"Most of us are busy, but undisciplined. We are active, but not focused. We are moving, but not always in the right direction." – Jack CanfieldIn the things they never told me before I became an entrepreneur file is how important it is to be a good steward of time. For most of us, we start our careers working for other people who have a schedule they want us to adhere too. Even though I lived in the world of sales where th...

Last week was a busy week, and WOW, was it ever productive.When is the last time you felt that your networking efforts were truly productive?Networking is an essential element of your overall sales strategy. It is so important to your sales success that it requires some thought as to what you want to accomplish when you are out there. Where most networking approaches tend to fall flat is that people almost always confuse ac...

A series of recent events has me thinking about how “stuck” people seem to be in their approaches to situations of all kinds. As human beings, I suppose its part of our hard wiring to resist change, even when presented with information suggesting we move in another direction would be wise. Reminds me of the movie – Groundhog Day. Bill Murray portrays Phil Connors an egotistical TV weatherman faced with living one day in his...

Instantaneous: occurring with no delay; “relief was instantaneous”; “instant gratification”It is sooo tempting to want instant. Instant success, instant love, instant cash flow, instant sales, instant weight loss...basically, instant results. It’s human I suppose. We feel pain and then want something – anything – to give us instant relief.Instant is a myth, except perhaps in just one thing. We can instantly decide to change...

A conversation earlier today reminds me of what I see as a pervasive, obsessive attitude in our society – a me first, quick fix, I’m so important, gotta have it now mentality. That attitude and short sighted thinking can never lead to building a sales pipeline that leads to closing business consistently month in and month out.Look around the next time you are out in public and notice the couple sitting at a nice restaurant...

Perception is reality so the saying goes. Never is that more true than when it comes to the process of selling. How you view this critical business function will either help or hinder what you plan to achieve. It seems to me that more than one sales person out there needs this reminder. For the record, I’m calling anyone – that means you too Mr. or Ms. business owner who needs to sell a product or service – a sales person....

In a recent presentation I delivered, I talked about how John Patterson, NCR founder is typically credited with being the father of the structured sales process largely in use today. Patterson wanted a way to create a repeatable pattern of sales success and in 1887 rolled out his NCR Primer.Patterson created a detailed management system to monitor and train company salesman. Scripts were given to salesman to memorize and th...

Sales is a lot like acting and dancing. That’s been my experience anyway. Flexibility, an open mind, great listening skills and a willingness to totally let go of your agenda are key. It is so important to flex and adjust your behavior and communication style with each person you meet, as if you were moving about the ballroom dancing with one partner after another. It is all about appreciating diversity and being willing to...

HALF of adults in America judge people’s intelligence based on email content and format, reports GMX, a free email service for more than 11 million active users in survey research just released today.Of the 1,002 US Adults surveyed who use e-mail for both work and personal reasons, 58 percent of Americans admitted they judge intelligence based on the writing style, tone and language used in email. You can bet they make the...

Holding on to your valued workers doesn’t end with a competitive paycheck. It requires an environment of great management, open communication, empowerment, and recognition.While the U.S. economy may be growing at a rate of 3-4% each year, employers are seeing a corresponding decrease in the availability of bright, talented 35- to 45-year olds. When you combine that with the idea that at any given time 75% of the employees i...