Tag: best practices

Three Cautionary Tales About Three Sales Fails

Bill Farquharson

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…

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Getting a Handle on Your Time

Joseph P. Truncale, Ph.D.

In her best-selling book, “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” author Marie Kondo identifies high levels of clarity and focus that result from eliminating unnecessary items from our personal and professional lives. Removing “clutter” brings with it an almost overwhelming sense of relief and an ability to spend more time and attention on the things that matter most. The same principal can be applied to our quest to make more efficient use of our time. To “de-clutter,” we must first identify and yes, write down how we spend our time…

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How to Handle the Charity Request

Bill Farquharson

They 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…

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Love or Fear: Pick One

Greg Muzzillo

Most psychology experts agree that there are only two primary emotions: love and fear. All positive emotions are derived from love. All negative emotions are derived from fear. For business owners and sales professionals, success starts with making the right choice. Choice 1. Love When we love what we do, everything brings us joy, excitement,…

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Do Your Homework

Greg Muzzillo

I just hung up on a sales rep. Originally, I reached out to his firm to learn more about their services. We had to reschedule a few times over the last few weeks. Finally, we were about to connect. He starts out asking lots of questions about Proforma and the project on which I was working. I asked him what he knew about Proforma, to which he replied, “not a ton.” That’s when I hung up…

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There’s More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

Greg Muzzillo

Many years ago, I was in an appointment with a new prospective customer. I gave my spiel. She told me some of the challenges the company was having, and asked what solutions we could offer. My response: “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” She politely told me that the sales call was over and I needed to leave…

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