Build Bridges, Not Tunnels
Stakeholders come in many forms and not all of them will reveal themselves easily. And that’s why you must build those bridges…
Loyalty Is an Inside Job, Too
Loyalty is a trust-building and trust-maintaining enterprise. You must cultivate it steadily—both among your customers and your employees.
Ride-Along Coaching: It’s Not What You Think
It’s incredibly frustrating. Ride-along coaching ought to be a powerful tool at the disposal of every leader in a sales-based organization today. But many...
Disciplined Thinking
Get disciplined with your thinking! By doing this, you gain a sense of poise: one that gives you the emotional space you need to cope with daily challenges...
Don't Get Taken Down by the Unexpected
The biggest threat to your deal is the threat you've not anticipated…
Loyalty Is Your Job, Not Theirs
“Buyers have changed and loyalty’s dead now. Customers don’t care about the relationship anymore!” I’ve been hearing that whine a lot from sellers.
Are You a Helicopter Manager?
Helicoptering behavior isn't just limited to parenting. It's especially damaging in sales organizations…
Getting Pricing Wrong
Last year, at a CEO forum where I was speaking, I was asked if CEOs need to be involved in pricing. Here's what I said:
You Must Own Your Profession
Don’t let someone else’s routine serve as a flimsy replacement for the work you must do in defining your needs as a sales performer.
Beware of Your Sales Blind Spots
No one an unobstructed 360-degree view of their client relationships. Nobody…
Skip the Pitch and Create a Vision
The days of the ideal buyer have gone the way of the dinosaurs. So has the routine sales pitch…
When Prices Go Up, Sellers Get Down to Business
As the post-pandemic landscape continues to reveal itself in today’s marketplace, price increases are a defining characteristic…and a pain point for many of us.
Your Client Wants an Insider - Not a Partner
There isn't a buzzword out there today that's more dated than the notion of you being in "partnership."
Beware of the Talk Trap
The talk trap lays waiting for unsuspecting sellers who innocently confuse somebody who will listen to them with someone who also has...
Virtual Selling (and Buying) Are Here to Stay
It’s a fact. Gartner’s recent market research confirms that virtual selling (and buying) are entrenched in how people want to do business now.
They Want to Renegotiate…Now What? (Part 3 of 3)
Your mastery of this will put you in a stronger position to be creative, resourceful, and persuasive at the negotiating table.
They Want to Renegotiate…Now What? (Part 2 of 3)
It can feel like a big, scary problem when your customer starts demanding you renegotiate terms and prices on an existing agreement you have with them.
Your Sales Plan Isn't What You Think
Copying your competitors isn’ a plan - at least not one that will work…
They Want to Renegotiate…Now What? (Part 1 of 3)
It occurs in just about every business and it’s happening a lot now: the dreaded call from a buyer who says they need to renegotiate the terms of an...
Gatekeepers Are Your Responsibility
Good deals get stuck when you lack access to the right people to successfully close a sale. There are two ways that lack of access occurs.