INSTEAD OF DOING WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO, DO WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT
“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” ― Mark Twain All of us wish to do what we love (or like) to d...
08 October, 2024
Should We Lower Standards?
I have read that we must keep lowering standards, such as the educational requirements for elementary and high school kids, where graduation rates and...
30 September, 2024
How to Find and Hire the Best Sales Pros
I am often asked this question, and the answer isn’t straightforward. Even the most skilled sales managers can attest to the challenge of findin...
20 September, 2024
SALES LESSON FROM A GARAGE DOOR REPAIRMAN
Recently, my electric garage door opener malfunctioned. I called Bob, a repairman I had used before, who diagnosed the problem over the telephone as a...
09 September, 2024
Best Advice, Worst Advice
Recently, an interviewer asked me what the best advice I had ever received was and, on the contrary, what the worst was. These were very challenging...
06 August, 2024
Don’t Be A Prisoner of the Past
Executives at many companies often become what I call “prisoners of the past.” There has been a decision made in the past, by them or somebody els...
29 July, 2024
ASSESSING EXCEPTIONAL TALENT – WHO ARE THE EXPERTS?
The thought has occurred to me that we trust “experts’ to judge hiring, promotions, selections for athletic teams, qualifications for music progra...
22 July, 2024
DENYING THE OBVIOUS
“The Greatest Obstacle to Discovery is Not Ignorance – It is the Illusion of Knowledge”1 Our local high school, Adlai E. Stevenson, in Lincolns...
16 July, 2024
SHOULD WE PAUSE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) DEVELOPMENT?
Pausing AI Development Is Not Feasible Many in politics, academia, technology, and the media have recently called for a cessation or pause in Artifici...
09 July, 2024
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Increase Sales
What is AI? Artificial intelligence (AI) is not just another trendy technology. It’s a truly transformative force that will reshape our lives in 202...
05 July, 2024
Leverage in Contract Negotiations
Many of us are familiar with the concept of leverage in negotiations. Leverage is not just a tool; it’s a mindset. It’s the perceived powe...
01 July, 2024
The Time I Hired Willie Mays
McCormack & Dodge scheduled a User Conference for its customers in San Francisco in August 1983. I was asked to find a luncheon speaker. Usually...
25 June, 2024
The Legend of Dinty Moore
Several years ago, I found myself in a rather comical situation as a junior accountant at a mid-size suburban Chicago manufacturing company. It was a ...
12 June, 2024
ARE YOU A BED TAG CRIMINAL?
Have you ever read the tag on your bed mattress (or your pillow or winter coat) that says removing it is illegal and punishable by federal fines of up...
01 June, 2024
HOW TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE IN DENIAL
Several years ago, I lived in a home adjacent to a private golf club. My telephone number was similar to that of the golf club’s clubhouse. One afte...
01 June, 2024
Frank Dodge and Negative Selling
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 applicat...
01 June, 2024
REMEMBRANCE OF BILL WALTON AND ARNOLD “RED” AUERBACH
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 ...
01 June, 2024
Above Quota Sales Management Has Been Published!
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 ...
23 April, 2024
Women Can Be Very Successful in Sales Careers
It’s my observation that sales is a career that offers excellent opportunities for women and is primarily egalitarian. I say it’s almost egalita...
11 March, 2024
The Time I Competed Against the Former President of the United States – American Business Magazine Mar. 6, 2024
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...
06 March, 2024
How Playing Golf is Similar to Sales Cycles
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 ski...
22 February, 2024
HOW TO SURVIVE A MERGER OR ACQUISITION
This article will discuss mergers and acquisitions from three perspectives: 1) What is a merger? 2) What are the business cases for mergers and acquis...
19 February, 2024
Amber Christian of Wonderly Software Interviewed Steve Weinberg About Creating Better Virtual Meetings
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...
14 February, 2024
Denying The Obvious
The Greatest Obstacle to Discovery is Not Ignorance – It is the Illusion of Knowledge”1 Our local high school, Adlai E. Stevenson, of Linc...
12 February, 2024
Micromanaging of Salespeople is Not a Good Strategy
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, ...
08 February, 2024
Is Your Deal Slip Sliding Away
Singer Paul Simon wrote and recorded a song called “Slip Sliding Away.” Like many of Simon’s songs, the meaning of the lyrics is often obscure....
31 January, 2024
Are High-Performing Sales Pros Like Teenagers?
The behaviors of some excellent, high-performing salespeople are sometimes like those of typical American teenagers. This can be considered both pos...
31 January, 2024
Why Does Starbucks Coffee (and Canada Goose Jackets) Cost More?
Sellers must decide where to price their products: do they want to be a low-cost supplier, price according to their costs, target their prices for a c...
23 January, 2024
Should I Go Into Sales?
SHOULD I TRY TO HAVE A CAREER IN SALES Occasionally, someone approaches me and asks, “People tell me that I am a natural-born salesman, t...
18 January, 2024
Eliminate Negativity in Your Life and Be More Successful
Negativity is a slow-acting poison. When you allow negativity into your mind, your body is infected as if you have an insidious disease. It is toxic ...
16 January, 2024
Should You Leave A Message If You Receive a Prospect’s Voice Mail?
You are calling a prospect for the first time, and instead of the person answering her telephone, you reach her voicemail. “This is Anne xxx, I am...
12 January, 2024
Sell Me This Pen!
In years past, there was a mythical sales test where an older, experienced sales professional would test a new, inexperienced pen by handing him his p...
12 January, 2024
How to Make Your Presentations More Memorable
There are many experts that can coach salespeople on the mechanics of how to speak better at presentations. This is concerned with making your conte...
27 December, 2023
What is the Best Professional Cold-Call Email?
I have often been asked to explain the best professional e-mail format to send to a prospect who doesn’t know me, sometimes called a cold-call e-mai...
21 December, 2023
Perception VS Reality
I recently watched a movie, “It Ain’t Over,” about the famous major league baseball player Lawrence Berra, known as “Yogi” to everybody who ...
18 December, 2023
IT’S 10:00 PM – DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DEAL IS?
Ideally, you know exactly where your opportunity is in your sales cycle – the beginning, middle, or end, and where it stands relative to the other c...
17 June, 2020
THE SWEET SPOT TO PROSPECT
I am often asked by salespeople to explain the best method of identifying the highest-potential prospects to target. “How can I find these prime pro...
09 June, 2020
IT’S ABOUT TIME! IS IT MORE WORTHWHILE TO WORK ON STUCK SALES OR NEW PROSPECTS?
Often the difference between a salesperson that meets their sales goals, and another that does not, is simply a matter of optimizing one’s time. Man...
02 June, 2020
HOW TO RECOVER FROM A DISASTER DEMONSTRATION IN FIVE EASY STEPS
How many of you have had the experience of a demonstration “blowing up” in front of a prospect? Perhaps there was an internet connection problem, ...
26 May, 2020
5 Signs That You May Have Lost the Sale (And What You Can Do to Avoid This Happening)
The conversation with your contact Ted starts like this: “We appreciate all the time that you spent with us explaining your product and answering qu...
19 May, 2020