3. Ask for the order more often!

I used to work with a guy who made fun of the “positive attitude” people.   “Oh, so all I have to do is have a positive attitude and I will sell everything I need to sell.   I’d like those positive attitude idiots to come in here and try to sell some lumber in

Nothing can be more frustrating than working up an offering for a customer and then having them tell us, “Thanks for the number, James, I’ll let you know…”       No salesperson is needed because no selling is involved; we just give a number and wait for the call-back or call back ourselves to

Down markets can be difficult to sell in.   Let’s call them contracting markets, because that’s what markets do; they expand and contract.   We are in a contracting market right now.   What is the solution?   Get back to the basics: Cast a wider net.   If we are to grow our business

Business owners and sales managers ask me two questions.  “Should I hire experienced or inexperienced salespeople?”  And “How do I grow my sales force?” Let’s look at the pros and cons of hiring experienced and non-experienced sellers. Experienced Sellers

Competing on price is often just being in front of the wrong customer, with the wrong product at the wrong time.   Avoiding that situation is a subject for another article. But in the hyper-competitive lumber industry, we are often in front of the right customer, at the right time with the right product, and

Recently one of my students told me he learned something.   “James, I’ve finally learned how to sell manufacturers.”   I asked him what had changed.   “I speak to them with a more serious tone.”   This student happens to have an outgoing personality and approaches most people with an open, joking style. “James,

What do we feel for the fearful?   We pity them, we feel sorry for them, right?     These are not the feelings we want our customers to feel for us. We respect and revere the fearless.   Don’t we want our customers to respect us? If we are fearful, our customers will feel

In the mid-nineties I was reloading spruce boards in Birmingham and selling them into Atlanta on truck.   Life was good.   I was making good margins and having a great time.   One market started at $495.   I bought five cars, shipped them to Birmingham, and sold twenty trucks to Atlanta.   I