I loved living there. I had lots of friends, family, security and stability. It was a great place to be a kid. My career objective at the time was to become a truck driver so I could drive big rigs and blow loud air horns. My parents divorced when I was 5, remarried each other a…
Author: Steve Ainslie
Buy a Cheaper House & Retire Early
I hate spending money. It actually upsets my stomach when I think about making a big purchase. I’ll spend weeks thinking about spending $50 or $100 on an item that would be nice to have but is not necessarily a must have. So you can imagine how difficult it is for me when I go…
Mr. Nobody Man
Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be a superhero. When I was four I’d run around and jump off of furniture in the house in my underwear, my sister’s kneesocks and a makeshift cape shouting out that I was “Mr. Nobody Man!” Then when I was a little older, I became…
How Can a Bidet Solve Your Sales Problem?
I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to learn that I recently installed a bidet in my bathroom. It all started earlier this year when my son Zack returned from a photo shoot in Portugal and exclaimed, We are so stupid in the US! I can’t believe we use toilet paper when the rest of the world uses…
Surprise Party
I turn 50 this month and it got me thinking about my last birthday party – way back when I turned 17. I had been livid all that week because I had caught my best friend Jeff on the phone several times with my girlfriend Julie. Even though Jeff had never given me any reason to…
Take Advantage of Being the Boss
I hate business travel and the complications that come with it: inevitable flight delays & cancellations, noisy hotel rooms promising sleepless nights, bad food at high prices and anything that has to do with flying. Even when I’m out of town for just one night I miss my wife, my pets, my bed, my house and even…
Don’t Be The Answer Man
As the manager of your sales team, you might have more sales expertise, business savvy and (maybe) even more street smarts than any of the reps on your team. If you are an experienced manager, this might be true. (Even worse – if you are an inexperienced manager, you probably think this is true.) One trap…
How Can Paying Attention To History Help You Sell More?
When I took Snickers on her morning walk today, we ran into someone I’d never met before walking his dog down the street. After our dogs finished sniffing each others butts, the man surprised me (no, he did not sniff my butt). He said, I’m Dave. I used to live in your house.
When Should Sales Managers Update Their Resume and LinkedIn?
I’m not a recruiter, but because I stay in touch with good headhunters and All Stars within my network, they often contact me when they are hiring sales managers, directors and VPs. If I know someone who might be a good match, I’ll connect him to the headhunter and let the two of them take…
How Sales Taught Me To Face My Fears By Taking Action
On my 2nd day of work as “Technical Sales Guy” at the advertising agency, my boss and I arrived at our client’s office and were escorted into a huge boardroom full of VP’s who had flown in from all over the country for this meeting. When all 30 people turned to stare at us, I wanted to…