Most everyone is familiar with Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, which relates the story of the greedy old Ebenezer Scrooge. Mr. Scrooge is visited by three different spirits who show him the various stages of his life—past, present and future—and how the various decisions he made led to his miserable existence. When Scrooge is ... Read Post

Most salespeople want recognition for their excellent work. Sales training teaches us a specific order for the steps of the sales cycle. Reading the classic sales books will boost our understanding of how to sell. However, when one follows the exact rules and procedures similar to everyone else, there is little hope for rising above ... Read Post

Why Lessons Learned Customer Meetings Always Offer a Strong ROI Your Return on Investment for Retrospectives Retrospectives, sometimes called a win/loss analysis, are powerful for the following reasons: Done correctly, you can uncover the real buying criteria and decision process. Since the sale is behind you, but still fresh in everyone’s mind, it’s a perfect ... Read Post

The purpose of process is to ensure consistency. A good process is like a checklist that ensures the right things get done by the right people at the right time. Unfortunately, sales is a discipline that often lacks documented processes. Consequently, sales results are often unpredictable from one quarter to another. Many organizations are now ... Read Post

Enterprise Selling: The Difference Between Owning a Cat and Herding Cats Herding Cats Winning, growing, and keeping enterprise accounts presents complexities far beyond those offered by small and medium-sized accounts. Unique challenges, such as vast, diverse buyer networks, long sales cycles, and the significant investments that accompany enterprise pursuits create problems we don’t encounter in ... Read Post

The Most Critical Of Employee Engagement Strategies Employee engagement consistently ranks as one of the top three issues keeping leaders up at night. You would have to be living under a rock these days not to know that. While writing Own It: Redefining Responsibility – Stories of Power, Purpose & Freedom, I learned a lot about ... Read Post

Does Your Sales Team Need Closing Skills or Opening Skills? “Can you help my sales team close more business?” As a teacher of sales skills, I’ve been asked this question frequently. The answer is “yes,” with a strong qualifier: Your sales team may not have a problem with closing opportunities; the problem may be in ... Read Post

Many years ago I met a prospect. It was a printing & publishing company. The lead time in each stage of the Sales Process was very high. I understood that the prospect definitely had a requirement, had budgets & was the decision maker. Yet the sale didn’t happen. It was a private enterprise but for ... Read Post