Several months ago, I was coaching Kim, a successful Strategic Account Executive. Kim started the coaching session with a deep exhale, saying, "I'm certain I will lose yet another unsolicited RFP this week. We will…
In today’s rapid sales landscape, Generative AI emerges as a game changer for sales professionals when used correctly, paving the way for in-depth prospect research and personalized outreach. The ability of a salesperson to bring…
In the sales world, where capturing attention, mastering communication, and building genuine connections are the name of the game, we can often find inspiration in the most unexpected places. If you have ever marveled at…
The principles in this article reflect the real-life story of how a large business unit in a $4b global financial services firm retained and grew 100% of their strategic accounts by expertly executing these four…
Can you remember the last presentation you sat through? If you can, then what can you remember about the presentation? What were the key messages? What did you learn? Was it compelling, or did you…
Hundreds of books and articles have dealt with overcoming sales objections – typically implying that sales objections must be countered or corrected. This implies you, as the sales professional, can change someone’s mind if the…
The multitude of changes that COVID-19 has created within the sales profession has been well documented. Remote work has erased the benefit of tenure and outside experience to a degree, making interactions stale, boring, and…
The first call, whether face-to-face or virtual, with ANY new contact, regardless of where you are in the sales cycle, is the most important because it determines if there will be a second. I coached…
We, as salespeople, are prone to look at the bright side of everything we hear. By nature, we want to accept everything said to us. We are positive people. My deal is awesome! My client…
Growing up as a first-generation individual, I was exposed to language and culture differently than my schoolmates and neighbors. In my home, we spoke Spanish and English. I needed to figure out how not to…
This will age me! When email first arrived on the scene, I was a front-line sales leader, leading a team of about 15 sellers in the IT Industry. The instruction came from above that all…
There is a major issue within Sales and Marketing that, if corrected, will pay immediate dividends. Too many of our salespeople are working too low in their client’s organization. They are limiting their upward mobility…
Why Executive Communication Fails 2.2 hours a day. That’s the average time people spend on social media each day. As if executives aren’t busy enough with all their responsibilities, this adds to their jam-packed days…
If you have participated in traditional sales training and learned how to create and deliver a compelling value proposition, you are probably doing it wrong! The old school training strongly reinforces the need to create…
To deliver a powerful message to an executive in order to move them to take further actions (the key purpose of a sales call), we need to clearly understand the context of the situation we…
Presenting an idea or a proposal to an executive is never easy, but its difficulty is compounded by the lack of financial justification. The term value proposition can easily be replaced with business case. Every…
There are three secrets to selling that can immediately affect your performance if you embrace them, study them, and apply them. The secrets to selling are: Understand the political environment Be human and explore emotions…