Latest Articles
Latest Articles
How To Create Sales Growth In A Contracting Economy
In the last two weeks, I've been asked to do a half dozen speeches and appearances about sales growth in a contracting or recessionary economy. That's because the sales environment of the last several economic boom years is doing a literal 180. During these recent...
The Last 1% of The Selling Work Gets 100% Of The Money
Today's message is brief: By the time you send a quote or proposal, you have done 99% of the work. You have built the relationship, serviced the customer (often for years), jumped through hoops, researched and wrote the quote or proposal, and you sent it. But this 99%...
Swing The Sales Bat
Think baseball or softball: Every sales communication is a swing of the bat. Every proactive call. Every did you know question, or reverse did you know question. Every quote follow up. Every referral request. Every pivot to the sale, or every time you ask for the...
Order Takers Do Not Grow Sales
Most salespeople are experts at taking orders and servicing the customer. This makes them more customer service people than salespeople. They build relationships, solve problems, and take orders by email and incoming phone calls. You know what they don’t do? Call...
The Competition is Mediocre
I was interviewing a distributor client's customer and this is what he said about other suppliers he buys from -- my client's competition: "When they're busy, they just pick up the phone and slam it down without saying anything." I was incredulous, and...
The Perfect Time…Does Not Exist
I have a prospective client who has been considering working with me…for seven years. Like many of my clients, it’s a multigenerational family business in an industry in which I’ve had a tremendous amount of success generating significant growth. We’ve not yet worked...
Recording of Last Week’s Webinar
Good morning and happy Monday! The 40-minute recording of last week's webinar is on my Youtube channel here: I presented several planners during this session, and you can download them by clicking here: 5-2022 Webinar Planners.pdf. Finally, head on over to our private...
Sales Growth Lessons From the Kentucky Derby
The alternate horse won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. To frame the immensity of this upset, consider that the horse, named Rich Strike, is the biggest long shot to win the Derby in 110 years - which is pre-World War I. I often turn to sports for inspiration and...
Growing Sales In a Slowing Economy
Growing Sales In a Slowing Economy Is it possible to grow sales in our current economy? Inflation is rising dramatically. Supply chains are delayed and unreliable. Commodity prices are shooting up and plummeting down, often days apart. And hiring reliable help is...
Change = The Start + The Repetition
Change = The Start + The Repetition People ask me, “How do I make more phone calls? Me: “Well, you make it a priority to make some calls every day.” Other people ask: “How do I start writing?” Me: “By writing.” The doing isn’t the thing. We all know what to do. Making...