As I pointed out in the post “10 Things Every Customer Wants,” customers can be incredibly demanding. However, there is one thing that customers definitely don’t want: more information. For the past 40 years, every sales trainer and guru in the world has been teaching some variation on “solution selling.” As you’re probably already aware, […]

Sales people, sales organizations and sales teams have to change the way they are handling customers today in this very competitive world. The old ways of selling are changing and require all sales people, sales managers and sales organizations to think differently. Here are 10 essential selling principles that most sales people and sales organization […]

You might think that fitting in will help you get ahead in business, but it’s not true. Standing out is the only way to reach your fullest potential. It’s also the only way to build strong relationships. Connecting and fitting in are two different things. As counterintuitive as it might seem, trying to fit in will actually […]

Speaking on stage in front of an audience of people is a wonderfully scary privilege. You have a large group of people’s undivided attention, and you can have a direct impact on their lives (and potentially your future). Here’s how not to screw it up: 1. Tell great stories. If you read nothing else in […]

After working in the glossy world of corporate life, a business professional who goes it alone might at first find the change a shock. Here are a few of the things nobody thinks to mention until you’ve already set up shop. 1. Being an entrepreneur is lonely. Because the company is a startup, there’s no HR division, […]

As an entrepreneur, conquering challenge and failure is essential to the success of your business. You can learn to cultivate that resilience by training your brain to stay positive when times are tough. “People tend to have a cognitive bias toward their failures, and toward negativity,” says Matthew Della Porta, a positive psychologist and organizational […]

When it comes to growing their startups, many entrepreneurs are so focused on gaining new clients and customers that they fail to effectively address the need to retain those they already have. This is counterproductive considering that it’s far easier (about 50% easier according to Marketing Metrics) to sell to existing customers than to brand […]

Someone on Linkedin shared this stat with me last Friday regarding sales and their follow up. I was completely shocked! Makes me question a few things… Makes me question a few things… Are organizations just not teaching sales how to follow up? Are companies so boggled down with deals they have no time to follow […]

Many people assume that you have to be good at networking to be successful at it. While some people are naturally talented at small talk, seasoned entrepreneurs know that networking requires more than a smooth elevator pitch. Some people approach networking with the belief that it’s important to know a lot of people. I agree […]

Email is an extremely useful communication tool in business. Less intrusive than a phone call, email is convenient and fast. It empowers entrepreneurs to run their businesses from just about anywhere. You can communicate with clients and customers, check in with employees and set up important meetings from your office or on the go. But […]