There is a predictable pattern to the evolution of a small business’ sales progress—starting with those scrappy bootstrapping days of a business starting up—to achieving growth and success. Along the way you realize that scaling means producing consistent sales results and needs a concerted team, structure, tools, and metrics and,

One of my earliest memories of the power of practice, repetition, and reinforcement was learning to tie my shoes. My favorite Aunt was babysitting me and helping me learn and practice my new skill. She had me tie all the shoes in our family of 5’s shoe closet several times

Last week, I had two instances where sales reps contacted me to try to sell me a product. In both cases, each rep was certain I needed their subscription software. Both of their general sales rational were that other businesses found their product helpful and the features were great and

The holidays are about to roll in and roll over us in all their festive and glittery glory. It seems once we pass turkey day, the remaining few weeks of the year pick up steam like a snowball rolling downhill. For business, that means we’re starting to think about wrapping

“They haven’t called me back.” It’s the most common response to “Where are we with prospect ABC?” This response, “They haven’t called me back,” lands with a thud at my feet like a bag of rocks when I hear it from a seller or business owner. I can feel the

Everywhere you look, artificial intelligence, automation, and technology are replacing interactions we once used to have with other human beings. Some of this we cheer—such as self-guided drivers’ license kiosks, bots or algorithms that predict which wine, books, or music we would like, or cars that guide you back to

What’s the biggest hurdle you face when selling to someone? Well, other than getting their initial attention and time in front of them, your biggest hurdle is building credibility and ultimately trust. Trust isn’t cheap. Credibility can’t be faked. And honestly, many buyers put you at arm’s length at the

Have you ever heard of kudzu? If you’ve driven through the Southeastern parts of the US, you’ve probably seen kudzu. It’s an Asian vine introduced to the US and branded in the 1930s and 40s as a way for farmers to control erosion and introduce nitrogen to their soil. You

Sometimes hard problems can have easy answers. Well, simple perhaps, because it requires effort and work. Sometimes, as an Account Executive or Business Development Rep, the grind of prospecting and pipelining new opportunities made me feel like Fred Baker from those old Dunkin’ Donuts commercials where he zombies about saying,

Everyone’s making big promises, resolutions, and vowing to make changes right now just as the ball drops on this New Year. I’ve never had much use for making grand proclamations of my intent or magically thinking I’ll turn into someone who loves running, eating steamed broccoli, or clearing my pantry