This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. You don’t need to wait for your dream clients to work through their buying … [Read more...]

The NFL Draft is my favorite part of football season. The NFL actually behaves like we in business only pretend to behave. The NFL places the highest premium on talent. Really. And they make scouting for talent a high form of art. The team with the very worst record of the prior … [Read more...]

Your dream client’s company is a complicated web of human relationships. It’s a complex social group, and it’s an organism with a life of it’s own. It’s a tribe, and that tribe has a culture and rules of its own. If you want your client’s business, if you want to be … [Read more...]

The Sales Blog mailbag always brings interesting questions. One from someone in management and leadership reads: “Do you think I could turn an old, pure farmer into a new-era hunter?” One of the fastest ways to eliminate much of the frustration and disappointment in your … [Read more...]

My old man has a friend who, as a young man, worked very hard to position himself for a job with a large investment-banking firm. He interviewed with his dream firm, and during the process they asked him if he had any questions about the potential position. He did. This young … [Read more...]

Self-discipline is the master key to effectiveness in sales—or in anything else. It’s the ability to keep the commitments that you make to yourself, the ability to delay gratification. It’s also the foundation of character. Whenever I speak about the attributes that all … [Read more...]

I was approached by a group of undergraduate students this week. They told me that they had decided to start a consulting firm to help small businesses implement social media into their marketing plans. I told them that I thought that that was wonderful. They looked at each other … [Read more...]

As a sales manager, you are going to make a lot of sales calls with your team. You need to make these calls valuable for the salesperson, for the client, and for yourself. Here are some ideas about how you can create value on sales calls. Take the Call Sometimes the sales … [Read more...]

It's always stressful when an employee resigns. It's especially stressful when the employee has been with you for a long time. But that doesn't mean that you should necessarily be unhappy at their loss. Just because they've worked with you for some period of time doesn't mean … [Read more...]

It's easy to believe that the grass is greener across the street. You speak to other people and they tell you how well they are doing at work and how happy they are. It sounds great. You think about where you are, and there are so many challenges. You think about jumping the … [Read more...]

I had an interesting conversation with a buyer yesterday. I made the suggestion that I thought that they were underinvesting in the result they need. She agreed that they were underinvesting. Then she said this: “We’d pay more if a salesperson could connect the paying more to … [Read more...]

Salespeople used to be taught to close for the business. Much of what they were taught was ridiculous then and would be even worse if used now. It’s malpractice to teach salespeople closing techniques from five decades ago. If you think buying has changed over the last decade … [Read more...]

It’s the most natural thing in the world to use the company’s name when you talk about losing a deal. It’s easy to attribute the loss of the opportunity to a decision that the company made. You might say something like, “Acme went with our competitor.” Or maybe, “Can … [Read more...]

If you are the one manning the booth, you are doing it wrong. One: Get Your Hands on the Attendee List The trick to a successful conference or trade show is to get the attendee list as soon as you possibly can. You want to get your hands on that list. Most of your … [Read more...]

I spend time with salespeople and sales organizations. I live with them. So I am a bit of a sales anthropologist. By watching and participating in the culture, you get to understand the culture. Here are a couple ideas about how you can be more of a hunter. Spend Your Time … [Read more...]

You wouldn’t walk into a Las Vegas casino and take all of the commission you will make in the next twelve months and bet it on single hand of black jack, would you? What if I allowed you to deal the cards? You wouldn’t go to a horse race and bet your next year’s earnings … [Read more...]

Date: ___/___/___ To Whom It May Concern, I, __________________________ (Your Name), as the sole legal guardian and the person completely responsible for __________________________ (Your Name), give __________________________ (Your Name) permission to do whatever is necessary … [Read more...]

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. Your online presence is your surrogate salesperson. She lives there, and she is … [Read more...]

I had an interesting exchange with an old-school consultant about ideas. In his view, ideas are to be protected as intellectual property, not shared on the Internet. He’s horrified that so many of us share, and he is disconcerted by the idea that Google can help anyone find any … [Read more...]

Competing on price destroys your ability to create and deliver the value that you promise. Excellence isn’t cheap, and it isn’t easy. Without the ability to capture the price you need to deliver your dream client’s desired outcomes, you fail to deliver and step onto the … [Read more...]