Many sellers approach sales calls for business development with some anxiety. I can completely understand that feeling. In spite of good, better, and even amazing efforts, if you’ve been in sales doing business development for a while, you’ve been on the receiving end of grumpy prospects, hang-ups, yelling, or otherwise unpleasant calls. I can completely...Read More

What’s your focus for improved sales results this year? Cleaning up my office this week and the biggest stack of papers on my desk is my “Session Notes” pile. It’s the colorful printouts of PowerPoint decks and session worksheets that are scribbled on in blue, purple, hot pink, and aqua (I love my colored sharpie...Read More

I surveyed a sales team recently – prior to a Skills Building session on Pushback, Objections, and Negotiation – and asked them some of the most common obstacles they face in business development. Their answers didn’t surprise me, but one of the things about their answers that I pointed out really made them think –...Read More

Over these past few weeks, I’ve had strong reinforcements of my core beliefs about sales training: Most of it needs to be, “Undone.” I see proof every day that Sales Onboarding is upside down or backwards. I see sales training that is hype, technique and manipulation-based vs skills focused. Much of the current “well-known” sales...Read More

Here is another one of those blogs where the Universe has conspired to bring a topic to light. I’ve been on a campaign to move sellers from their Intuitive behaviors to intentional actions. We do so many things naturally, in the course of selling, like building relationships, asking questions, responding . . . but often,...Read More