Featured Articles

Think @ Shanker Inc. is a resource to help create new business opportunities. It includes proven behavioral approaches that some of the most successful companies in the world have used to accelerate their business. Let us know what you think! Contact us or leave a comment below.

Accelerate Sales

article | Martin Shanker
Greet for success

Ineffective greetings elicit “No thank you” and drive customers away. Here’s how to increase sales by determining the right moment to offer assistance to a prospect. More

article | Martin Shanker
Flex for success

Make more sales by adjusting your questioning techniques to the needs and personality of each client. More

article | Martin Shanker
Power questioning

A salesperson’s most important skill is superior questioning. Make sure your salespeople are asking the right questions to make value-added recommendations that build customer loyalty. More

article | Martin Shanker
2 + 2 = 5: the magical math of add-on sales

Six things your sales associates can do immediately to increase revenue by increasing add-on sales. More

article | Martin Shanker
Objections: a retailers best friends

Effective handling of objections not only generates more sales, it helps uncover why customers don’t buy. Here’s what you need to do each time an objective is raised. More

article | Martin Shanker
Don’t just ask–earn the right to close

Closing rates improve when sales associates ask for the sale. So, why do sales associates fail to do this so often and what can you do about it? More

article | Martin Shanker
Show and tell. Better yet–show and prove

To develop customer loyalty a sales associate needs to prove that his or her recommendation fulfills a dream and that the customer would not have found the item if left alone. More

article | Martin Shanker
Accelerate sales through clienteling

There are things your salespeople should be doing while they wait for customers that can add an additional 20 percent in annual sales. More

article | Martin Shanker
Pull–don’t push–your way to clienteling success

Effective clienteling can increase sales by as much as 50%. However, to do this you need to learn how to make customers want to be contacted. More

article | Martin Shanker
How bad negotiating can kill your brand

Poor negotiations kill margins, turn your products into commodities, transform your customers into price-obsessed “bottom feeders and hurt your brand. Here’s what you can do to stop it. More

article | Martin Shanker
Brand-building negotiations

Learn how to negotiate in a way that both makes customers feel better about shopping at your store as well as improves your margins! More

article | Martin Shanker
Missed opportunities that cost you money

Ten common mistakes sales associates make that costs both them and your company money—and how to correct them. More

Enhance Customer Experience

article | Martin Shanker
Strengthen your brand to increase traffic and sales

Six steps that large companies—as well as small—can take to build their brand and increase the frequency with which customers think about shopping at their store. More

article | Martin Shanker
Reward the “how”–not just the sales

Just because a sales associate is a top producer doesn’t mean he or she isn’t harming the business. Learn how and take these steps to keep it from happening. More

Inspire Leadership

article | Martin Shanker
Strengthen three core capabilities to grow and achieve more

Three core capabilities distinguish exceptional lifelong learners from people who can’t break from unsuccessful ways of behaving. Learn what these capabilities are and how to apply them. More

article | Martin Shanker
Don’t be held hostage by your best employees

Are you being held hostage by top-performing employees who ignore duties or regulations? Learn how to eliminate this debilitating condition that can threaten your relationship with other employees. More

article | Martin Shanker
Manager as coach

To add full value your managers need to make sure new skills there employees learn are implemented on the job and improved year-after-year. Here’s how they can do it. More

article | Martin Shanker
To break the loop, find the root

To be fully productive managers need to avoid the role of “central problem solver.” Here’s how they can get their employees thinking and delegate problem solving back to them. More

article | Martin Shanker
Building commitment: assume less, agree more

To reduce frustration and have your employees achieve their objectives more often learn how to manage through “agreements” rather than through “expectations” or “assumptions.” More

article | Martin Shanker
Creating lasting behavior change

Investing in training that doesn’t produce lasting behavior change is a waste of time and money. Follow these steps to make sure this doesn’t happen to you. More

Hire the Best

article | Martin Shanker
Get the best people on board