Archives 2012
December 2012
- 31: Wiping the Slate Clean
- 30: Some Thoughts on Negotiation (and Fiscal Cliffs)
- 29: 3 Ways B2B is Different from B2C
- 28: The Value Creator’s Code
- 27: Get Out From Behind Your Desk
- 26: Embrace Negative Feedback as a Learning Opportunity
- 25: Merry Christmas, 2012
- 24: Holiday Gratitude
- 23: How to Pick Up Your Dream Client
- 22: A Passionate Plea for More Love and More Hope
- 21: Were Your Winners Really Winners?
- 20: An Open Letter to Executive Management on Next Year’s Change
- 19: A Year End Trigger List for Salespeople
- 18: But, You Are Infected
- 17: Escape from the Past Before You Step Into the New Year
- 16: My Predictions for Sales in 2013
- 15: I’m Worried About You
- 14: Being Responsive Versus Being Reactive
- 13: How to Use Your Limited Bandwidth to Get Results
- 12: If You Didn’t Return to Work Tomorrow (For Sales Managers)
- 11: A List of Concerns Your Dream Clients Need You to Resolve
- 10: How in the Hell Do I Find the Decision Maker?
- 09: How You Made Your Client Buy on Price Alone
- 08: What You Can Learn From the Super Compressed Sales Cycle
- 07: Set Down Your Push Broom
- 06: If You Didn’t Return to Work Tomorrow
- 05: I Have My Own Style
- 04: Let Your Dream Client Teach You to Pitch Them
- 03: Your Most Brutal Teacher
- 02: On Your Competitors and Pricing
- 01: Want Success? Work Harder.
November 2012
- 30: Shortcuts, Secrets, Tricks, Magic Bullets, and Shiny Objects
- 29: The Truth About Why You’re Desperate
- 28: Four Powerful Beliefs You Must Hold to Succeed In Sales
- 27: Authority to Say No Isn’t Authority to Say Yes
- 26: How To Own It
- 25: A High Powered Application of Caring
- 24: Stop Hiding From Your Fears
- 23: Sharpen Your Value Creation or Sharpen Your Pencil
- 22: Be Grateful
- 21: Swing For the Fences (and Hit Some Singles and Doubles)
- 20: Judgment Day Is Upon You
- 19: The One Way to Scale Things That Don’t Easily Scale
- 18: The Difference in Time Management and Me Management
- 17: It’s Too Little Too Late
- 16: How to Build a Great Salesperson From Scratch
- 15: You Versus the Status Quo
- 14: What We Are Teaching (A Note to the Sales Leader)
- 13: But What I Really Want to Know Is, Are You Experienced?
- 12: Pay More Taxes
- 11: The Power of Invisible Forces
- 10: Start Investing in People
- 09: The Difference Between Dreams and Daydreams
- 08: If You Turn On PowerPoint, I’m Throwing You Out!
- 08: Your Biggest Sales Mistake, Mother Hen
- 06: Fast Is Slow, Slow is Fast
- 05: Your Personal Election and Your Personal Economy
- 04: The Freedom to Fail
- 03: What Have You Learned Lately?
- 02: Stop Stealing Your Future Results
- 01: How To Make It Easy to Say Yes
October 2012
- 31: On Not Creating Dependents (A Note to the Sales Leader)
- 30: Give Yourself Over to the Work
- 29: Your Clients Already Know You’re a Salesperson
- 28: Consistent Effort is the Key to Better Sales Results
- 27: On Being Young and In Sales
- 26: Taking Control of the Sales Process
- 25: What You Want from Your Leader, Mentor, or Coach
- 24: On Investing in Relationships
- 23: How to Resign from Your Sales Job
- 22: What Stories Are Your Numbers Telling You?
- 21: How to Help Remote Salespeople Sell Better
- 20: You Are a Victim (Of Your Own Beliefs)
- 19: Twelve Keys to Success
- 18: Care More Than They Do
- 17: Choosing Your Preferred Method of Being Rejected
- 16: What If Things Go Right?
- 15: Here There Be Dragons!
- 14: How to Avoid Having Your Beliefs Become Dogma
- 13: On Spending and Cutting Spending
- 12: People, Ideas, and Technology. In That Order.
- 11: This Year’s Fashion is Last Year’s Flavor
- 10: A False Sense of Security in Your Pipeline
- 09: How to Clean Your Pipeline
- 08: C Level Sales Reps in an A Level Market (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 07: What Are Your Communication Preferences?
- 06: Buying Time for Your New Initiative (A Note to the Sales Leader)
- 05: Forty-Five at Forty-Five
- 04: Three Lessons for Salespeople from Last Night’s Presidential Debate
- 03: Feed Your Hunters the New Leads (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 02: How to Better Solve Problems
- 01: Know Your Customers
September 2012
- 30: What Success Is Not
- 29: How to Help Your Dream Client Justify Their Choice
- 28: If You Love Your Team, Protect Them From Nightmares
- 27: Your Client Didn’t Abandon You. You Abandoned Them.
- 26: Influencing Rational Buying Decisions
- 25: Buyers Make Emotional Decisions and Justify Them Later
- 24: Guerrilla Sales Development
- 23: Avoiding Flavor of the Month Syndrome (A Note to the Sales Leader)
- 22: The Quality of Your Results Is a Reflection of Your Hiring
- 21: Assigning Meeting Homework (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 20: Go To Work
- 19: Are You Something More Than a Vendor?
- 18: Why You Must Plan Your Sales Calls
- 17: Becoming the Best Ever Version of Yourself
- 16: How to Do Your Best Work
- 15: The Biggest Reasons Your Big Idea Failed
- 14: The Difference Between a Sales Process and a Methodology
- 13: Coach Your Salespeople to Be Their Best (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 12: What To Do When You Don’t Have Situational Knowledge
- 11: Exploiting the Partnership Gap
- 10: You and Your Stupid Politics
- 09: There Are Exceptions to Every Rule
- 08: How to Manage Your Client’s Expectations
- 07: If You Believe You Already Know Everything
- 06: What Questions Should Your Clients Be Asking
- 05: The Path
- 04: Don’t Make Selling More Difficult Than It Has to Be
- 03: The Case for Improving Your Personal Psychology
- 02: A 12 Step Program for Saying No
- 01: Don’t Negotiate Until You Have Been Selected
August 2012
- 31: What I Have Learned by Writing One Million Words
- 30: On Playing Favorites
- 29: You Are Hiring for Your Clients
- 28: Big Enough
- 27: What’s Wrong With a Sales Blitz?
- 26: The Key to Time Management: Stop Wasting It
- 25: Why Lance Armstrong Must Retain His Tour de France Wins
- 24: How You Really Lost On Price
- 23: Cover Their Six (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 22: Negotiate Once
- 21: Who’s the Hero in the Story You Tell?
- 20: The Coming Flight to Relationships
- 19: Five Areas Where Self-Discipline Makes the Difference for Salespeople
- 18: Your Pivot Point and Your Breakthrough
- 17: Make Your Beliefs Your Own
- 16: You Are Good Enough Now, and You Could Use Some Improving
- 15: Reiterate the Value You Create and Push Back
- 14: Six Ways to Get In
- 13: How to Upgrade the Operating System That Runs Your Brain
- 12: Stop Prioritizing Other People’s Problems
- 11: Be Unreasonable
- 10: Don’t Forecast Your Prospect’s Opportunities
- 09: Three Disciplines of Sales Management (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 08: Don’t Quit Before You Reach the Tipping Point
- 07: How Bad Do You Want It?
- 06: How to Choose Targets That Are Not Price Driven
- 05: The Real Reason Your Buyer is Deep Into the Buying Process
- 04: Start Investing In Brand You
- 03: Four Advantages Relationships Provide In Winning Deals
- 02: On Unnecessarily Poor Language Choices
- 01: Asking Your Clients to Pay Up
July 2012
- 31: Opportunity Lifespans Are Measured in Dog Years
- 30: Return On Time Invested
- 29: Sell Better Now by Focusing on the Fundamentals
- 28: There Is No Substitute for Caring
- 27: The End of Relationship Selling
- 26: A Recipe for Success
- 26: How to Massively Reduce the Number of Slides in Your Deck
- 24: Sales Growth: An Interview with McKinsey’s Jon Vander Ark
- 23: But My Business Is Different Redux
- 22: Avoid Shiny New Object Syndrome
- 21: On Self-Inflicted Wounds
- 20: Make Room for Your Highest Value Activities
- 19: You Didn’t Build That
- 18: Why Your Sales Manager Wants You to Make More Calls
- 17: Happy Ears
- 16: On Shaping the Battlefield
- 15: How to Execute a Turnaround
- 14: Absence Makes the Heart Go Wander
- 13: What To Do When Your Clients Waste Your Time
- 12: Your Need for Revenue Doesn’t Trump the Buying Cycle
- 11: Be Yourself on a Sales Call
- 10: Selling Is More Difficult Than Ever (But You Can Do It)
- 09: You Are First and Foremost a Sales Organization
- 08: How Long Before You Too Disappear
- 07: When Should You Make Your Calls?
- 06: Approaching Approach Avoidance
- 05: The Case for Leaving Voice Mails
- 04: Declare Your Independence
- 03: Why Do You Need New Clients, Really?
- 02: On Warriors and Worriers
- 01: Sales Call Value Propositions Weak and Strong
June 2012
- 30: Start Paying the Price for What You Want
- 29: How to Deal with Sales Advice from Civilians
- 28: How to Handle This Political Season at Work
- 27: A Value Proposition for Your Sales Call
- 26: An Open Letter to Those Who Make Check In Calls
- 25: No Experience Required
- 24: What Are You Waiting For?
- 23: Give Your Clients Something to Talk About
- 22: Asking for the Commitments You Earned
- 21: A Fish Rots From the Head Down (A Note to the Sales Leader)
- 20: Five Steps for Dealing with the Adversarial
- 19: How to Hack Your Brain to Produce Better Results
- 18: Playing a Different Game
- 17: Without a Defined Outcome for Your Sales Call, You Can’t Fail Or Succeed
- 16: Measuring Outcomes Instead of Activity (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 15: Your Dream Client Wants You to Know Them
- 14: You Are Too Sensitive To Your Own Pricing
- 13: That Is Your Job
- 12: Why You Aren’t Getting Fast Results
- 11: How to Exercise Your Greatest Human Attribute: Resourcefulness
- 10: What Would Your Client’s World Look Like Without You?
- 09: A Very Short Treatise on Failing
- 08: What Are You Willing to Change to be the Best Version of Yourself?
- 07: Getting In Ain’t What It Used to Be
- 06: How to Increase Your Sales By Increasing Your Customer-Facing Time
- 05: Avoiding Systemically High Resistance to Buy
- 04: My Business Is Different
- 03: How to Unitask (instead of multitasking and producing poor results)
- 02: A Short Manifesto on Disconnecting
- 01: How to Rehearse for Important Conversations
May 2012
- 31: You Are Capable of So Much More
- 30: To Hell with Your Good Intentions. Instead, Action!
- 29: Why You Can’t Allow Marketing to Nurture Your Dream Clients (Alone)
- 28: Remember.
- 27: How to Deal with a Negative Co-Worker
- 26: A Simple Framework for Thinking About Simple Deals
- 25: The First Law of Sales
- 24: Choosing the Right Medium for the Message
- 23: The Real 1% Holding You Back
- 22: No Apologies (If You Are a Value Creator)
- 21: The Risks In Selling Your Client Something Less Than They Need
- 20: Powered by People
- 19: Proximity to Power Is Power
- 18: You Are the Wedge
- 17: Driving the Wedge Between Your Dream Client and Your Competitor
- 16: Knowing What Not To Do (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 15: Learn the Five Rules for Social Selling
- 14: How Has This Blog Helped You?
- 13: I’m Negative Because My Team Is Failing! Now What?
- 12: How to Fix Your Company Without Being a Negative Complainer
- 11: The Real Reason You Are Negative
- 10: Winning Small
- 09: Why Should Your Dream Client Choose You in Particular?
- 08: What I Have Against the New Buying Process
- 07: How to Compete on Values
- 06: You Can’t Cram to Make Your Number. Do the Work Now.
- 05: What Makes Territories Unfair
- 04: How Much Value You Create Determines Much Money You Make
- 04: How Much Would You Pay for That Client? (A Note to the Entrepreneur)
- 02: It’s a Lead, Not an Opportunity
- 01: Mismatched Sales Skills and Value Creation
April 2012
- 30: To Be a Strategic Advantage for Your Clients, You Have to Think
- 29: Your Return on Time Invested
- 28: The Inner Circle Mastermind Group
- 27: Do the Lonely Work
- 26: You Are Not a Secret Agent
- 25: If There Were a Draft for Salespeople, In Which Round Would You Be Taken?
- 24: How to Join Your Dream Client’s Tribe
- 23: Can I Turn My Employee Into Something More?
- 22: We Will Provide You With More Leads Than You Can Handle
- 21: Self-Discipline In Action
- 20: Protect Your Dreams from Those Who Would Crush Them
- 19: How to Be Valuable on a Sales Call When You Are the Sales Manager
- 18: When It’s Okay to Lose an Employee
- 17: Before You Decide to Quit Your Job
- 16: How to Keep Your Client from Underinvesting
- 15: How to Ask for the Deal
- 14: Companies Don’t Make Decisions. People Make Decisions.
- 13: How to Make the Most of a Conference or Trade Show
- 12: How You Can Be More of a Hunter in Sales
- 11: The Untenable Strategy That Is the Must Win Deal
- 10: Your Permission Slip
- 09: How Your Online Surrogate Should Sell
- 08: How to Think About Ideas
- 07: Why Price Is Your Problem
- 06: Getting Value Creation In the Right Order
- 05: How to Get the Most from Toastmasters
- 04: Leadership Requires a Sense of Optimism
- 03: The Power of Nine Minutes
- 02: Are You Avoiding the Wrong Pain?
- 01: It’s Not the Tools That Make the Salesperson
March 2012
- 31: If Everyone Owns the Task, No One Owns the Task
- 30: The Advantage of a Hunter Culture
- 29: How You Are Causing Your Own Urgent Problems
- 28: You Can’t Change People (On Tigers and Stripes)
- 27: Me Management: You Have the Same Time as Everyone Else
- 26: Fight It Out, Then March
- 25: On the Value of Taking Shortcuts
- 24: Take It Easy (And Other Bad Ideas)
- 23: A Little Pain Now Or a Lot of Pain Later (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 22: Overboard: Dealing with Those Who Refuse to Pull the Oars
- 21: Start Sharing Your Ideas with Your Clients
- 20: You Are the Unique Value Proposition
- 19: You Don’t Always Have to Offer Improvement (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 18: Improve Your Attitude with a Negativity Fast
- 17: Some Parting Thoughts on Goldman Sachs
- 16: On the Morality of Value Creating and Value Claiming (and Goldman Sachs)
- 16: It’s All Part of the Dance
- 14: Picking Up Your End of the Stick
- 13: Twelve Truths About Success
- 12: The Two Sales Activities That Must Dominate Your Time
- 11: Wait! Before You Respond to That RFP!
- 10: The Difference in Management and Leadership (A Note to the Sales Leader)
- 09: What Meaning Are You Attaching to Cold Calling?
- 08: The Most Difficult Part of Prospecting
- 07: Are You Better Off than You Were Four Years Ago?
- 06: The Reason People Hate Politicians (and how not to make the same mistakes)
- 05: Your Pre-Sales Call Ritual
- 04: How Do You Know It’s Time to Fire a Salesperson?
- 03: Think You Present Well? Let’s Go to the Video.
- 02: The Most Dangerous Words You Can Say to Yourself
- 01: Friendly with a Motive
February 2012
- 29: What You Must Capture in Your Sales Force Automation
- 28: The Status Quo: The Most Dangerous Threat to Your Deal
- 27: How to Manage Stuck Deals
- 26: Are You Carrying the Virus that Kills Opportunities?
- 25: Dispatching Zombie Opportunities
- 24: Shoot the Donkey (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 23: You Have No Control. At Best, You Have Influence (A Note to Sales Leaders)
- 22: Death of a Salesman (Revisited). An Interview with Mike Sabin of D&B
- 21: You Don’t Need More Information. More Action.
- 20: Are You Investing Enough in Yourself?
- 19: The False Dichotomy of Caring or Salesmanship
- 18: The Three Stakeholder Groups Your Sales Process Serves
- 17: Prerequisites to Provocation
- 16: The New Consultative Salesperson
- 15: How Much Prospecting Is Enough?
- 14: Building Your Internal Professional Services Firm
- 13: Candor: You Can Handle the Truth
- 12: The Bannister Effect
- 11: It’s Never Good Enough
- 10: A Note to the Sales Manager: Different Questions, Different Results
- 09: Business Models Matter!
- 08: On Throwing Punches
- 07: Don’t Let Your Client Decide On Their Own
- 06: What You Can Learn About Sales from the Super Bowl
- 05: On Winning and Talent
- 04: How to Keep the Beginner’s Mind
- 03: The Differences in Managing and Sales Coaching
- 02: The Differences in Sales Coaching and Sales Training
- 01: How to Get Revenge on Haters
January 2012
- 31: Your Clients Don’t Want to Retrain You
- 30: Selling to Prospects Loyal to Your Competitor
- 29: The Client Loyalty Continuum
- 28: Balancing Your Buyer’s Two Fundamental Needs
- 27: What If You Were Great at Cold Calling?
- 26: Why You Have Low Wallet Share and What To Do About It
- 25: Owning the Outcome Means No Hiding
- 24: How to Defend Your Price
- 23: Making Do With What You Do Have
- 22: How to Deal with Haters
- 21: Build a Sales Kit for Your Car
- 20: Managing Your Client Conversation Logs
- 19: Confidence in Cold Calling
- 18: Too Clever by Half: The Case for Fundamentals.
- 17: Why You Need to Establish a Meeting Rhythm (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 16: It’s Not Enough to Manage. Notch Them Up! (A Note to the Sales Manager)
- 15: How to Avoid Being Irrelevant with Irrelevance Avoidance Training
- 14: On Gaps or the Lack Thereof
- 13: Sacred Time
- 12: When Do You Blow Up a Relationship?
- 11: You Are the Sharp End of the Spear
- 10: Business Acumen is the New Sales Acumen
- 09: How to Talk with Your Team About Execution
- 08: Fear Complacency. Your Clients Do.
- 07: You Are the Leader. Blaming Your Company Makes You Less.
- 06: Are You the Vice President of We Can’t?
- 05: A Leader’s Most Important To-Do List
- 04: Your Dream Clients Have Their Own Caucuses
- 03: What We Owe Each Other
- 02: Why You Need a Sincere Belief in Your Company
- 01: To Be Really Effective, Pick Three Tasks Per Day
