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 […]
Value
Selling Your Business? Consider These Important Things First
Selling your business is more than just making sure the offices are clean or that your website is working and user-friendly… there are a lot of considerations to take into account. You might need to hire a broker, accountant, and even an attorney as you go through the process of selling. One of the first […]
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 […]
What Problem is Your Customer Really Trying to Solve?
The majority of sales people, unfortunately are just peddlers—walking, talking brochures. Needless to say, customers are finding digital sources of information much more useful than talking to those sales people. The data consistently shows customers limit contact with these types of sales people to the very end of the buying process. Some few sales people […]
How to Increase the Value of Your Business Before a Sale
Countless entrepreneurs have worked tirelessly for years in order to turn their commercial dreams into a reality. Now that you’ve finally climbed to the top of the marketplace and enjoy your status as a profitable business, however, you may be itching to move on to new and greener pastures. For many entrepreneurs, selling their successful […]
5 Ways to Make Your Company Stand Out
There must be at least several companies out there right now positioning to compete with you. If you’re large enough, you may be the target, and if smaller, you are the minnow not the shark—and need to be agile and creative. The five strategies: Picking one to emphasize So, how do you position yourself to […]
Selling IS a Service
It seems the world is migrating to an “As A Service” model. Every day one hears a new (sometimes not so new) XaaS approach. The model, at least as a subscription payment approach, is not new. We’ve had various subscription, rent, lease capabilities for at least decades, if not centuries. The application of this model […]
Are You Selling Your Experience or Your Value?
Too often, we confuse our experience with creating value. While they are linked, they are distinctly different. Our experience focuses on us–perhaps reference customers that we have worked with in the past. “We’ve worked with Google, Microsoft, Siemens, General Motors…” These are supposed to demonstrate our customer base, implying we’ve done great things with them, […]
Are You Selling Your Experience or Your Value?
Too often, we confuse our experience with creating value. While they are linked, they are distinctly different. Our experience focuses on us–perhaps reference customers that we have worked with in the past. “We’ve worked with Google, Microsoft, Siemens, General Motors…” These are supposed to demonstrate our customer base, implying we’ve done great things with them, […]
Another Personal Story: Timing is Everything in a Sale
Almost anyone who has sold a company has a story to tell about their good deal, the problems with the buyer, a last-minute change of terms, or more. I have saved this next story until now because it is one of my favorites, and certainly illustrates the point about timing being a combination of luck and […]
