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Jeff opens up about his decision to go dry in January, meaning no alcohol, and what he learned from getting out of what had become part of his routine. What does it mean when something becomes part of our routine, our flow, and what happens when we change that flow up? It could be alcohol or it could be something in your tech stack, some piece of your sales process that has become routine but may not be serving you anymore.
Read MoreToday we're thinking about mindset. Are you? Jeb Blount released a new book this week and it's about leading a purpose driven negotiation. Negotiation isn't something that just "happens" at the end of your sales process, it's result of all of the things that happen in every phase of your sales process. If you're not thinking about the "why" behind the endgame of your sale, you're more than likely going to lose the deal or get taken advantage. How are you looking at your process, the way you do what you do? Do you understand the data behind where you want to be by the end of the year?
Read MoreIf there's one thing Christie loves to do it's challenge herself. The new year presents a new opportunity to challenge herself in a new way. She'll reveal how she is pushing herself over the next 66 days. How are you pushing yourself? What have you implemented that will in some small way help you achieve your bigger goals for 2020?
Read MoreFor some, the new year presents a hall pass of sorts to try some new things and get out of our old routines and into new ones. So what will be your new routine for 2020? What inefficiencies will you eliminate? What additional structures will you integrate into your professional life?
Read MoreAs we prepare to receive gifts for ourselves or our children this holiday season, a question lingers in the back of our minds...what will we do with the old possessions these new gifts will replace? It's the same question we can ask of our professional lives. What strategies, resources, projects, clients do we need to move away from to make room from all that we'll bring in in 2020?
Read MoreThe pitch is dead! Trying to find the right thing to say at the right time to close the sale and saying that thing to every person you meet is a fools errand. Sales, unlike acting in movies, is not about memorizing lines. Let's talk about what you should be focusing on instead.
Read MoreWhere do you draw the line between influence and manipulation? I'm thinking about Dale Carnegie's classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People. It's one of the seminal books on sales, it's great, it's one of those things that you can keep going back to because the wisdom in it is timeless. But is it also contrived?
Read MoreIn preparation for an interview with sales thinker, leader, author Anthony Iannarino I decided to read his amazing sales blog to see what was on his mind. Coincidentally, what was on his mind was...preparation!
Read MoreThere are times in our lives, times in our personal lives, times in our business lives where we do things with good intentions but sometimes for the wrong reasons. Sometimes we recognize that it's not necessarily a good fit early on, but for whatever reason we continue to push forward and whether or not it ends in a good outcome or a bad outcome or anywhere in between we learn something along the way.
Read MoreTop performers set intentions. It's simple to say, difficult to execute. Growing as a salesperson, business person or entrepreneur means change. Are you changing up your routines? Optimizing your workflows? Re-evaluating your sales processes? In order to change we must set the intention to change. Jeff shares more thoughts on his own growth strategies and what intentions he's setting for the remainder of this year in this Monday Musing.
Read MoreJust say, "No,"...if you believe you can.
In order to be successful, you have to do more things that will make you successful. In order to do the things that will make you more successful you have to set boundaries on your time, prioritizing success tasks over your everyday tasks.
Read MoreAfter a short hiatus, Christie is back for another Motivation Monday. This week, Christie is thinking about assumptions and how many times we can get things wrong in a sales process. You take a cue from a customer, assign meaning to it and assume that means that they are ready for the next step. You are certain the sale is made.
Read MoreWhat are you paying attention to? Jeff is paying attention to his last two musings and doing some deeper reflections on what we can learn about sales from comedians. He's noticed just how well comedians notice things.
Read MoreWhat are you paying attention to? Jeff is paying attention to his last two musings and doing some deeper reflections on what we can learn about sales from comedians. He's noticed just how well comedians notice things.
Read MoreLast week the band Tool released an album for the first time in 13 years. This isn't an album review, but to Jeff, this band represents progress more than most. They began as a metal act in the early nineties and they've changed into something completely different. This band is very, very much the same, but the music has progressed. It resembles the journey that anyone engaged with their purpose, their why, goes through over time. How are you progressing?
Read MoreAre you buried in your business books? Are you knee deep in the latest entrepreneurial how-to? It might be time to step outside the purely professional and expose your brain to alternative sources of wisdom.
Read MoreCan you teach me how to close? I need to close more sales. I have a closing problem. I feel like I'm getting the ball really close to the finish line, really close to the goal line and I just can't seem to get it all the way over. I've got news for you. You don't have a closing problem.
Read MoreThat feeling when your heart is full, your eyes well up a bit and your stomach feels funny, that feeling of gratitude. It can hit you at any moment. Last week it hit Jeff at a golf outing with his friends in beautiful Bandon Dunes, Oregon. Gratitude is a feeling that is intricately and inexorably linked to our mental, emotional and business health. Having gratitude is important but recognizing moments where you are experiencing gratitude and sharing that with others is essential.
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