Colleen’s Blog

"Why aren't we just doing what our biggest competitor is doing?"

I want you to think like your competitor. Why? Thinking like your competitor will help you figure out where you're weak and strong in the accounts you’re managing, which can lead to retention and growth activities.

I want to highlight a sales strategy I’ve noticed perform incredibly well as of late. We started calling this the “land and expand” strategy.

There’s one thing I’ve noticed with organizations and people who are really good at bringing new business: they are good at operationalizing value. These organizations and people have closing ratios higher than the average: 40% to 45%, as opposed to the average of 25% to 30%.

I love to travel and have never met a country that I did not enjoy and whose people I did not learn from. My belief is that we must embrace the differences in all cultures and learn to enjoy them while we are visiting, while also taking some of the best characteristics home with us to incorporate into our own lives. Travelling down the Rhine last month and visiting 4 distinct countries brought culture and lifestyle differences to the forefront. Our German tour guide would not let the bus leave until she had counted the passengers 4 times and confirmed everyone had their seats belt on. She refused to let us walk on the grass and waited until everyone had arrived at a sight before she began speaking. No matter how slow the group was. In France, our tour guide never once confirmed how many people were on the bus, nor whether we buckled up. Despite the fact that seat belts are the law in France. He moved quickly through his commentary, not caring if anyone could see what he was pointing at. When a small group of our tour complained that he was moving too fast, his response was “I don’t care!”