Many sales people and business owners tell me “networking” is how they fill their pipeline with leads and opportunities. And rarely, do I ever believe them. I do believe networking can lead to opportunities, but more often than not, “networking” simply fills up their calendar and gives them the feeling that they’re accomplishing something. They...Read More

What’s the easiest thing you’ve ever sold? What product was a home run for you? For me, the easiest thing I’ve ever sold is Girl Scout Cookies. And by “me”, I mean, my daughter, and her troop. I’m just the driver and logistics support for the outfit. Maybe this isn’t exactly a subjective comparison to...Read More

If you take a trip to pretty much anywhere there are always those areas that are tourist traps full of t-shirts,  magnets, key chains, and “I was here” merchandise with the name of your destination labeled on everything. Recently, I vacationed to the gorgeous island of St. Lucia and traveled to its capital city, Castries,...Read More

Many businesses in a B2B channel get their start by filling a need or having a solution that provides a jump on the market. Or maybe, you, as the owner, took your experience and started your business with a front loaded customer base that followed you. However your business got started, there comes a time...Read More

We’ve descended into total “ball” season, folks: football, baseball, the other “football” affectionately known as soccer, and even volleyball. In our house with two sporty kids, right now we’re either playing a game, practicing for a game, watching a game, or talking about a game. I’m writing this post after my daughter’s volleyball practice tonight...Read More

In the previous post, we took a hard look at building a more flexible sales process that is completely centered around your customer starting with Assessing Your Features From Your Customers’ Perspective. This practice helps you build your selling messages around the variable points that are truly meaningful to your customers. But wait! There’s More!...Read More

As the topic of probably 1/3 of all conversations and certainly 1/3 of all social media posts, this election is truly remarkable and will certainly be dissected 7,432 ways in the history books. What I think is remarkable from a sales vantage is how these Presidential Candidates are masterful in their communication and the response...Read More

As we wind down summer activities, the nation gets ready to send our children “back to school” which euphemistically means, back to learning, studying, and progressing. I’ve found that this time of year is an excellent time to ramp up my own learning and focus on business growth – both to finish the year with...Read More

Earning referrals should be a key focus of your sales strategy. Whether you’re a seasoned sales pro, an entrepreneur, or someone who doesn’t technically have “SALES” in your title but is responsible for generating new business – your sales strategy should absolutely focus on referrals. But before you include asking for referrals in your sales...Read More

Traveling to NYC this past week, I had the opportunity to get chatty with many of my fellow travelers. “Going places” is pretty much a universal language and helps create instant bonds when you’re “all in this together” on a plane, or in a terminal. So, unless you give the international sign of “don’t bother...Read More