Category: Uncategorized

I need to get something off my back—literally and figuratively. I’ve dealt with significant lower back pain for most of my life, and it has reached the point where I’m now exploring serious medical intervention. Along that journey, I’ve learned an important lesson about doctors: you don’t truly know what kind of doctor you have...

One of my favorite phrases to share with leaders is, “The mood of the king is the mood of the kingdom.” It’s a simple but powerful way to illustrate just how influential leadership is on a company’s culture—for better or worse. A companion phrase I often use is, “What leaders praise becomes culture.” Most people...

I’ve worked with and coached hundreds of salespeople over the course of my career, and one truth consistently stands out: true sales rockstars are rare. They exist, and when you have one on your team, it’s a gift. But most sales professionals are solid A or B players—reliable performers who may not dominate the company...

One of my favorite first assignments when working with a new client is deceptively simple: allow someone the opportunity to sell you something. On the surface, it sounds easy enough. We encounter salespeople constantly in our daily lives, yet most of us are expertly trained to avoid them. We ignore, deflect, or say “no” before...

I suppose it was only a matter of time before I had to step onto the bandwagon and address the topic everyone seems compelled to have an opinion about: the future of sales and AI. I’ll be direct—I don’t know exactly where it’s headed, and I’m not nearly as concerned as some think I should...

What’s the longest you’ve ever stayed committed to the wrong decision? More importantly, how do you know the difference between something that simply needs more time and something that clearly isn’t working? Every year, businesses experiment with new sales strategies, marketing campaigns, customer segments, processes, and technologies. Ask any owner or manager and they’ll quickly...

I remember a particular job interview for a sales position where the sales manager asked about my goals—career goals, life goals, financial goals. I knew exactly what he wanted to hear: income targets, promotions, growth, cars, a house. The standard answers. The internal debate was simple: tell him what he wanted to hear to get...

I often struggle to understand why so many people settle into a routine of simply going through the motions. To be clear, I understand how it happens. Stress, setbacks, and prolonged struggle have a way of wearing us down until complacency feels safer than ambition. Life is hard. Work is hard. Selling is hard. Most...

We sure do love our shortcuts, don’t we? Technology has only amplified that temptation as it evolves faster than most of us can keep up. When salespeople believe they’ve discovered a tool that can magically generate new business without effort, there’s a sense of relief—finally, something that can do the hard part for us. I’ll...

Customers have a unique way of both creating and solving many of the problems in our businesses. If you’ve ever caught yourself saying, “Customers—can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em,” then you know exactly what I mean. Most of us don’t have the luxury of cherry-picking who we work with; we serve the customers...