Complacency is a killer in sales. I came across this piece of art in Rockefeller Center on a morning walk with my wife. It’s Jaume Plensa’s “Behind the Walls,” part of the Frieze Sculpture public art installation. It’s a powerful piece in person. It forces you to stop and think. What are each of us […]

A great discovery call can mean the difference between losing and winning the deal. In fact, every meeting with a prospect should be a discovery call, and the top reps know this. They take every opportunity to better understand their buyer and unearth the challenges they don’t want to admit even to themselves. Watch this […]

Sellers aren’t robots. Or workers on an assembly line. No matter how much certain sales bosses like to think they are. Peter Drucker was one of the greatest business thinkers. One of the things he is most known for is his theory of autonomy. He believed that knowledge workers, a term he first coined in […]

For better sales results don’t train fast. Learn slowly… I was thinking about the ways most organizations invest in sales training. Which tend to be events. Hire a Keynote speaker for an hour-long talk at your SKO or ASM. Bring in an expert to conduct a half-day training seminar. Retain a trainer to conduct a […]

Sales analysts like CSO Insights have been reporting for several years that the percentage of sellers hitting quota is dropping in B2B sales. We’ve all heard that the number is roughly 50%. You might think that this situation would inspire a change in how quotas are set. However, I don’t see sales leaders changing how […]

People will tell you that buyer’s remorse is a perfectly normal reaction on the part of your customers. If you buy that then I promise you’ll experience some remorse yourself. Buyer’s remorse isn’t necessary. And it’s certainly not inevitable. According to one definition: ‘Buyer’s remorse is an emotional response on the part of a buyer […]

Here’s a question for you: Are you speaking a language that your buyers comprehend? Sales is a unique form of communication. In fact, if you carefully think about it, Sales is its own distinct language. Its lexicon consists of words and phrases (often scripted.) And, it’s how these words and phrases are strung together that […]

“Express yourself!” That song was part of the soundtrack of my teen years. From Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St Band. Check it out on Spotify. Sales is a form of self-expression. Every sales interaction you have with a buyer is an opportunity to communicate something important about yourself. Your values. Your character. Your […]

Every seller possesses their own unique way of selling. If there are 2 million B2B sellers in the US, then there are 2 million unique sales methods that are being practiced everyday. What’s your personal sales method? What 5 words would you use to describe your personal sales style? Are you process-oriented? Data-driven? Intuitive? Creative?Empathic? […]

In the fairy tale we all heard as kids, Goldilocks famously found the balance between her porridge being too hot or too cold. Sellers are similarly challenged to strike the right balance between being less than confident and overconfident. Failing to find this balance can lead to unpleasant encounters with the Three Bears of sales: […]

What are the characteristics that make a good salesperson? Here’s what I have witnessed first-hand from decades of working with consistently good performers. The best salespeople are effective connection builders. They have an inherent respect for everyone. They understand that selling is about helping other people achieve their most important objectives. They value the time […]

Playbooks and processes that define stages and calls with a single purpose, for instance, like a discovery call, are misleading. First of all, there is no such thing as “a discovery call.” No single sales interaction serves a single purpose. If you think it does, then perhaps that’s where you’re running into trouble trying to […]