Yesterday I was on the final leg of what had become a 20-hour journey home from Toronto. I was worn out from working hard with a new client and exhausted from too much travel. The airports were a mess from the daily pounding of severe storms and my flight home was cancelled at the last […]
Servant Leadership Read More »
I’m from New York, although I’ve been in St. Louis for 19 years and have lost most of the accent and some of the harsh edges. But I still like to make extreme statements – the kind that would fit as a headline for the New York Post. And I’ve learned from many consulting engagements,
Salesperson: Hunter or Farmer? Read More »
When you hear “sales call,” what mental image pops into your mind? I love going along on sales calls with my clients. I always learn a ton, it’s fun being the extra person in room and I get some great fodder for future coaching content. It is amazing how the salesperson’s mental picture of how
Mental Picture of a Sales Call Read More »
Playing catch-up is not usually fun. And being perpetually “late to the party” is a common reason salespeople fail at winning new pieces of business. I’m a fan of having a strategically selected, focused, finite list of Target Prospects. Proactive is one of my favorite sales words, and I am all for doing whatever necessary
Winners Get In The Deal Early Read More »
A few clients have recently asked me to interview candidates for new business development sales positions. I love interviewing people. It’s a fascinating experience and a challenge. I have found that many executives have a hard time identifying successful sales hunters. They approach the interview with certain biases and seem to fall easily for the
Two Killer Interview Questions for Sales Hunters Read More »
My mentor and former sales manager used to declare that sales is as much a matter of the heart as it is about the head. I had planned to post some fresh sales content last night, but watching the situation in Japan messed up both my mind and my heart. Seeing your house collapse or
It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything to cause it. The waters were poisoned way before you got here. Other morons messed it up for us and we get to live with the consequences. Prospects (buyers) have an automatic, almost instinctive reflex reaction to salespeople. And it’s not a positive one. You know exactly
Preventing The Buyer’s Auto-Reflex-Salesperson-Resistance Mode Read More »
Story telling is an important life skill. We all love to hear a great story. Our kids spend endless hours in grade school learning how to draft, write and edit stories. We’re drawn to people that have great stories or are wonderful story-tellers. So why have businesses and salespeople, for the most part, become so
Do You Love Your Sales Story? Read More »
I’m on a simplicity crusade. Why? Because so many under-performers over-complicate the new business development process. Some do it because they honestly don’t know any better – they’ve never really had to hunt for new business or it’s never been modeled for them. They think it’s supposed to be hard and complicated so they make
Equipping Sales Fighters With the Right Sales Weapons & Coaching to Proficiency Read More »
I know. You’re just happy I didn’t say “bus.” Between the obnoxiously overused “threw him under the bus” and Good to Great’s most famous “getting the right people in the right seats on the bus,” it’s safe to say we’re all tired of the bus! So, in celebration of a fantastic Super Bowl, let’s talk
The Sales Leader’s Job #1: Right People in the Right Positions Read More »
