You are the CEO of your personal brand. What does this mean, and why does it matter? In today’s world, whether you’re building a career in a corporation, as a skilled car mechanic, a talented beautician, or a dedicated elementary school teacher, managing your personal brand is essential to distinguish yourself...
I love sports and often use sports analogies. Now is the time of Major League Baseball's Spring training. At every team's camp, at least one or more young men try to earn a place on the team's roster. Here is a hypothetical situation: Your team has two people at camp competing for one...
My background has primarily been selling enterprise-wide financial, human resource, medical, anti-money laundering, and manufacturing solutions. In most cases, the prospective buyer has strategically decided to change their infrastructure. The highest-level executives typically make these decisions in an organization. So, when deciding who to sell to in the organization, it...
This past week, I had a case of influenza. It reminded me of an incident many years ago when I began my career as an accountant. I joined the cost accounting department for GD Searle & Co., then an independent, more than one-hundred-year-old, family-controlled public biotechnology company, now a Pfizer subsidiary....
“Catch-22” was a popular fictional book and later a movie published by Joseph Heller in 1961. In Heller’s book, an Air Force lieutenant desired to be exempted from a bombing mission because he claimed he was insane. But, claiming he was insane to avoid a dangerous mission demonstrated that he was...
One of the most overlooked keys to sales success is Attitude. A positive attitude consists of being mentally optimistic and self-confident. It is essential in sales—and life! Attitude is as important as skill in determining sales success. How can you perform well if you’re not in your best mental state? If...
Some sales pros work for companies that furnish adequate suspects and unqualified leads to keep them busy achieving their sales goals. I was not as fortunate, working for several technology companies and a few start-ups. If I did not develop leads, I would have starved and been terminated from my...
Many sales pros ask me what to do when the prospect doesn’t return calls or emails. You have been calling on a prospect for several months and believe you have established rapport with your contact. You presented a thoroughly researched business case about two weeks ago but have not received...
This sounds like an obvious statement. Wouldn't Homer Simpson say "duh" if I said this to him? Isn't it a binary condition—either one or the other? And isn't the reverse then true, too? No, not really. It also could be neither. It is not that simple. How do you know whether you...
I am often asked this question: If a buyer gives you the choice to be the first, middle, or last seller to present your proposed solution to the evaluation team, which should you choose? Conventional wisdom suggests that one should try to be the final presenter when the buyer reviews several...