Making Mistakes

We all make mistakes and have bad plays. The important thing is to learn from them and endeavor to make less of them as time goes by.  Lou Gehrig said it best: “In the beginning I used to make one terrible play a game. Then I got so I’d make one a week and finally…

Moving Up

Want to move up, personally and professionally?  It’s not something you can do a little at a time with the occasional break thrown into the mix.  As Stephen R. Covey said, “character and skill development is a process of ongoing improvement or progression, a constant upward spiral.”  Moving up takes constancy of will and decision…

A Bad Attitude Poisons Everything

A bad attitude can be detrimental to the success of a sales operation whether it’s had by a newbie or by a veteran employee.  Perhaps more so if it’s the employee who’s been on the team for many years. Regardless of the experience and skill of the employee, you must not tolerate a bad attitude. …

Have Principles, Not Scripts

The other day I posted a comic poking fun at sales people who rely on a script to get them through the sale.  You don’t want a script, but you do want principles.  Personal integrity, of course, which, as Stephen R. Covey knew, leads to strength of character.  At each sale, even to customers and…

The Music of Sales

Sales is like jazz. You have to know your notes, but you need the freedom to go where the moment takes you. You have to practice and prepare, but you have to expect the unexpected.  You need a plan, but you better not just go through the motions. Each prospect will be different. You won’t…

Staying on Top

Success in any business is not something you achieve one day and keep forever.  You have to keep achieving it, every day, no matter how skilled and talented you’ve become. Your attributes, skills, and abilities help, of course, but you also need the will to win each day.  Otherwise, you peak, and over the months…

Getting the Right Sales Job for You

Over at Forbes, Jacquelyn Smith offers five tips on getting the best possible sales job.  She suggests finding the right fit, doing your homework, asking thoughtful questions and listening to answers, clearly articulating your value position, and following up.  All good advice, but I would suggest at least one more: practice before the interview. Get…

Steve Prefontaine on Competition

Steve Prefontaine once remarked, “Something inside of me just said ‘Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,’ and I just took off.”  This quote of his captures an important lesson for those of us in a competitive business: to win, we have to want to win.  When we desire to win and recognize…