Consider Taking a Day Off

Have you seen the cartoon that depicts a soldier fighting his enemy with a sword and a shield, with the salesman behind him attempting to get his attention? The reason the salesman is trying to get his attention is because he has a machine gun for sale. The problem is...

Success in sales, as in life, is 80% common sense

   My godson Jack was given a book from his uncle Joe Buck for his high school graduation. The title of the book is “The Millionaire Next Door.” I took the opportunity to skim the book at their house and it really got my attention. So I asked my wife, Jackie, to...

What can we learn from a beer vendor?

When I ask sales executives what their competitive advantage is I typically get a response that is directly related to the product or service they represent. In other words, someone who is a sales exec for IBM would proceed to tell me that partnering with IBM offers a...

Let’s Not Forget Our Primary Purpose

I recently finished a book by Bob Lutz, the former vice chairman of General Motors. He goes into great detail on why, in his opinion, GM lost its competitive advantage in the market. The book is called, “Car Guys vs. Bean Counters.” In it he explains how very smart...

The final third of professional selling

  I believe there are three major components to any professional sales executive. The first two are obvious. The final third is subtler, but in my opinion could be the most critical to long-term success. Let’s take a look at all three from a high-level...

God Gave Us Two Ears & One Mouth For A Reason!

In all seriousness, there is no single aspect of professional selling more important than developing effective listening habits. This is true not only in sales but in life in general. God gave us two ears and one mouth for good reason. Yet for some strange reason many...