In an interview by Paul Watts for his show Sales Reinvented Podcast he asked me “What’s one thing you wish you knew earlier in your sales career?” My answer: “I wish I would have known to be more hardcore at pre-qualifying.” Yup. Pre-qualifying prospects is critical and when I think of all the thousands of...Read More

I just came back from a phenomenal sales conference with my peer group, the Women Sales Pros. We have a public half-day conference and then two days of our private group learning and growing through shared expertise. It was my privilege to be tapped for a first-time session of “Cold Call Coaching” along with another...Read More

By the time a business hires me to assist with the sales program, they’re pretty frustrated. They’ve had sales growth and sales success but can’t seem to replicate or scale those efforts with sales hires. If this feels painfully familiar, you’re not alone. But it doesn’t mean you’re in good company because it’s a miserable...Read More

Here’s a new approach to the profession of sales. For years, we’ve seen the reputation of sellers slide into a negative, “pushy” or “obnoxious” stereotype of the “don’t-take-no-always-be-closing” pushers portrayed in movies such as The Wolf of Wallstreet, The Boiler Room, and Glengarry Glen Ross. Personally, it pisses me off that so many sellers before...Read More

Let’s do a reality check. Your Customers Know If You’re Showing Up for All the Wrong Reasons. They can smell it. Even on the phone. Self-serving sellers show up for all the wrong reasons. It’s what goes through buyers’ minds when they pick up the phone: “Is this person going to waste my time?” We...Read More

Everywhere you look, artificial intelligence, automation, and technology are replacing interactions we once used to have with other human beings. Some of this we cheer – such as self-guided drivers’ license kiosks, bots or algorithms that predict which wine, books, or music we would like, or cars that guide you back to driving in your...Read More

Have you ever heard of Kudzu? If you’ve driven through the Southeastern parts of the US, you’ve probably seen Kudzu. It’s an Asian vine introduced to the US and branded in the 1930s and 40s as a way for farmers to control erosion and introduce nitrogen to their soil. You might recognize it as it...Read More

Mother’s Day reminded me of an episode of The SellOut Show where we talked to the super seller, Josh Sutton from DiscoverOrg and in a passionate moment caught up in prospecting, he stated that he “believed he could sell DiscoverOrg to his grandma.” To his GRANDMA! Wow. That’s confidence! It made me think, could I...Read More

There is a great commercial out now that reminds about what the true meaning of “Selling” should be. It’s a Capital One pitch for their new “Capital One Cafes” – where they point out that all banks look and feel the same. Their novel idea is to provide a relaxed, easy environment, “A welcoming environment...Read More

There seems to come a time in every performer’s career where they have a “slump.” Baseball players have them, golfers, and yes, sales pros too – even the best ones. So how do you handle a slump, slow streak, or sales drought? I thought back to my own days as an account executive and new...Read More