When one of our clients asks us to work with their sales team on revenue growth, we first conduct some interviews of the sales people and ask, “What do you need to do your job better?” they usually answer with one of these two responses: “More aggressive pricing” and “More new leads” The first answer...Read More

Many times I have seen a sales person spend hours laboring over a presentation, packing it full of details, statistics, examples, graphs and graphics, pictures and hope. Yes, lots of hope, that the presentation will be so outstanding and cover every conceivable variable or objection that the customer will fall in love with the product...Read More

“Just the facts, ma’am” – is the iconic line parodying detective Joe Friday from the old show Dragnet. Meant to demonstrate the character’s dry approach to interviewing witnesses, sometimes I feel like I’m meeting a live “Joe Friday” when I’m approached by someone trying to sell me a product. No context, no perspective or relevance...Read More

If you’re looking for great competitive advantage in your selling efforts, this practice will help you convert more prospects to customers and attract your ideal buyers: Sell to REAL PEOPLE, not ROBOTS. Seems kind of obvious, right? But in our zeal to mechanize the sale process so we can pave the road to riches ....Read More

This week marks the start of the last quarter of the year for most businesses. There are holidays, parties, vacations and lots of fun to be had between now and 2016 but don’t think that letting off the gas now and coasting is going to get set you up to grow and compete next year....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

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

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

**CAUTION: Painful #TruthBomb below** Have you started a blog for your business or sales efforts? How’s it going? Was your last post March 2014? How about that email newsletter to stay top of mind with clients? Or how’s your social media strategy working for you—are you connecting and engaging your top prospects? Ouch. We can...Read More