There are some things about sales that are difficult to explain. Sometimes, even though there may be no way to prove that something is true, the results are every bit as consistent as gravity. This is one: If you despise your company while professing that other’s should love … [Read more...]

One of the primary reasons salespeople fail to gain the time and attention of C-level executives is because they lack the business acumen and/or the confidence to ask the really tough questions. Instead, they hope that their slick presentation and their well-crafted statements … [Read more...]

There is no to end to the non-sales related tasks that vie for your time and attention. To succeed, you must take inventory of your time and protect it for selling. Sometimes, the demands that are placed upon you are demands from your clients, the very same clients that you … [Read more...]

Opportunities with your dream clients, the real prospects for who you can do breath-taking and jaw-dropping work, are too rare to be taken for granted. In order to take advantage of these opportunities, you have to literally pull out all of the stops. … [Read more...]

When you do your win-loss analysis, you look at the list of companies that you competed against, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. You know who they are, and you talk about the competitor by using their company name. When we talk about winning, we talk about beating company … [Read more...]

You asked your dream client for something you need to win the deal and to deliver for them should you win. Your dream client said no to your request. Going without it increases the likelihood that you will lose, and it makes it likely your change effort will be more disruptive … [Read more...]

Getting in with your dream client can sometimes be the most difficult part of any deal. To get in, you may lower the commitment level so that you are asking for a commitment that is easier to obtain; you make it easier for your dream client to say “yes.” … [Read more...]

Many of the metrics that salespeople and businesspeople track aren’t very useful. Many of them that seem meaningful don’t tell you much of anything, and most are worthless without a whole lot of context. Even with so much lacking, I love metrics and, when the right metrics … [Read more...]

Yesterday I wrote a post about the difference between show horses and plow horses. The show horse believes the sale is made during the final presentation. The plow horse knows that the sale is won before there ever is a final presentation—and much of the time when there is only … [Read more...]