Don’t slip into that Turkey Day slump just yet! While friends and family, celebrations, and personal reflection are all a significant part of the end of each year, this is still a critical time for business. For Business Owners and Decision Makers, there’s still much work to be done to make it to the end of the year. They...Read More

I’ll admit, I’ve done it before. In my sales career, I’ve been frustrated and tried to get a buyer to respond with something compelling but in my haste, I’ve sent the – “Just Checking In” email. Have you received one of those? Or sent one? Hi Bill, How’s everything going? I’m just checking in to...Read More

In a previous BrightTalk webinar, I surveyed the audience of sellers and asked, “What is your biggest challenge in prospecting?” I thought the results were extremely interesting – and they validated what I’m hearing from many businesses and sales pros about their challenges in new business development. Of the 120 live viewers, those that responded...Read More

I remember a funny moment about 10 years ago when a client figuratively slammed the door on me. I had set my sights on this customer as an ideal prospect for my printing solution. I found the right contact, called, emailed, called, emailed, called, called, and one day she answered the phone and said, “Tell...Read More

Let’s talk about your sales and profit margins. How effective do you think your Sales and/or Marketing messages are? Are they compelling and converting leads in to opportunities and opportunities into customers with strong and healthy margins? At what rate? And at what cost to acquire a new customer? (If you don’t know your conversion...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

I love stacking up my summer reading list. Whether it’s an audiobook I listen to while driving or a good old paperback page-turner that gets covered with sea salt and sand, I’m planning my list as Memorial Day and Summer is right around the corner. What’s on this year’s list? A mix of business, skill...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

If you run a business, you probably spend a lot of time “fending off”, or, at least ignoring crappy sales attempts – to be blunt. I say this with love for my profession of sales – which I’m obsessed with improving – as I too am now fending off crappy sales attempts. Though, they do...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