01 Jun

Posted at 13:50h in Uncategorized by

I was trained in sales by two of the best salespeople that I have ever met or heard about, Jim McCormack and Frank Dodge, the founders of the application software firm McCormack & Dodge.  Both had met at IBM and had very different backgrounds.  Jim was a highly successful salesperson at IBM, and Frank was a systems engineer.  Previously, Frank had been a high-school mathematics teacher for many years.  As a teacher, he was inclined to provide detailed explanations and paint “word pictures” for his students so they could better understand his concepts.  Jim taught me the opposite – to...

01 Jun

Posted at 13:29h in Uncategorized by

Early in my sales career, I had the fortune of meeting with and introducing Red Auerbach at a McCormack & Dodge User Conference in Boston, MA, in 1985.  This turned out to be a seminal moment in my career.  I will explain. For those unfamiliar with the legendary Red Auerbach, here are some highlights of his career in the National Basketball Association. Red Auerbach's tenure as the head coach for the Boston Celtics from 1950 through 1966 was a golden era for the team. Under his leadership, the Celtics achieved unprecedented success, winning over 1,400 games, eleven Eastern Division titles (including nine...

23 Apr

Posted at 17:57h in Uncategorized by

My latest book, Above Quota Sales Management, has been published by Armin Lear Press and is available on Amazom.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Here is the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Above-Quota-Sales-Management-Techniques/dp/196327105X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2H3YJCJUCYJ78&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.K_4_4T0BF1S7HRvC6pufcqmtuy_tgN8ieKomqmfZPcVzKTXUkoyezqjeoVXsc_UdHCQRZlFV My first book, Above Quota Performance , was targeted at sales professionals with the goal of improving their performance by following the hundreds of tips and techniques that were covered in the book. It has been well received by readers, many of whom have given it a perfect 5-star review on Amazon so far. Above Quota Sales Management follows a style similar to my previous book but targets sales managers. The book covers many critical...

11 Mar

Posted at 20:46h in Uncategorized by

It’s my observation that sales is a career that offers excellent opportunities for women and is primarily egalitarian.  I say it’s almost egalitarian mainly because the company must hire a woman before she can take advantage of her sales career, and that may still be challenging, especially for women just starting out in her career or for those women who took time off to raise a family and have returned to the workforce. Prejudices still exist that may result in ill-informed managers not hiring some very capable women in sales.  Those existing prejudice challenges still prevent some women from being hired...

06 Mar

Posted at 20:12h in Uncategorized by

Early in my sales career, I called on a very large well-known furniture manufacturer that was headquartered in Western Michigan. They were looking for solutions to automate their in-house built general ledger accounting functions. After several telephone conversations with both accounting and information technology (IT) people, they invited me to present our solution. They also invited our major competitor as well. There were about fifteen people in the room who were very engaged and had a lot of questions, especially from the IT people, when I presented. I felt that the sales presentation went reasonably well. The Manager of Accounting...

22 Feb

Posted at 17:16h in Uncategorized by

I have been in enterprise sales for many years. I also have been golfing for just as long. Unfortunately, my sales skills have exceeded my golfing skills.  But as I wailed away in a sand trap earlier this week, I realized there are some similarities between the enterprise sales cycle and a round of golf.  Each has finite beginning and ending points and many changes in strategies and tactics along the way.  Let’s explore that: First, enterprise sales and the golf game have a significant beginning point.  In sales, it is when you have qualified the opportunity, and the prospect has agreed to...

19 Feb

Posted at 14:36h in Uncategorized by

This article will discuss mergers and acquisitions from three perspectives: 1) What is a merger? 2) What are the business cases for mergers and acquisitions, and are they usually achieved? 3) If you work for a company that is undergoing a merger or acquisition, what is your best strategy to survive it?  There is no such thing as a merger! Contrary to what we read and hear, especially in business journals, there is no such thing as a “merger” in corporations, or they are extremely rare at best. They are kind of like unicorns and exist in myths. Let me explain: When two...

14 Feb

Posted at 17:44h in Uncategorized by

Amber: Get on a plane, meet the prospective client in person, and make the pitch. Watch the signals in the room to see what is happening. Observe body language. Pre-2020, does this sound familiar? Then, it all suddenly changed. Many of us thought we would be on pause for a few months, tops. But we’re still on pause four years later, and no end is in sight. At first, we moved our exact same process onto the conference call providers. The goal was to get appointments on the calendar while the world went upside down. And then we started to notice something....

12 Feb

Posted at 08:10h in Uncategorized by

The Greatest Obstacle to Discovery is Not Ignorance – It is the Illusion of Knowledge”1   Our local high school, Adlai E. Stevenson, of Lincolnshire, IL, is one of the highest-rated secondary schools in Illinois.  This is because the administration stresses academic excellence and produces many national merit scholars. Both of my children attended Stevenson High School in the late 1980s and 1990s.  During this time, I had the opportunity to talk with Deputy Sheriff Perry Coleman of the Lake County (IL) Sheriff’s Department. We discussed many topics, including the illegal drug problem that was plaguing many high schools.  The Stevenson Superintendent declared that...

08 Feb

Posted at 16:10h in Uncategorized by

Years ago, as an accountant, I reported to a manager named Bob.  One day, I excused myself and went to the restroom, and when I returned, Bob said, “Steve, you took too long.” My response was, “What?” Then he said, “You took 8 minutes.  I can go to the bathroom and back in 4 minutes.”  I responded, “Good for you.”  The conversation was very insulting and degrading. Should I hurry my time in the restroom to keep my manager happy?  Did the 4 minutes matter? What about proper hygiene? There were other similar incidents where Bob watched over me every...