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We all waste time. Sometimes it’s un-avoidable, like cooling your heels in the customer’s lobby waiting to get escorted up to the decision-maker’s office. Sometimes it’s self-inflicted. Ever had “one more cup of coffee” in the break-room or check your stock portfolio during working hours? Sometimes whiling away a small chunk of the day can even be a good thing. If I blow a sales call, five or ten minutes of feeling sorry for myself somehow helps me get back on track Read More

Manufacturing executives said it didn’t apply to them. (They were dead wrong.) Software development executives said it didn’t apply to them. (They were dead wrong.) Business & technology services executives said it didn’t apply to them. (They were dead wrong.) Sales executives, managers and professionals KNOW FOR SURE it doesn’t apply to them. And of course they are right. Right Read More

When developing a plan for operating a sales territory or chasing down a specific opportunity, both the Solution Selling and Consultative Selling frameworks have proven their value. I am far from alone in being a huge fan of the underlying concepts and best practices. These approaches and combinations thereof have supported the transformation of legions of “wannabes” into legitimate sales professionals Read More

Ever make a sales call that went really, really well? That covered more topics than you had planned? All of which advanced your quest to deliver still more value to your client? (And increase your revenue?) But left a major new opportunity virtually un-discussed Read More

The term “Consultative Selling” and it’s underlying concepts were first introduced in the book by the same name published in 1973 and authored by Mack Hanan, James Cribbin and Herman Heiser. Although amended and modified countless times since then and in countless industries and by countless sales organizations, the basics remain true to this day. Perhaps they are even more relevant today and are an underlying foundation for Lead Dog Selling Read More

Someone or something always comes out on top. And as you might guess, it’s true for the financial analysis and justification a sales rep can prepare and present. Internal Rate of Return (or IRR) enables a rep to use a single number to demonstrate the compelling wisdom of investing in his or her recommendations. IRR is one big, bad differentiator Read More

Think about your important contacts. Think about how much time and attention you’d really like to be able to devote to each one. The pragmatic fact of the matter is you’re forced to ignore every one of them most of the time. Ouch!! Read More

Had a lunch meeting with a sales exec this past Friday, a prospective client. A colleague brought us together and it was the first time I’d had contact with the man. Ever leave a meeting and have this feeling that the other person was somehow different/unique/better in some way, but couldn’t quite put your finger on why? That’s the feeling I’ve had all weekend and it finally hit me why I felt that way Read More

Have any habits that might annoy your customers? Have any bad habits you thought you had dropped, but haven’t? The answer, of course is, “Yes.” Here’s a quick video to help stay focused on your not-so-spiffy behavior patterns Read More

It’s a Saturday. It’s past 5:00 PM. I’ve been locked up in an orchestra rehearsal room with eight other unpaid compatriots for the last seven hours. That was after two hours of prep at home this morning. It was an “extra” meeting of the Cobb Symphony Orchestra Board of Trustees. We’re in the midst of a search for a new Executive Director and trying to figure out how to survive financially in an economy that has absolutely hammered non-profits coast to coast. We’ll be fine, but only because the group is so fully committed. The time and effort, though, is really wearing. It’s almost like having a second full time job Read More