I saw some investment research recently that shockingly noted how many current Android users were planning on buying an iPhone when they next purchased a smart-phone. Well over 50% would move away from the Android whereas somewhere around 90% of current iPhone users will buy another iPhone. That’s devastating for Google and I think the [...]

I’ve just read a great article on the habits of successful people which I think highlights aspects of many people’s beliefs about success that simply aren’t true. Many of us believe that talent or skill is somehow innate in people, that they somehow are different from others (or us) in their makeup, but that isn’t [...]

Are you a PowerPoint hotshot? If not, you are leaving some meat on the table when you are out pitching clients. What I mean by “hotshot” is can you make compelling, appealing and supportive presentations that really help you communicate? What I don’t mean is can you do the craziest builds or animations or graphics? [...]

I was trained in a process – extensively. It was called “Solution Sales” – and many of you newbies out there would be well served by familiarizing yourself with it. IBM and Xerox developed this process and it fundamentally changed B2B Sales, turning it from a scatter-shot and hale-fellow well met kind of approach, to a professional endeavor in which the salesperson acted as a consultant and problem solver.

The Basics – Old School but still fantastic, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie and See you at the Top by Zig Ziglar. Some might think them a bit corny, but they are very accessible and cover so many of the basic things a salesperson has to do right – and until a salesperson masters the basics, they have no chance at becoming a big deal or strategic sales executive. They’ve all written dozens of other books that are great too, but my recommendations are for the books that made them famous.

Those who are great at anything do the fundamentals well, and without apparent effort. Whether it’s a musician or a baseball player, they seem to be able to perform without focusing on all the individual actions that comprise their task. A great golfer knows to not think about the mechanics of the swing on the course, trusting that he/she has already grooved in the right mechanics. Instead, the focus of the top pros is the shot at hand, all the decision making at the moment is on where and how to move the ball towards the hole, not whether his left knee bends in the right direction, at the right moment.