A few weeks ago I gave the opening keynote at the Ohio Growth Summit. Michael Bowers, the program director of the Small Business Development Center, did an outstanding job building a great conference for entrepreneurs. Here are two thoughts on what entrepreneurs need to know … [Read more...]
Change Occurs When You Reach Threshold
June 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The status quo is a warm bath; it’s soothing and comfortable. Change is a cold shower; it’s surprising, shocking, and uncomfortable. Is it any wonder your dream clients aren’t excited to change? Even when they have good reason to change, they often seek the safety and … [Read more...]
Everything Looks Like a Meal to a Starving Man
June 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The hungrier you get, the more willing you are to eat something that isn’t really good for you. If you’re starving, all of your discipline around eating goes straight out the window, doesn’t it? That’s why you’re not supposed to wait until you are starving to eat (and … [Read more...]
The Cavalry Isn’t Coming (Part Two)
June 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The cavalry isn’t coming to save you. You are going to have to take care of yourself. Go back and read this post. But you aren’t all alone. You’ve never been alone. We humans are social creatures. We always have been. We’ve never been able to survive without each other. … [Read more...]
The Three Rules (A Sales Perspective)
June 12, 2013 by 1 Comment
Whenever we find ourselves in a competitive sales situation, it never fails that we find ourselves competing on price. Our dream clients ask us to sharpen our pencils and, in an attempt to win, we sharpen it (sometimes down to a little tiny nub). But instead of sharpening our … [Read more...]
The Cavalry Isn’t Coming
June 11, 2013 by 5 Comments
You’re on your own. The cavalry isn’t coming. No one is going to save you. Instead, you are going to have to save yourself. Humans have lived on this planet for about three and a half million years, give or take. From the very beginning of our time here we’ve been … [Read more...]
Go On a Charm Offensive
June 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment
There’s an old joke that goes like this. A man dies and St. Peter greets him at the gates of Heaven. St. Peter tells the new arrival that his record is good, but that he still has free will and can choose between Heaven and Hell. But before he does, he’ll have the … [Read more...]
Recognition and Gratitude (A Note to the Sales Leader)
June 9, 2013 by 1 Comment
We tend to believe that the greatest levers we have to pull when it comes to improving salesforce performance are things like compensation structures and bonuses. And compensation is surely a critical component when it comes to building a high-performing sales organization. But … [Read more...]
The Bad Salesman
June 8, 2013 by 4 Comments
Bad Salesman: We have an A-rating on Angie’s List and the Better Business Bureau. We are members of the National Association of Remodeling Industry. The law requires that we have $1,000,000 in liability insurance; we have $6,000,000 in liability insurance. Are we the kind of … [Read more...]
You Are Selling for Competitive Advantage
June 7, 2013 by 2 Comments
You aren’t just trying to compete for your dream client’s business; you’re trying to win their business. Everything you do, every sales interaction, needs to be designed to create a competitive advantage. You want a complete and total mismatch when your dream client … [Read more...]
Work On the Business Instead of In the Business
June 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
As a leader, you are so mired down with work that there isn’t any hope of every truly being caught up. You can delegate and defer to your hearts delight, but the demands are unrelenting. It can feel like every time you get one activity that needs your attention under control … [Read more...]
A Cheap Sales Force Is An Expensive Problem
June 5, 2013 by 4 Comments
From time to time I hear from entrepreneurs who want to grow their revenue without investing in a sales force. Some want to put no money at risk, but they want the results that only come from real investments. They want to be cheap for different reasons, but it’s often a … [Read more...]
On Dealing With Elephants
June 4, 2013 by 1 Comment
Elephants are enormous–and enormously powerful–animals. Upon arriving at the elephant sanctuary in Johannesburg, South Africa, I was immediately informed of the ground rules. The first rule is to understand that the elephants that I was about to interact with we’re not … [Read more...]
Mailbag: Escaping and Success
June 3, 2013 by 15 Comments
I knew that my Escaping the Circumstances of Your Birth post would draw out a few comments, and likely some dissenters. This isn’t so much dissent as an interesting comment that was sent by email. Anonymous writes: “It seems that you are advocating being successful so … [Read more...]
Ideas Are Worthless. Execution Is Priceless.
June 2, 2013 by 6 Comments
Some time ago I offered a program that I created to the people who receive my newsletter. A lot of people signed up. Some sent me notes explaining why they couldn’t sign up at that time. But I found one email in particular to be most interesting. The person that wrote the email … [Read more...]
Escaping the Circumstances of Your Birth
June 1, 2013 by 5 Comments
Yesterday I heard a story about a very popular preacher who came from a tiny, poor shanty town. As this preacher’s popularity grew, he made enough money that he could afford to move out of the small, poverty-stricken place of his birth. But he didn’t leave. When he was asked … [Read more...]
The Root Cause of Failing Sales Reps (And How to Help)
May 31, 2013 by 6 Comments
Almost without exception, the root of cause of failing sales reps is the same: too few opportunities (we'll stick with "opportunities" here instead of the many root causes of this root cause). Here's what to do to help. More—and More Effective—Prospecting Most failing … [Read more...]
It’s Pretty Much the Same Here
May 30, 2013 by 7 Comments
Adapted from an old fable. A new salesperson beginning his first day of work turns and asks an old, veteran salesperson about his new job. He says, “What’s it really like here?” The veteran salesperson says, “What was it like where you sold before?” The new salesperson … [Read more...]
Mailbag: Closing the Sale
May 29, 2013 by 2 Comments
This note comes in today's mailbag: James writes, “I have a hard time closing the sale. I struggle between wanting to be passive and carefree about the deal, and being too aggressive, and then worrying about losing the sale. I have the skills and competency and experience to … [Read more...]
Four Imperatives for the Sales Leader
May 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
Each of these four imperatives ensures that your sales force is effective at the individual level. They’re all necessary to building and sustaining a high performing sales force. A Prospecting Plan that Opens Opportunities: It’s one thing to expect your salespeople to … [Read more...]
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