It seems to be human nature that we don’t want to think about what could go wrong. Particularly in sales, we are continually optimistic, we want to be positive, particularly with our customers. So why would we ever want to talk about what could go wrong? Particularly when we are in the middle of the […]
Dave Brock
Are You the Salesperson Creating Value for Your Customer?
I was talking to a team of sales people about engaging their customers with insight and getting them to think about their businesses in different ways. They happened to sell supply chain management software. The software, like most other supply chain software solutions enabled their customers to better understand and manage inventory, orders, quality, scheduling […]
Cold Calling Never Went Out of Style
Recently, someone made a comment saying, “It’s interesting to see cold calling coming back into style…” The comment startled me, and I can see where the speaker was coming from, but I couldn’t have disagreed more. The reality is cold calling has never gone out of style. As you look at the performance of consistent […]
High Performers Spend Their Time Differently
Before reading this post, think about the following quote from Abraham Lincoln: If I have 6 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first 4 hours sharpening the axe. I’ve had the great privilege of coaching/advising one of the highest performance sales teams I’ve ever worked with. They are led by a great […]
You’re Not Ready for That Call!
Somehow, it seems that a post on preparing for sales calls/meetings would be totally unnecessary. One would hope all sales professionals would have a plan for every call, if only to manage their own time very well. When I talk to sales people about the importance of sales call/meeting planning, the responses tend to fall […]
Great Selling is Like Great Music
Over the weekend, my wife and I had the opportunity to go to a couple of concerts. One was with a great symphony orchestra, the other was with a college freshman orchestra. Both were playing classics, but the difference in the experience was profound. (By the way, both were far more capable than I, I […]
When “A Players” Fail
I’ve been participating in a great discussion on the importance of talent. It’s an area that doesn’t get the attention needed and is critical to organizational performance. Too few managers pay the right attention to talent, both recruiting, onboarding, developing, and retaining the right people. As a result, the costs of this inattention to talent […]
The New World of Co-Opetition
The relationships we establish, in business, are very complex and constantly changing. We have relationships with colleagues. At some point, we or colleagues may choose to go work someplace else—even our competition. We don’t, at least I haven’t, stopped those relationships. Most of the time, there is intense competition—I want to beat them, just as […]
Sales: Science or Art?
Recently, I read an article about sales being more science than art. Perhaps I was a little unfair in my comments, but the author’s premises were flawed. I think we want to see sales being more like science because of what we perceive as the predictability and certainty that seems to exist in science. We […]
Great Selling is Habit Forming
I’m sure you’ve experienced something that gives you a “rush.” It’s when, all of a sudden, everything just falls into place, everything is working as it should, it seems effortless. Sometimes we experience it in sports. For example, when I’m riding, I get it a groove, I’m in a paceline, my pedal stroke is perfect, […]
