Every manager needs to schedule time to reflect on the current week and to plan for the upcoming week. Some people like to do this on the weekends or on Sunday nights. I’ve done that in the past until I figured out that working all the time wasn’t sustainable. Now I schedule this time during the workweek. For me,…
Close More Deals by Paying Attention to Buying Signals
My first sales job was selling Apple Computers to business customers who visited the Pittsburgh Computer Store. Our top rep was Joe. He arrived to work earlier than everyone, focused his entire day on selling, and always asked for the sale. He sold at least 2x what the rest of us did.
Sell More By Returning Calls From Prospects
Today I am trying to hire a fence builder. My fence, along with many fences in my neighborhood, was blown down by Hurricane Irma. When I called a bunch of companies a few weeks after the storm, only one called me back. The rest never responded at all.
Teach Your Reps to Have a Strong Q4 Close
I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was in 1st grade. One night in December, I was looking around our living room and realized that not only didn’t we have a fireplace – we didn’t even have a chimney! I asked my Dad how Santa would get into our house since we didn’t have a…
Are Your Reps Chasing the Wrong Leads?
I haven’t had a professional haircut in more than 5 years. (My wife says, “You don’t need to tell anyone that, it’s quite obvious”.) A few years ago I was looking at some old high school pictures and thought it would be cool to grow my hair long again. So I did.
How to Tackle a Sales Problem You’ve Never Seen Before
I cut a hole in my perfectly fine living room wall this past weekend. It all started when my wife and I decided we needed a dog door. After some research, I found the Hale Pet Wall Door and thought “I can install this.” After all, their website says, “Any person with a working knowledge…
Work 1% Harder – How to Move Up in a Big Company
About 10 years ago, my wife and I had just purchased a house (again), when I received an unexpected call from my boss. “Steve…I’m going to have to let you go. This isn’t working out.” With a new mortgage, plenty of home repair projects lined up and a boatload of bills, I was not a…
Why You are Not on My Mailing List
At Inside Sales Dude, word of mouth referrals are crucial for generating consulting projects. I want people to think of me when they are trying to solve a sales problem. One way to I stay “top of mind” is by writing blog posts providing practical advice for Sales Management. If I dumped all of my contacts…
My Experience With Hurricane Irma
7 Days Before Landfall – Preparations When I first heard that Hurricane Irma might hit us in Southeast Florida, I thought, “I better gas up the cars now before everybody panics.” That turned out to be a smart move. The very next day, cars were lined up for 2 hours getting gas and stations began…
Fix Your Broken Outbound Prospecting
My Grandpa was one of those guys who could fix anything. One summer, when I was a little kid, Grandpa decided it was time to paint our porches and that I was old enough to help. First we had to replace a few rotten tongue-and-groove boards. Then we had to hand scrape and sand down…