Colleen’s Blog

Email prospecting: we're relying on it more and more during this new selling environment. However, unfortunately, the ratio of prospecting emails sent to responses are getting worse.

It’s not a coincidence that the word crisis—borrowed from the Ancient Greeks—meant “the turning point in a disease.” You are at a turning point this year against the literal backdrop of a global pandemic, as well as an ensuing lockdown, crashed markets, and racial divides.

A popular topic we've been examining with our clients recently is hybrid selling. What is hybrid selling?

Recently, a Canadian colleague of mine needed to travel out-of-country and wanted to purchase medical coverage for COVID-19. I happily referred her to my business insurance broker. But what happened next sure did not go the way either of us had expected.

Prospecting during these uncertain times has been a popular topic. This is because prospecting in person—whether at a networking event, an association meeting, or through old-fashioned door-knocking—is just not happening anymore.

Although it's crucial to be technically competent with video calls during these uncertain times, it’s also imperative that you don’t neglect the personal aspect of video calls. 

I have spent the last few months participating in a large number of video conferences. Sometimes, as many as six or seven video conferences a day because most of us are, indeed, now utilizing video.

Many of you are getting ready to go back to work or are already in the field making sales calls. However, some of you are facing an unexpected obstacle: you are ready to see your clients, but they're not ready to see you.

Recently, I interviewed my good friend, Richard Citrin, author of Strategy-Driven Leadership and The Resilience Advantage. We talked about how resiliency—what he describes as the ability to “bounce forward”—is a hardwired resource in all of us. But you must summon it to make it work!

I know these are challenging times for all of us individually and for our businesses. And now, in particular, is the time to absolutely micro-manage your metrics. You need to be on top of your business metrics like never before.