Even highly experienced and successful salespeople can have a blind spot. They can be so intent on what they want to accomplish that it’s easy to ignore how others view them. And it isn’t always complimentary. “Oh, don’t take Sally seriously. Just remember that she’s in sales.” In fact, salespeople find themselves on the bottom rung of the public’s trust …

Tactics constantly come and go in sales without making a significant impact on outcomes. On the other hand, solid strategies can make a significant difference in what happens. Here are 10 sales strategies that can have a positive influence on performance in 2015. 1. Define yourself clearly. Most people let others decide who they are, define their capabilities, and what …

There’s an oversupply of useless, whacky, and just plain dumb marketing and sales ideas. For example, if someone says the best time to email customers is 10 a.m. on Thursdays, forget it. What if you’re aiming at teachers, lawyers, nurses, Boomers or just about anyone else? One solution never fits everyone, even if they’re in the same market segment. So, …

There’s nothing complicated about being successful in business. It’s simple and it goes like this: It’s all about making a name for yourself. That’s it, self-promotion. Getting known. Whether it’s finding and impressing prospects, keeping current customers, or moving ahead in a career, volunteering has long been the platform for gaining visibility. For some, it’s serving on company committees and …

It’s easy to roll your eyes and moan about the state of business communications. There’s everything from incomplete, inaccurate and confusing emails and memos to meeting minutes and reports that don’t make sense. Ineffective business letters, most of which are peppered with the first person singular pronoun, are fodder for the recycling bin. All this results in errors, causes confusion, …

In Lee Child’s Without Fail, a Secret Service official simplifies a disturbing problem. “If the Yankees come to town saying they’re going to beat the Orioles, does that mean it’s true?” And then he adds, “Boasting about it is not the same thing as actually doing it.” It’s the same with sales. There’s often too much boasting and not enough …

Marketing and sales initiatives are a company’s lifeblood. Yet, the top leaders of many companies harbor serious doubts about the effectiveness of such initiatives. The confidence level among some executives is so low that they’re not sure it would make much difference if they threw most of it out. The range of opinions on marketing and sales is amazing—from doubtful …

Today, the customer story is simple. Loyalty ranges from non-existent to temporary. Mining the Internet is second nature, and people rely on smartphone apps to cut through the clutter. With an endless array of channels available, engaging your public can be an exercise in futility. Salespeople have always asked, “Whom can I talk to today?” The search for prospective customers …

It was an early morning meeting chaired by the Senior Vice President. There wasn’t any reason to anticipate fireworks on that particular day so the atmosphere was rather relaxed. A sales manager was the last to arrive, and as he sat down, he whispered to the person next to him, “All I want to do is sell.” The meaning was …

The only way for a company to find out if its marketing is performing is to doubt everything it’s doing. Instead of guessing, jumping from one initiative to another, hoping for the best, or taking advice without knowing how to evaluate it, start at the beginning by questioning your assumptions, your expectations, your personal preferences, and, particularly, your perceptions of …