Blog

I just submitted a new book manuscript to my publisher Wiley. It comes out this summer. Because I run a busy consulting practice solo, I write these books quickly, and this period of time is intense. The client’s work and writing are the dominant activities. Not the selling. And then, once the writing is finished, I…

If you make a proactive phone call to a customer or prospect every once in a while — when you happen to think of it — each call is a snowflake that falls to the ground and melts. But if you make two proactive phone calls a day, you’re making more than 500 calls annually,…

As far as sales communications go, I think the text message gets a bad reputation. I find that a text message is a far better pathway for communicating with customers and prospects than sending an email, which is basically the same as doing nothing at all. Did the email arrive? I don’t know. But I…

Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots and one of the most successful coaches in the history of any sport, has a simple saying: Do your job. In football, the job is to be strong, be healthy, and know your assignment. You go to the weight room most days to get strong. You get treatment and…

How many times have you avoided something for weeks or months that ended up taking 10 or 15 minutes to do? Maybe it was calling the prospect. Maybe it was going to see the customer. Maybe it was finally — finally — sending that promotional piece. Stop reading right now and write down that one thing that…

I am shopping for additional disability insurance, and the local agency I work with here had me talk to their disability insurance specialist. For the first 10 minutes of the call, this guy talked without interruption. He would ask me questions and then answer them himself. He would take guesses about my situation without actually…

As the new year begins, let us resolve to sell proactively in 2020. Let us resolve to not only answer the incoming phone calls of complaining customers but to also proactively call happy customers who we do not hear from frequently. Let us resolve to not only jump through the hoops placed in front of us…

I have two quick questions for you on this last Monday of 2019: Which of your selling approaches, ideas or techniques worked particularly well this year (and how can you double up on them next year)? And which of your approaches didn’t generate particularly good results this year (and should you think about eliminating —…

As the year winds down, and we head towards the finish line, don’t slow down. Keep going. In fact, accelerate if you can. Make the extra call. Offer the additional product of service. Ask for the sale an extra time. Finish the year strong, so you can maintain your momentum into next year. With momentum,…

Just because a customer wants to buy from you, doesn’t mean they are the right customer for you. So many of my clients’ salespeople get “beaten up” on price and problems every day. That’s when customers call, right? When there is a problem. But there are different ways to communicate displeasure: with respect, and without it.…