“Opt In” or “Subscribe Here” . . . we have come to expect a certain level of value when we surrender our email address to a company and expect some unwritten {and also written} rules to be followed and a significant exchange of something worthwhile to us in response to handing over our email address....Read More

In getting to the business “promise land” – profit and growth, success isn’t always a perfectly pristine theory translated into a formula. Success is tough and dirty work, sometimes even ugly. This week, I had to share a fascinating series of books {and short but insightful blogs} by Roy Osing: BE DiFFERENT or be dead...Read More

This week marks the 100th blog post in The Pipeline. Whew. That is a lot of blood, sweat, tears and dedication to writing to and for our core audience of entrepreneurs, sales pros and leaders. Sharing insights, experiences and perspectives has been the BEST and most important strategy I have implemented in my business. Committing...Read More

We spend a lot of time and energy writing and discussing how to attract and sell to customers. Our focus is primarily on the top of the funnel – generating “At Bats” for our customers and readers because if you bring the right product to the right people at the right time and demonstrate your...Read More

  We work with a lot of small and not-so-small businesses – from many different industries and markets – data management, accounting, freight and logistics, restaurants, technology, drilling {oil}, commercial construction . . . a pretty diverse group. But they all have one thing in common: most of these great businesses have tried, started or...Read More

Last week I attended a fantastic entrepreneur conference in Nashville, 3686South, hosted by Launch Tennessee. The conference was full of innovative, bright, and energetic entrepreneurs, tech incubator talent, sponsors, and investors. Let me just give you a brief rundown of what made this 2+ day event so special—because you’re going to want to be there...Read More

Selling to the small or mid sized business owner? That’s about as easy as pinning Jell-O to a wall, right? Business owners have 4,329 priorities in front of YOU, so how does a Sales Pro sell to the Small and Mid Sized Business? With the sheer volume of opportunities—Small and Mid Sized business owners {SMB}—represent...Read More

In the last post, we talked about how to make your sales presentations better – improving the focus of the content and delivery. This week, using more examples from our clients, we present a more specific context of your proposals – a mistake that’s made quite often when we listen to sales pitches which is...Read More

Did you ever have one of those terrible professors or teachers in school—the ones that droned on and on about chemistry or Shakespeare or whatever? The ones that sucked all the enjoyment out of the topic, put you to sleep or or left you feeling like you wasted your time? Have you ever sat through...Read More

Seems like a weird question I’d ask in a “professional” setting, right? I mean, unless you’re a 3 year old or a perhaps an inebriated frat pledge at a Toga party {do they still have those?} you’ve probably never walked out the door without your pants. But perhaps you’re doing it Metaphorically, every day. I...Read More