When I wrote Eat Their Lunch, my editor recommended I remove the words “strong bias” from one chapter heading. In his view, the words were too charged for our hyper-political climate in the United States. I took his recommendation and instead…

Since publishing Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away from Your Competition, I have more than a dozen times been asked if one can start at Level 1 (the value of your product or service alone) and grow into Level 4 (the value in strategic…

Fear has no place in sales. You are now being told that you must not use any form of cold outreach to engage your prospective client. To do so, say some, is to destroy your chances of developing relationships and making your intentions suspect.…

A lot of people say they want to be consultative, a peer, their client’s trusted advisor. There are, however, some behaviors that prevent one from being able to occupy that space. Here are a few of the things that cause you to retain your status…

You can’t be a trusted advisor and a consultative salesperson and also be a marshmallow. You can’t be your dream client’s peer and be fearful of them at the same time.

For all the talk about the stereotypical salesperson being a self-oriented…

There was a salesperson in my territory who I continually found myself competing with for new business. This salesperson was attractive, aggressive, and professional. Any prospect who met this salesperson was immediately blown away, impressed…

To be a trusted advisor, you need trust, and you need advice.

What Is Not Advice

Your product is not advice. Nor is your service. Nor are the solutions that you happen to sell. The features, benefits, and advantages of what you sell are not…

When you engage a new prospect for the very first time, you have to decide whether or not you are going to be a transactional salesperson or a consultative salesperson. Your dream client doesn’t know who you are, and they are going to do their…