Success breeds complacency. But what happens if a star sales rep stops learning? Stops challenging himself? Well, nine times out of nine, it spells T-H-E E-N-D, especially these days when business practices and technologies change at breakneck speed.
Yet, nothing is easier than talking oneself into complacency.

I’ve already paid my dues.
I’m incredibly successful. People should be […]

Most sales people would rather jump into a cold Lake Michigan than jump into a day of cold calls. When reps start their careers, they make colds call because they have to. Over time, as they build a base, the urgency of cold calling fades. A day of cold calling becomes half a day. Then […]

In this season of renewal and resolutions, I’m offering a series of posts on six bad sales habits. Each habit is worse than the one preceding it - kind of like a descent into sales hell. Unappealing as the subject matter is, all these habits are ones highly successful sales people can easily fall into […]

Whether it’s a piece of literature, a business plan, or a relationship, most of us have a tendency to drift toward the complex. Recently I wrote about how Amazon Web pages have grown bewilderingly complicated.
It takes an extraordinary person to take something simple and keep it simple, let alone take something complicated and make […]

B2C might be different, I don’t know. But in B2B, the old adage “the customer is always right” is always wrong.
B2B marketers bend over backwards to proclaim how they will do anything for their customers. Hogwash. Companies are in business to help customers, sure. But companies are also in business to make money. If a […]

It’s amazing how often healthy business relationships are destroyed by inconsequential disagreements.

A good customer leaves because of an unexpected shipping charge which the company refuses to reverse due to “policy”.
A company misses a chance to purchase from a better supplier because the supplier cannot agree to their demand for 3%-Net 10 billing terms.

One day the […]

In business, extremes are dangerous. We should all keep that in mind when nurturing business relationships.
A frosty, all-business attitude ultimately leaves your business partners cold. When a better deal comes along, partners will be quick to leave you in the cold.
Business is no place for soap opera, either. Get too familiar with your business partners, […]

How do you feel when …

Your phone calls aren’t returned.
Your question is answered with a question.
A seller promises a full explanation for a late delivery, but it never comes.
A buyer promises feedback on an in-plant trial, but all you get is, “It didn’t work.”

Nobody likes to feel trivial. Without closure, buyers and sellers come to […]

Last time I talked about the importance of transparency and open communication for building strong and long lasting business relationships.
Now, at the risk of sounding like I’m completely contradicting myself, let me suggest another key component - confidentiality.
Information sharing is good, provided it is being shared for a good business reason.
Gossip, on the other hand, […]

How do you view the business of sales? There are three schools of thought.
One says sales is a game, a negotiation, a battle of wits, competitive, adversarial, calculating, and even cutthroat.
Another says sales is a partnership, a collaboration, a journey, respectful, and mutually beneficial.
A third isn’t really sure, content to bounce around between the other […]