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The list shows the most widely read articles on this site.

1. Sales Compensation: Should You Pay a Salary or a Draw?
   by Alan Rigg
   

   Sales compensation plans that attract and motivate quality salespeople usually include some type of "income floor". The question is, which type of income floor produces better results - a salary or a draw?

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2. Sales Compensation: Should You Calculate Commissions on Revenue or Gross Margin?
   by Alan Rigg
   

   A common question is whether sales commissions should be calculated based upon revenue or gross margin. The answer is...it depends.

   
   
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3. SPECIAL REPORT: The Secret to Closing More Sales
   by Alan Rigg
   

   Many sales skills training courses focus considerable attention on closing techniques. However, the real secret to closing sales is doing a great job at the front end of the sales process!

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4. Sales Recruiting: How to Hire More Top Sales Performers - Part 1
   by Alan Rigg
   

   Why do 20% of salespeople produce 80% of sales? What is it about top sales performers that enables them to achieve such vastly superior results? How can you "tweak" your company's recruiting process to enable you to consistently identify and hire top sales performers?

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5. Why Most Sales Training Programs Fail
   by Alan Rigg
   

   When companies invest in sales training, the desired outcome is usually a change in how their salespeople do their work... in other words, a change to the salespeople's behavior. Unfortunately, most sales training programs are not designed to accomplish behavioral change. As a result, companies do not receive the desired return on investment!

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6. Increase Your Sales by Going for the "NO"
   by Alan Rigg
   

   Neither you nor your employer can any make money unless a prospect says "yes". However, getting prospects to say "no" can be equally critical to your success!

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7. Win More Business by Selling Value Instead of Price
   by Alan Rigg
   

   If price is the focus of your discussions with prospects or customers, the unspoken assumption is that your products or services are basically identical to competing products or services. Is this assumption valid? Are there really no identifiable (and quantifiable) differences between your products and services and competing products and services?

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8. Sales Training: How to Help Salespeople "Get Dangerous Quickly" With New Products and Services
   by Alan Rigg
   

   If you want to produce rapid sales results, redesign your product and service training curriculums to help your salespeople "get dangerous quickly." This article tells you how to do it.

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9. How to Maximize Sales by Changing Your Product/Service Training Focus
   by Alan Rigg
   

   When your company introduces a new product or service, you make a pretty sizeable investment to train your salespeople to sell the new product or service, right? Doesn't it drive you crazy when only a fraction of your salespeople actually sell the new product or service?

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10. Sales Compensation: How Much Should You Pay for Referral Fees?
    by Alan Rigg
    

    How do you determine what is an appropriate referral fee when the amount of purchases from each referral can vary widely? Should referral fees be paid based upon a single client purchase or multiple client purchases?

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11. Sales Compensation: Why 100% Commission Plans Don't Work
    by Alan Rigg
    

    Many companies make the mistake of using 100% commission sales compensation plans. Why do they do it? They feel a 100% commission plan will minimize their financial risk, as no sales made means no commissions paid. Besides, any salesperson that is any good should have enough faith in their own ability to work on 100% commission, right? Wrong!

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12. CRM Software Information and Recommendations - Part 1
    by Alan Rigg
    

    Part 1 of this article examines three common flaws that negatively impact CRM system adoption.

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13. Audio Recording: Guest Expert Interview with Brian Sullivan - 20 Days to the Top: How to Become a PRECISION-Guided Sales and Negotiation Weapon in 20 Days or Less
    

    By listening to Brian's interview you will learn: What it takes to be a master communicator; What separates top sales performers from average performers; Why being STUPID in business is a good idea; The most important part of preparation for a sales call; What types of repeatable questions you should ask your prospects

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14. 2009 Cold Calling Checklist
    by Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling
    

    In today's economy, cold calling is also one of the most economical ways to generate new business. It does not require expenditures for new equipment or infrastructure or staffing. All you need is your list and a telephone. When done well, cold calling is a direct, targeted, efficient and effective way to generate new business.

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15. Sales Compensation: 9 Steps to Developing an Effective Sales Compensation Plan
    by Alan Rigg
    

    The most common question we hear concerning sales compensation goes something like this: "What commission percentage should I pay for _____________?" I'm sorry, but there is just isn't a "standard" answer to this question. Why? Because there are a huge number of variables that impact commission percentage calculations.

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16. How to Increase Sales Through Resellers
    by Alan Rigg
    

    This article explores key reasons behind poor/insufficient reseller/channel partner sales performance and identifies specific actions your company can take to help resellers increase sales of your company's products and services.

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17. Trade Show Sales Strategies
    by Susan Ratliff
    

    One of the most startling revelations I've discovered in my trade show travels is the fact that companies will spend thousands of dollars buying booth space in a show and purchasing elaborate exhibits and graphics to promote their message, then permit sales people to work in the booth with no training!

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18. Time Share: Sales Lessons You Can Learn from Being a Customer
    by Alan Rigg
    

    Do you enjoy observing how other salespeople sell to you? My wife and I both do. During a recent vacation we had a chance to participate (for the third time) in an extremely well-honed and effective timeshare sales process. What's interesting is that many of the steps in this timeshare company's process can be applied to just about any type of sales situation.

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19. I'm Not Interested
    by Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling
    

    Whenever I conduct a workshop or teleclass, invariably someone asks the question: "What should I say when the prospect says, 'I'm not interested?'" My response invariably is: "It's probably too late."

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20. Audio Recording: Guest Expert Interview with Deborah Gardner - How to Sell to Men Without Wearing a Low-Cut Dress
    

    By listening to Deborah's interview you will learn: Do women have an advantage over men when prospecting? Should there be a focus on hiring women for certain sales positions? Common mistakes women make when selling to male buyers; Gender-to-gender selling approaches; How to get male buyers to say "yes" every time

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