Deal review after deal review, I see the same thing. Sales people don’t seem to be managing the process, they are responding to what the customer is doing (or not doing). This is particularly frightening, when one recognizes customers don’t know how to buy, they wander through the buying process, going back and forth, starting […]
Dave Brock
“I’m Selling As Hard As I Can, Why Aren’t You Buying?”
The universal lament of sales people is, “Why aren’t my customers buying? I’m busting my ass selling to them?” We make dozens of prospecting calls, send hundreds of emails. We find customers with some level of interest, then do everything we can to convince the customers to buy our products. We train ourselves about our […]
Worst Question to Ask a Customer: How Can I Help?
One of my sources for blog topics is my friend, Brent Adamson. The other evening, Brent and I were trying to solve the problems of the sales world. I actually think he was trying to escape the “shelter in place” lifestyle we have adopted. One of his daughters was downstairs exercising, the rest of the […]
Doing What Works in Troubled Times
Everyone is struggling to understand what they should be doing in these very difficult times. We are struggling to understand what works, whether it’s how we lead our people, how we work on a daily basis, how we engage our customers, how we move forward. The crisis has created a heightened sense of urgency around […]
Should We Be Selling During the COVID-19 Crisis?
The COVID 19 and related issues have brought about a plethora of “Should We Be Selling” articles. I’ve made my position clear in previous posts. But I saw a headline that caught my attention. Should we be selling? The answer is simply, “no”. We should be humanizing. I was struck by this, not for what […]
Process is the Foundation for Agility/Nimbleness
We want to be flexible, nimble, able to adapt to the circumstances, leap on an opportunity, respond quickly. We abhor process since that constrains our creativity and ability to innovate. Too often, when I talk to leaders and sales people about process, they cite some of the things outlined above as the reason they don’t […]
Confusing Simplification with Simplistic
Both we, our customers, our markets, our worlds are getting more and more complex. We face rapid change/disruption, overwhelm/overload, risk/uncertainty, turmoil, constantly shifting focus/priorities/agendas. In the face of this, we struggle to respond, whether it’s to fix performance problems, address new opportunities, grow and expand. As leaders and business professionals, we must constantly seek to […]
How Does Your Customer Make Money?
Can you answer the question, “How does you customer make money?” By that, I don’t mean at a superficial level, like, “Well, dugghh, Dave, they sell stuff……” I mean really understanding your customer’s business. It includes things like: Who are their customers/markets? What drives success with them? How are those markets growing? How does your […]
The Art of the Bluff
I was stunned and appalled to read an article sponsored by a major sales publication promoting the “Art of the bluff.” The author was cautious to highlight the negative connotations around bluffing—the feeling of manipulation, the proximity to lying, and the knife edge a “bluffer’ must walk to avoid lying. Trying as hard as I […]
Initiative Overload
Individually and organizationally, we are obsessed with getting things done. It’s important, it’s how we learn, grow, and achieve. Too often, however, this obsession is dysfunctional. We overload ourselves and our organizations with too many things—too many “strategic initiatives,” too many meetings, too many “top priorities,” too much activity. Too often, in our quest to […]
