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

Last week, amid the hustle and bustle of clients and travel plans, I made time to attend the FedEx Executive Women’s Day out at TPC Southwind, at the invitation of my friend and financial planner. I have to admit, I was in the weeds last week and I didn’t do my own due diligence to...Read More

This post evolved from a conversation with a colleague, Gina Trimarco, of Pivot10 Results, a leadership, sales, and service trainer, a studier of people, and a fantastic business sage. Gina uses analogies and metaphors in much of her training and coaching so I challenged her to take part in our March Madness Business blogging and...Read More

How do you “handle” the competition? Meaning, do your competitors factor into your offers, your customers, your sales and marketing strategy? How much weight should you give to their consideration? And, What exactly should know about your competition and how do those insights affect YOUR plans? Unless you’re operating in a total vacuum, you should...Read More

A while back, we participated in a great business expo hosted by the local chamber. At The Selling Agency booth, we asked people to “Give us their best pitch” about their business. And . . . we offered to record it for them and email them the sound bites. There was a specific point to asking...Read More

In the first of the Sales Fails series, our sales pro gave the advice to “Stop Hiding Behind Email” in order to build relationships, earn trust and close deals faster. This week’s expert advice comes from the founder of Top Lines Sales, Lisa Magnuson, Top Line Deal Coach. Lisa’s advice is a great recommendation for...Read More

The fresh, exciting NEW-ness of a shiny year is here. Our annual tradition is to make one or several Resolutions—a commitment to do, change, stop or achieve something in this New Year. Making resolutions is the fun, exciting part of visualizing our business (or personal and professional) future and success. However, I don’t want to...Read More

  When was your first or most impressive blow of rejection? Was it being picked last for kickball? Denied by your crush for a date to prom? Not getting in to your first choice college? Or losing a job to a more qualified candidate? Most of us have complicated and powerful associations with rejection that...Read More

“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

As a woman who has had a successful career in sales and built a business around helping people sell their product, service or themselves, I understand just how greatly people fear “selling” and “promoting” themselves. The biological and psychological barriers, the stigma, the cultural and gender bias that comes along with self promotion is paralyzing...Read More