When decision makers say, “No thank you," should you keep trying or cut your losses? My experience is that as long as the prospect is someone whom your research indicates is an “A” level prospect there is no reason to give up, unless you receive new information that...
Executive decision makers have until year 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 management....
Who likes to work on the weekends? No one does. Who does work on the weekends? Senior level corporate decision makers do. More and more we’re finding the high level execs plugged in on weekends. It’s not just the teenagers who are glued to their devices. I was...
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...
It’s not easy to get a meeting with a decision maker. So when you have one, it had better go well! Have you ever walked out of a meeting and wished you had achieved a better outcome, gotten further into the discussion or secured better next steps? We call this “the...
I recently had the privilege of spending time with some high level, Fortune 500 corporate prospects. We met at a conference which was designed to help potential suppliers meet and develop new relationships with Decision Makers. The opportunity arose for me to sit with...
Consistency earns the respect of decision makers, a necessity for growing relationships that lead to sales. On a flight to Dallas, I met a high level decision maker from a Fortune 500 company. I asked her what she liked and didn’t like about sales people to get her...
I was recently asked, “What is your single favorite piece of sales advice?” Here it is. Have a healthy respect and empathy for decision makers. These days decision makers are doing more than just their jobs. In the corporate world, many companies are still adjusting...
In Part 1 of Avoiding the 'Big Black Hole' of Business Proposals, I covered the first two steps that will help you receive a well-earned request for a proposal including what to do in the Pre-Proposal Stage and how to Structure Your Proposal. This week we will explore...
Have you experienced the 'Big Black Hole' of the sales process? It's like this: You receive a well-earned request for a proposal, spend precious time crafting it, hit “send” and anxiously await a response. And then surprise, surprise, you’re rewarded with nothing but...