How to Increase Sales with Top Performer Analysis – Part 2

In part one of this series, I discussed the misnomer inherent in the term “best practices” and recommended “top performer practices” instead. I also pinpointed the reason for the bad reputation, since poorly executed best practices projects often fail to produce tangible results. In the projects I’ve run over the past 25+ years, I’ve learned […]

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We Live in Different Sales Worlds

I Love a Good Rant In 1989, Richard Bach released his follow-up book to “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” called “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.” In the book, Bach struggles to learn from his new friend, Donald Shimoda, a man Bach believes is a Messiah who quit the job, but found him – based on […]

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Launch Redux – Deja Vu All Over Again

Okay, it’s true. I’m calling a “Do Over.”  I announced, in mid-November of 2012, what I’d be doing with this blog. It hasn’t happened. Ouch. I know. Shortly after the announcement, I got embroiled in the end of several-month career search, navigated multiple offers (fortunately), landed a new gig, took a vacation for the holidays, and […]

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Sales Nuance – To Be Terrific Be Specific

Please Allow Me to Confuse You Edward Sapir’s and Benjamin Whorf’s hypothesis of linguistic relativity holds that the language we speak and the structure of that language affects the way in which its speakers conceptualize their world or otherwise influences their cognitive processes. According to Dictionary.com, one definition of “nuance” is “a subtle difference or […]

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To Be Correct, Stop Trying to Be Right

          This post is inspired by the debate and hubub that is ensuing around the CEB’s Challenger Sale research. I’d like to start with some personal opinions of my own, but I’d like to end with something I think is more important, so please allow me to fast-forward for a moment. […]

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Meet with Mike!

      You can request a phone meeting with me using TimeTrade, which allows you to pick times and send a request. It also lets you add a message, send a confirmation, and add the event to most calendars. The one flaw?  It includes my Google Calendar but is not connected to my work calendar, so […]

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Thoughts on the Language of Sales

I know why it happened… so much of the old sales training and motivational speaking literature is centered around: Having a “winning” mindset Setting goals and “crushing” them Being the best you can be (focus on you and your achievement, not the customer) Being able to “sell ice to an Eskimo” The secrets of instant […]

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For Real Performance Improvement, Put Sales Managers First

Pretty Challenging Stuff There’s a lot of hubbub about the CEB’s research which led to “The Challenger Sale” book about the newly-identified behaviors of leading, educating and challenging clients, to add more value and win more sales. I actually started lauding the research through social media before the book was launched, and respect the research, […]

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