This article is not about whether it’s important to have a playbook…it’s important. If you don’t have one, do your company a big favor and take the time to get it done. Rather, this article is about what is sometimes missing from playbooks which is crucial for getting...
For many, fourth quarter can be a time to reflect on decisions made over the last year. What worked, what didn’t? What to continue doing to meet your goals and what to stop doing? As you may be embarking on this kind of reflection as well, I thought it would be...
Did you ever notice people become more serious at the beginning of September? Gone are the lazy days of summer and in front of us are four important months before year end. I call this the “Back to School Mentality.” I see it as much amongst adults as I do amongst...
I originally shared this article after Verne Harnish invited me to speak at the Fortune Magazine Scaling Up Conference in Atlanta a few years ago. When Verne called me to the stage, he asked me to share a sales tip with the audience of 1000 growth-focused business...
Over the last year I’ve heard several stories about lost sales opportunities. Many occurred as a direct result of post-conference oversights that could have been avoided. It happens too often. Join me by shaking your head as you read the story below. Then, vow to...
The perfect pipeline includes a consistent incoming flow of new prospect relationships with the exact right decision makers. Most business leaders and sellers say they can close sales most the time when they are in front of the right prospects. The problem is they...
Make the most of your summer by seizing new business opportunities while your competition plays miniature golf! While it’s true that most people do vacation in August, I don’t know anyone who goes away for 4 weeks straight! What does this mean for you? It means people...
It was 4pm on a Thursday and I was sitting in my car outside Starbucks. It had been one of those days. You’ve probably had one like this too. Phone call followed by phone call followed by meetings and then more phone calls. I had one more call to go. One call standing...
Most business leaders and sellers are good at setting next steps at the end of a prospect meeting. They are also fairly good at executing the follow up, especially if there is an immediate need. Where too many fail miserably is in effectively nurturing prospect...
The "Assume Close" strategy when opening doors has proven exceptionally successful, especially when working on securing meetings with difficult to reach corporate decision makers. Most recently, one of our Door Openers® used it and booked a meeting with a high level...
Did you have as many new prospect meetings as you wanted in the last 12 months? If not, why not? And, most importantly, what will you do differently in the next 12 months that will yield better results? If you didn't get as many meetings as you wanted it's important...
Executive decision-makers have until year's end to make things happen before their reviews. Not only do they need to complete initiatives on their list to get their bonuses and great scores, but also, those looking for promotions must showcase themselves to...