Your very best targets, your dream clients, are almost always the most difficult to penetrate. They have deep relationships, they’re loyal, and your competitor didn’t win their business because they couldn’t create value. The status quo is…

Invest in relationships. That sounds like a good idea when you say it that way, doesn’t it.

Typically when sales people say that their company needs to invest in relationships they're intimating that their company should spend money serving a…

Your client has to be wrong. They believe that you made a commitment that you aren’t keeping. But you don’t remember making that commitment. In fact, you would have never made the commitment they now expect you to keep. Here’s how those…

Maybe you’re having trouble proving the return on your investment of time and energy in social selling. Let's see how social stacks up.

Your ROI on Activities

What is your return on investment for sending a thank you card to a prospect that took…

Note: This is not a political post. If your comments reveal your politics, I’ll most likely delete them. This post is about learning from what you see around you. The following statements are indisputable facts, not my political opinion.

The

The customs agent was losing his patience with the small, demure Asian woman standing in front of him, struggling to understand his command that she sign her custom form. He yelled, “I need your signature!” It was the fourth time he made his…

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.

The last thing you want to do is to

You are responsible for the salesperson you are providing your clients. When you hire, you can easily believe your are hiring for your company, but you’re really hiring for your clients and prospects.

The salesperson you put in front of your…

Fear is a powerful foe. It creates a dangerous form of complacency.

A fear of conflict prevents the kind of candid conversations that allow you to identify and overcome obstacles. You don't want to bring up the uncomfortable issues that might…

No one cares what year your company was founded.

No one cares about the map of all your locations.

No one cares about the clients you serve.

No one cares about the awards your company has won.

No one cares about what you believe makes you…