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

This week’s blog has been hijacked by our Director of Ground Floor Strategies, Selena Silvestro. As we approach the end of the year, she grabbed the chance to speak to business owners and sales pros about what NOT to do when emailing customers and prospective buyers: “If you’re waiting to contact your customers, clients, or...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

Watching the sales activity of several sales teams lately, I have come to the conclusion that these teams are truly confused about the differences between MARKETING and SELLING. I work with many small businesses where the business owner and/or the small sales teams sell and there is often NOT a marketing department within the company....Read More

Several months back I was sitting in on a sales meeting with a new client, observing her sales team, what she asked of them and what they reported. When asked about the progress on meeting with a particular prospect, one sales rep admitted, with frustration, “I don’t know what his problem is. I just haven’t...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

How many times have you been “pitched” to or sat in a meeting with someone blathering on about the “Features and Benefits” of their products? I say “blathering” because that’s what it feels like when someone is sitting in front of you talking about their product, their features and what THEY believe are the benefits....Read More