I will admit I’d like to see your face right now after reading this title. It wasn’t intentionally “click bait” but when sitting in a client’s office and discussing his sales process, he wrote on his whiteboard: “Prospecting: *Research *Call/Connect *FU” He immediately realized his abbreviation for “Follow Up” looked like a particularly nasty insult...Read More

I get frustrated sometimes. More often than I’d like to admit. I found myself explaining the story of Jack and the Beanstalk to a salesperson last week, a very young salesperson, who didn’t get my reference when I said, “There are NO MAGIC BEANS.” It seems that Jack and the Beanstalk isn’t as popular with...Read More

Road tripping this to a volleyball tournament a while back, I had 3 hours to spend in the car with my 12-year-old daughter. We listened to hundreds of songs on my iPod. Rolling through several decades of old and new ones. At one point, she marveled at how many songs she knew – as in...Read More

Look, y’all, you know the saying about “Opinions”, right? That everyone has one and everyone is entitled to one. My “opinion” about Sales Advice is very strong and I give it freely – as a friend most recently described, I’m going to be “as honest as a toddler or yoga pants” with you. There is...Read More

Last week I decided to try something new with my sellers. I recognize this look of exasperation when I ask my sellers about their latest selling activity: prospecting, pre-qualifying, meetings, et cetera. For Account Executives or Account Managers, making time for Business Development can be incredibly tough with all they have to get done in...Read More

What do YOU think would be the response when asked, “What are the top challenges sellers and sales pros face today?” Up until 5 to 10 years ago, you might have heard a resounding, “Lack of leads!” coming from salespeople. Nowadays, in this lightning-fast digital world of social platforms and instant communication, that’s not so...Read More

Does this sound familiar? The last several years have been pretty good. Successful, even, in the arena of sales. Strong economy. Low unemployment. Customers have been buying. You’ve competed to keep your customers. Service them well. Then, out of the blue, COVID-19. A global pandemic blows up your business base. Everything is on hold. The...Read More

So, your field sales team has become an inside sales team AND they’re working at home? How do you make the transition? Inside sales teams right now have a slight advantage in that their tools, strategy, and processes are not likely to be wildly different – except for those that were centrally located and now...Read More

Looking forward to the New Year, I’m thinking about the most important areas to focus on for my clients’ sales teams. Prospecting is always tough, closing is a priority, new business development is critical . . . What’s your data telling you to focus on? If you’re looking for specific places to focus on development,...Read More

Guest Post by Selena Silvestro, Director of Ground Floor Strategies at The Selling Agency and weekend warrior baseball fan in the bleachers. Read on for first-hand sales advice for Small Business Owners, Solopreneurs, and Sales Pros in Small Businesses: Every business lives and dies by its ability to build revenue. Unfortunately, roughly 80% of businesses...Read More