Archives 2017
December 2017
- 31: My 2017 Balance Sheet
- 30: The Single Thing You Must Do to Reach Your 2018 Goals
- 29: 2017 Observations and Trends
- 28: Why You Must Control the Process for Your Dream Client
- 27: The Needle Is Found in a Haystack
- 26: You Don’t Train a Dog Without Also Training the Owner
- 25: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 2018
- 24: Here Is How You Are Becoming a Commodity
- 23: If You Want Better Outputs, Focus on Improving Inputs
- 22: Measuring Objective Inputs and Subjective Outputs
- 21: Overcoming Toxic Culture Through Mastering Civility, with Christine Porath – Episode #99
- 21: Negative 10X in 2018
- 20: My Digital Age Journal
- 19: If You Are a Sales Leader, This Is What Should Be Keeping You Up at Night
- 18: The Opposite of What is Easy is Easy
- 17: There Is No Finish Line
- 16: I Know All These Things. I Just Don’t Do Them.
- 15: Too Much and Too Little Communication: An Observation and Recommendation
- 14: Perry Marshall on Mastering Marketing With The 80/20 Rule – Episode #98
- 14: The Two Factors That Count the Most Towards Organizational Sales Success
- 13: Donald Miller on Why Building a Storybrand Motivates Buying Decisions – Episode #97
- 13: Why You Can’t Negative Sell Against Your Competitor
- 12: Don’t Be an Order Taker
- 11: If You Asked Over Email, You Did Not Ask
- 10: Why It Matters That You Are Likable
- 09: How I Know Your Deal Is Going to Push
- 08: Eliminating Your Minimally Acceptable Personal Standards
- 07: Your Effort Exactly Matches Your Real Goals
- 06: Are You Deploying Your Resources Appropriately?
- 05: Stop Taking Advice on Sales
- 04: Opportunity Creation is Equal to Opportunity Capture
- 03: Five Things That Prevent You from Succeeding at Prospecting
- 02: Your People Do Not Make You Different
- 01: This Is How Your Prospect Knows You Are Going to Discount
November 2017
- 30: Selling is the New Sales
- 29: How to Fly Longer, Further, Faster
- 28: The Inefficient is Really Efficient
- 27: What I Am Writing Now
- 26: Stop Focusing on Your Competitor
- 25: Transparency Creates Trust
- 24: A Hedge Against Unavoidable Downside Risks
- 23: Through Some Miracle You Are Here
- 22: What the Perfect Sales Collateral Won’t Do
- 21: Are You Really Wasting Your Time?
- 20: Why You Struggle to Gain Commitments
- 19: Give Up Your Heroes and Become One Instead
- 18: How Not to Ask Like a Mooch
- 17: Call Them Right Back
- 16: A Note to Young Entrepreneurs
- 15: The Power of Your Beliefs and Disciplines
- 14: Your Real Brand > Your Personal Brand
- 13: If You Are Grateful
- 12: What Are You Willing to Leave Undone
- 12: How to Be Professionally Persistent
- 10: You Have to Sell
- 09: Compassion > Empathy
- 08: November 8th: 90 day anniversary of The Lost Art of Closing
- 07: Do Your Unpleasant Tasks First
- 06: How to Discover Your Intrinsic Motivation
- 05: What to Include In Your Sales Stack
- 04: Slipping Back Into What You’ve Always Done
- 03: Closed Door Productivity
- 02: Explore Ideas You Disagree With
- 01: Relationships Create an Unfair Advantage in Sales
October 2017
- 31: You Can Go An Hour Without Email
- 30: Why You Should Stop Using Break Up Letters
- 29: Why You Absolutely Must Read Books
- 28: The Only Time That Matters Is Right Now
- 27: Protect Yourself at All Times
- 26: The Start of My Second Life
- 25: What Is Right for One Salesperson
- 24: Why Dabblers Never Produce the Results They Want
- 23: Things That Are Perceived as Having Little Commercial Value
- 22: Stop Searching for the Perfect Way to Sell
- 21: The Deal was Closed A Long Time Ago
- 20: The Final Ask Is the Easiest Commitment to Gain. Or the Most Difficult.
- 19: Collapsing Sales Into Only What Is Objective
- 18: Technology Is No Substitute for Building Better Salespeople
- 17: Speaking Ill of Your Competitor
- 16: What Discovery Means Now
- 15: Never Need to Restart Your Pipeline
- 14: Product Training and Your Sales Kickoff
- 13: Reality Is Even More Persistent
- 12: The One Area Where It Really Pays to Be Different
- 11: When to Move Fast
- 10: Work Hard on What Is in Your Control
- 09: One Window Open
- 08: The Lost Art of Closing at 60 Days
- 07: Be Smart and Be Likable
- 06: The Evolution of Sales Is Not What You Think
- 05: Why Sales Results Aren’t Improving
- 04: You Don’t Have Time Not To . . .
- 03: Promise Me That You Will Not to Allow Yourself to Be Divided
- 02: Success Is Found in Older, Deeper Truths
- 01: You Gain Trust When You Deal With Difficult Issues
September 2017
- 30: A List of Things You Don’t Have Time For
- 29: Don’t Hate the Recipe
- 28: Is This a Good Time
- 27: Taking the Bait
- 26: All of Your Limits Are Self-Imposed
- 25: Selling Well Is About Making Effective Choices
- 24: Your Client Can Have Anything They Want
- 23: You Are Upset Because You Care
- 22: Sales and NLP
- 21: A Hedge When It Comes to Relationships
- 20: GPS and Losing Your Sense of Direction
- 19: The One Commitment You Need Most of All
- 18: A Compendium of Weak Thinking About Sales
- 17: The Pareto Principle for Sales
- 16: You Are Going to Need a Pencil Sharpener
- 15: Daniel McGinn on Performance Rituals, Emotional Preparation, and Sales Success – Episode #96
- 15: On Hiring a Salesperson
- 14: The Buyer’s Experience Buying From You
- 13: Get Better
- 12: Your Research is Mostly Call Reluctance
- 11: The Leadership Playbook: 4 Intelligences Necessary for Leadership
- 10: Why You Should Want to Pay Commissions
- 09: The Entropy of Accountability: A Short Story
- 08: Removing the Negativity
- 07: Deciding What You Want
- 06: Unless You Have a Time Machine
- 05: My Best Advice for Your Sales Kickoff
- 04: My Deep and Abiding Love of Work
- 03: A Note to the First Time Sales Manager
- 02: Digital Is Augmentation. Show Up.
- 01: The Right Tool Kits for Salespeople
- 01: James Muir on Closing the Sale – Episode #95
August 2017
- 31: Stop Giving Demos. Make Sales Calls Instead.
- 30: Why I Won’t Call You a Loser
- 29: Things That Are Limited and Unlimited
- 28: Unhealthy Beliefs That Destroy Sales
- 27: A List of Intangibles
- 26: Grinding > Whining
- 25: Why You Need Goals
- 25: Stoking Your Hunger to Win in the Sales Arena, with Patrick Tinney – Episode #94
- 24: Prospecting: What You Need to Know Now
- 23: Your Industry Is Not Immune to the Principles of Selling
- 22: How to Think About Rejection
- 21: Opportunity Creation Versus Opportunity Capture
- 20: You’ve Got Millennials All Wrong
- 19: Can You Change Your Mind?
- 18: The Leadership Playbook: What a Consultant Can’t Do For You
- 17: I Can Help You Get Your Salespeople to Read Books
- 16: The Leadership Playbook: Building People In Your Image
- 15: Nonlinearity and Your Forecast
- 14: The Leadership Playbook: But They Made President’s Club Last Year
- 13: Your Linear Sales Process Is Broken
- 12: Zig While They Zag
- 11: Hiring People Based on Their Deficiencies
- 11: Cort Dial on Why Real Leadership Comes From “All In” Leaders – Episode #93
- 10: Communicate Your Real Intentions Instead of Checking In
- 09: Expecting Too Much from a Prospecting Medium
- 08: The Keys to Damaging Relationships
- 07: You Are Not Defined By Your Problems. You Are Defined By Your Response.
- 06: Top Eight Activities for Salespeople on Monday Morning
- 05: How To Be More Productive Now
- 04: My Influences
- 04: Alan Alda on The Importance of Communication Skills That Truly Serve Relationships – Episode #92
- 03: Why You Cannot Succeed in Sales and Be Conflict Averse
- 02: One Thing You Should Never Give Up
- 01: Sales Call Etiquette (A checklist)
July 2017
- 31: Who Are the Real Influencers
- 30: Three Blocks of 90-Minutes Per Day to Maximize Your Productivity
- 29: Waiting for the Client to Decide What’s Next
- 28: You Aren’t That Bad, and It Isn’t Over
- 27: What It Means to Be a Competitive Displacement Business
- 26: 10 Things You Need to Do More Of
- 25: Why I Write Using a Plain Text Editor
- 24: In the World of the Blind, the One Eyed Man is King
- 23: The American Dream is Alive
- 23: You Need to Know How to Close and Control the Process
- 21: There Are No Shortcuts to Transformation
- 20: What’s Wrong with an Inbound Only Strategy
- 19: Do What You Believe Is Right
- 18: Sales is Now a Very Different Game
- 17: Senior Sales Reps Must Prospect
- 17: It Is Not Safer Behind the Glass
- 15: What Should You Do With Your Time
- 14: Your Problem Is Not Quality. It’s Quantity.
- 14: Phil M. Jones on Knowing Exactly What to Say in Your Sales Conversations – Episode #91
- 13: The Fear of What If
- 12: The Sky Is Falling!
- 11: Sales Is Not For Everyone
- 10: The War for Mindshare and Preference
- 09: Augmentation or Automation
- 08: 301 Days Between Books
- 07: Why You Must Challenge Negative Beliefs in Public
- 06: Taking Money out of the Solution
- 05: A Step to the Right and Execute
- 04: What Holds Us Together
- 03: What Has Technology Wrought
- 02: Giving Up More Than You Believe You Are Giving Up
- 01: The Rise and Fall of the Account Manager
June 2017
- 30: The Truth About the 57 Percent
- 29: What I See Right Now
- 28: You Have Not Yet Booked the Revenue
- 27: If I Had to Start Creating Content Now
- 26: When Did Prospecting Become Optional
- 25: Challenging Without Being Challenging
- 24: On the Limits of Technology
- 23: The Limits of Your Growth
- 22: The Fallacy of Cost Savings
- 21: Don’t Get Cute
- 20: 26 Ways to Create a Preference for You and Your Solution
- 19: You Have to Pay for Your Competitive Advantage
- 18: Target, Pursuit, Nurture, Measure
- 17: Why Technology Comes Last
- 16: Proactive Opportunity Creation and Reactive Opportunities
- 16: Nigel Green on Listening Skills for Salespeople – Episode #90
- 15: The Business Acumen Gap
- 15: Applying a New Daily Productivity Formula, with Allen Brouwer – Episode #89
- 15: Team Selling, Group Performance Dynamics, and the Power of Tightly Knit Sales Teams, with Michael Dalis – Episode #88
- 14: Your Name Is On It
- 13: Why Change and Why We Need to Change
- 12: Your Operations Team Is Not Prospecting For You
- 11: All Deals Are Not Created Equal
- 10: Deciding to Say No In Advance
- 09: You Need Enough Matches to Create Enough Fire
- 08: The One Thing You Should Learn from Jack Welch
- 07: The Problem with Managing Only Activity
- 06: If You Are a Farmer
- 05: How Are You Going to Lose
- 04: Fast Rapport Skills
- 03: How To Deal With People That Annoy You
- 02: Big Companies Do Not Have It Better
- 01: The Death of the Death Of
May 2017
- 31: The Leadership Playbook: Leaders Must Make Hard Decisions
- 30: Eliminating the Sources of Negativity
- 29: Resetting the Relationship When You Are Not Glorified Support
- 27: The Hustler’s Playbook: Stop Being Passive and Stop Settling
- 26: How To Sell Something New
- 25: Will You Be Disintermediated
- 24: A List of Things Artificial Intelligence Will Not Replace
- 23: How to Get More Referrals
- 22: How I Decide Who To Interview for Sales Roles
- 21: Are Buyers Really Better Educated?
- 20: Nothing Works All of the Time
- 19: Why You Must Plan Your Sales Calls
- 19: Claire Diaz-Ortiz on The Mentoring Process And The Power of Mentoring – Episode #87
- 19: Math Doesn’t Care
- 17: Discipline Never Ends
- 16: It Cannot Be All About You
- 15: A Drag on Your Success
- 14: Why C-Level Executives Should Take More Meetings With Salespeople
- 13: Understanding Why Your Price Is Higher Than Your Competitors
- 12: Opportunity Creation and Opportunity Capture
- 11: Spending Time in the Woodshed
- 10: 199 Bad Sales Calls and 1 Good One
- 09: Change Your Decisions, Change Your Trajectory
- 08: For All You Know
- 07: The Leadership Playbook: Allowing Your Sales Force to Change Your Strategy
- 06: The Hustler’s Playbook: Stand Your Ground, Come What May
- 05: Your Salespeople Are Shrewd Negotiators
- 05: Signing the Front or the Back of a Paycheck
- 05: How Leaders Can Overcome The Leadership Gap, with Lolly Daskal – Episode #86
- 03: Marketing Needs to Focus on Opportunity Creation, Not Leads
- 02: Speed to Results Matter. Change Now.
- 01: The Leadership Playbook: What A Leader Does
April 2017
- 30: Deciding What Your Story Means
- 29: The Demise of Cold Calling: A Rebuttal
- 28: Your Quota and Your Real Goals
- 27: New YouTube Format Q and AI
- 26: Is Your “Why” Helping Your Clients
- 26: Laziness Repels Success
- 24: Bragging Rights
- 23: Do You Deserve Your Client’s Loyalty?
- 22: Email Is A Series of Commitments Made For You
- 21: The Clock Is Working Against You
- 20: How to Be a Yes Woman (or Man)
- 19: Play the Game Anyway
- 18: Do the Work You Are Capable Of
- 17: Arguing Is Alienating
- 16: Why I Won’t Participate In Anti-Phone Content
- 15: The Ways Adversity Can Hurt You
- 14: Irrational Competitors and Irrational Buyers
- 14: Why Do My Salespeople Turnover?
- 12: Algorithms, Rules, Values, and Artificial Moral Intelligence
- 11: The Relaunch of The Only Sales Guide at 6 Months
- 10: A List of Negativity Tells
- 09: Don’t Wait. Create Opportunities.
- 08: The Only Thing That Improves Sales Results
- 07: Abraham Lincoln and the First Four Hours Sharpening Your Axe
- 07: Artificial Intelligence in Sales – The Sales 3.0 Revolution, with Gerhard Gschwandtner – Episode #85
- 06: You Want a Conversation
- 05: The Digital Transformation, Creators, and Consumers
- 04: Your Metrics Are Your Own
- 03: 10 Half Truths About Sales
- 02: On Those Who Say You Can No Longer Succeed in Sales
- 01: Working Harder Won’t Kill You
March 2017
- 31: Aggregate Tasks and Build Momentum
- 30: The New Sales Roles Are Taylorism Taken Too Far
- 29: Markets Torn Asunder
- 28: Are You Motivated by Comfort?
- 27: An Excellent Command of the Art of Sales
- 26: 1,000 Decisions, Well or Poorly Made
- 25: The Hustler’s Playbook: Education Over Entertainment
- 24: A Lead Is a Lottery Ticket
- 23: Things I Admire In a Sales Force
- 22: Don’t Be a Red Shirt
- 21: You, Advisor.
- 20: Pitchy No Value Prospecting
- 19: Dealing with Your Irrational Competitor
- 18: The Hustler’s Playbook: Whatever It Takes
- 17: A Note About My Parents
- 17: The Sales Mindset Of A Top Salesperson, with Lee Bartlett – Episode #84
- 16: Impeccable With What You Do Control
- 16: How To Become A Trusted Sales Advisor & The New Sales Imperative, with Nick Toman and Brent Adamson – Episode #83
- 15: It’s Not a Secret. It’s Just Something You Won’t Do.
- 14: So Good It Sells Itself
- 13: Stop Complaining That You Have Clients
- 12: If You Want Consensus, You Need Perspectives
- 11: You Don’t Sell Over Email
- 10: Selling Better: A Thought Experiment
- 09: Make Better Decisions About Where You Spend Time
- 08: Why Johnny Can’t Sell
- 07: The Care and Feeding of Strategic Clients
- 07: Only Action Moves You Forward
- 05: OutBound Conference – Atlanta 2017
- 04: The Hustler’s Playbook: How to Buy Your Success
- 03: Who and What You Need to Understand to Build Consensus
- 03: Jeff Shore on Deeper Meaning in Life and Business – Episode #82
- 02: Hard Work Beats Lazy Talent
- 01: What If You Bought In
February 2017
- 28: If You Are Going to Lose, Throw the Hail Mary Pass
- 27: The Sales Improvement Catwalk and Its Supermodels
- 26: Be Flexible In Your Approach to Selling
- 25: The Willie Sutton Strategy
- 24: How Your Dream Client Perceives You
- 24: Mark Schaefer on Becoming Known Instead of Becoming Famous – Episode #81
- 23: Categories and Tags in Your CRM
- 22: They Say Imperative. I Agree.
- 21: The Eisenhower Matrix for Sales
- 20: Their Grass Is Not Greener
- 19: Sell Like a Human
- 18: The Hustler’s Playbook: Success Is Not a Happy Accident
- 17: On Refusing to Take In New Information
- 16: The Leadership Playbook: Focus on the Problem, Not the Person
- 15: Why You Have a Time Management Problem
- 14: If You Are Waiting for Your Prospect to Get Back with You
- 13: Why Would Your Dream Client Think of You Now?
- 12: Start Un-Investing
- 11: What Your Rejected Email Really Means
- 10: True But Partial
- 10: Subir Chowdhury: Make the Difference You Are Meant To Make – Episode #80
- 09: Turning Over Rocks
- 08: Deposits Before Withdrawals
- 07: How I Process Email Twice a Week
- 06: The Best Part of Selling
- 05: Will Yourself To Do the Work
- 04: The Theorist and the Practitioner
- 03: Five Ideas You Need to Succeed in Sales Now
- 02: What’s New or What’s Right?
- 01: Things You Do Not Have Time Not to Do
January 2017
- 31: What You Hear and What Isn’t Being Said
- 30: The Triumphant Return of Cold Calling
- 29: How to Work Like You Are Running Out of Time
- 28: The Hustler’s Playbook: The Little Things Are the Big Things
- 27: Match Your Actions to Your Outcomes
- 26: 10 Qualities That I Admire In Others
- 25: The Leadership Playbook: Macro-Management and Micro-Management
- 25: In the End, There Is No Better Strategy
- 24: How to Create a Preference for You and Your Solution
- 22: What Mostly Prevents Better Sales Results
- 21: The Hustler’s Playbook: You Are Ready To Start Now
- 20: Tomorrow Starts Today
- 19: Who You Are Matters More Than What You Do
- 18: Reduce the Commitment Level
- 17: You Get to Play. You Don’t Get to Automatically Win.
- 16: Things That Level the Playing Field in a Competition
- 15: The Hustler’s Playbook: How to Be Motivated
- 14: Caring is a Super Power
- 13: Activating Your Ever Present Abilities
- 13: Hector LaMarque On Building The Leadership Skills That Bring Success – Episode #79
- 12: Why I Started a YouTube Channel
- 12: How You Create the Need to Follow Up
- 10: 1 Comes Before 2
- 09: Increasing Your Capacity For Hard Work
- 08: Who Helped Me Most in 2016
- 07: Two Exceptional Traits of Great Salespeople
- 06: Your Goals and Your Effort
- 05: 3 Reasons You Are Not Producing the Results You Want
- 04: This Is an Invitation
- 03: 52 Monday Mornings
- 02: Focus Is the New Currency of Success
- 01: My Three Words for 2017
