Price increases are inevitable. Over the course of a career in this (or any other) industry, you will no doubt be faced with the challenge of delivering bad news to a customer: We are going to be charging you more for the same goods and services. The event…
Read More
Three true stories… No. 1 A car salesman is working at the Cadillac dealership on a Saturday afternoon. In walks a man who looks like he just fell off a turnip truck: The man is older, diminutive at about 5’5” and both his overalls and hands are filthy, caked with dirt. The rep thinks, “Well, Pigpen is here. Where are the rest of the Peanuts characters?” before going back to his newspaper. The man circles a few Caddies, looks around, and leaves the showroom. The sales rep watches as he…
Read MoreMy daughter turned me on to Lenny’s Podcast. Lenny Rachitsky has the #1 business newsletter on Substack and is a quiet, unassuming model of what a podcast host should be. He interviews “world-class product leaders and growth experts,” blah, blah, blah. Anywho… One podcast featured an Etsy exec name Tim Holley. Listening while mowing the lawn, I heard Tim say, “We are constantly trying new features. Our failure rate is 80%.” I smiled. That number gave me great comfort. The hardest part about being a sales trainer is coming up…
Read MoreImagine working on a big, big, big order.* *By “big,” I am talking about income equal to six months of what you earn now. We’re. Talking. BIG. That is what I was working on. A large printer wanted their inside sales team trained. I’d flown thousands of miles from home to meet the client, the team he wanted me to train, and the other players involved. I’d come up with a plan for how I was going to turn the inside sales reps into sales monsters. It was typed into…
Read MoreThey come in weekly, even daily during certain times of year: “Is there any way we could convince you to donate the printing/signage/promo? We are a nonprofit.” The natural, snarky response, of course is, “Well, we’re not.” But I advise against that. Instead, try this: “Every year, we budget a certain amount of money to provide work to nonprofits like yours. If you would like an application for next year, I’d be happy to send you one.” Then, create and send out a document which allows you to learn more…
Read More
What would happen if you woke up in the morning and your first thought was, “I am never going to sell anything today. Why would anyone buy anything from me? I’ll be lucky to even survive.”
Read More
The account was history. That much he was sure of. It took two years to build credibility and a year to win the business. That was followed by two more years that he milked the cash cow he had created.
Read More
I need your help making a list.
Read More
As I look ahead to Mother’s Day and think back on what she has taught me, it occurs to me that she contributed a great deal to my sales career and that many of her parental lessons translate well to the sales world.
Read More
As a sales person, he is clairvoyant and omnipotent. He has built an impeccable reputation in the promotional products industry as a master of his craft. With each passing sales year, his legend grows. He is, The Most Interesting (Sales) Man in the World.
Read More