Selling is not just an art, it's a science as well. A good sales rep constantly brushes up on his or her industry and selling techniques to enhance performance. In this distribution business, many sales reps come from other industries or move over from other postions into sales. Here are a few articles on how tofind and be a better sales rep.

8 Rules for Asking Effective Questions, by Geoffrey James of Moneywatch. 

Effective questioning means knowing what questions to ask the customer, and knowing how to ask them.  If you don’t know what questions to ask, your time with the customer is wasted.  If you know the right question but ask in a way that’s irritating or confusing, you won’t get useful information.

7 Rules for Great Sales Questions, by Geoffrey James of Moneywatch.

All sales questions are not created equal. Good questions give you information to help you move the sale forward. Lousy questions simply annoy the prospect and (worst case) can kill the sale entirely.

Help Wanted: Where are the Next Salespeople Coming From? By Jason Bader, Principal - The Distribution Team

Bader addresses where to find the next generation of salespeople, including looking to veterans for a great source of help.

How Women Decide, by Cathy Benko & Bill Pelster for HBR.org

Today women occupy about half of all managerial and professional positions in the United States, including 37% of management jobs and 60% of accounting and auditing roles, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They also make up 41% of employees with authority to make purchasing decisions. Recognizing that the selling process will be different with more women on the team will be beneficial to your sales effort.

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Tribute, Inc. is a provider of ERP distribution management software for distributors and fabricators in the fluid power, motion control and automation industry. For more on our TrulinX product and services, visit www.tribute.com.