Paul Castain's Sales Playbook

“Send Me Your Information” Stall or Opportunity?

Paul Castain — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:55:04 +0000

Most sales reps consider the old “Send me your information” line as a stall or perhaps a substitute for “I’m really not interested”. I know many of you will push back for various reasons. Here are a few of them with my thoughts. “Why should I go through the effort when I don’t even know they’re serious? If [...]

11 Ways To Maximize Your LinkedIn Experience

Paul Castain — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:34:00 +0000

1) Invitation Templates . . . don’t use them! You’re better than that! Nothing says “I couldn’t be bothered taking 10 seconds to write you a personal message” more than those boring templates. Want to stand out? Don’t do what everyone else is doing. 2) Avoid “IDK’s” “IDK” stands for “I don’t know” When someone hits that, in [...]

Leveraging LinkedIn Groups As A Social Selling Tool

Paul Castain — Mon, 13 May 2013 00:22:48 +0000

Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right click and save) Everyone and their mother (they actually bring their mother with them) tells you to join LinkedIn and get involved. They tell you that its a great opportunity to build your brand and ultimately increase sales but . . . If you’re like me you’re really appreciate it if [...]

A Close Call With My Son

Paul Castain — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:17:05 +0000

I was rushing to get things done so I could have lunch with my son when I received a phone call that no parent wants to get. My son was involved in an accident. Nobody was hurt and only minor scratches on both cars. He was lucky but I couldn’t help but think things could have turned out [...]

The Funny Thing About Google Glass

Paul Castain — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:29:04 +0000

As many of you know, Google has a cool product it’s launching called “Google Glass” and it’s really funny. Not to me but to several people in the media and people in general who are making fun of it. But that’s not the really funny part . . . Most innovative ideas go through the same thing . [...]

Did You Make Your “Gekko” Phone Call?

Paul Castain — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:47 +0000

There was an interesting scene at the beginning of the sales classic Wall Street. Marv turns to Bud Fox and says . . . “Bud, you forgetting something? “The Gekko phone call?” “Buddy when are you going to realize . . . big game hunters bag the elephants!” As a quick refresher, Gordon Gekko was a huge prospect for Bud Fox. [...]

The Purpose Of Your Setback

Paul Castain — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:23:44 +0000

I’m sure you all heard the one about how important our attitude is when it comes to setbacks? More specifically . . . How you and I choose to look at and define our circumstances can profoundly influence the outcome. I guess that means we’re not allowed to engage in any of that “Why me?” self talk, [...]

How To Utilize Facebook To Further Your Sales Efforts

Paul Castain — Sun, 05 May 2013 02:28:16 +0000

Podcast Powered By Podbean Download this episode (right click and save) I’ll come right out and say it . . . I really believe that sales reps aren’t using Facebook to it’s full potential! There are many ways that you can use this platform and it begins by rethinking this whole “Facebook is for personal” stuff! This week . [...]

Would You Call A Prospect Out On This?

Paul Castain — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:16:01 +0000

What would you do if you quoted a price for your products/services and your prospect suddenly went “M.I.A.”? You call them. You email them and they never give you the courtesy of a response and then . . . At some point in the future they suddenly appear again and ask for a quote? Would you mention the fact [...]

Falling Out Of My Shoes And Other Pattern Interrupts!

Paul Castain — Wed, 01 May 2013 01:04:09 +0000

It was supposed to be a simple, two night camping trip with a really cool trio I like to call “me, myself and I” but life has a funny way of changing your plans. It all started with a rookie mistake. One that would have Bear Grylls shaking his head. I had forgotten my sleeping bag [...]