Scott Pemberton

Senior Consultant John McDermott is a member of the United States team competing in the 14th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships 2019, August 20-25, in Pattaya-Rayong, Thailand. The International Dragon Boat Federation sponsors the event every other year for its 74 member nations. From the stern, as helmsman McDermott steers one of the traditional, colorful vessels in the 2000-meter

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To develop much better referrals to conclude this year and launch next year, enroll in our popular half-day course “Referrals: The Workshop” on Monday, November 4. It runs from 8 a.m. to noon at the Productive Strategies offices in Northfield, Illinois. In a business-to-business environment, referrals can lead to 80% of all new business. But building solid referrals does take

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The short answer is “Yes!” Selling is not magic. It’s a process that can be taught—and learned. One of our large, global law firm clients has been tracking the results of our small-group consultative sales training of their attorneys. We’ve trained about 50 attorneys in eight cities. The study is controlled for gender and experience. For the first full year,

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To develop much better referrals this year, enroll in our popular half-day course “Referrals: The Workshop” on Monday, November 4. It runs from 8 a.m. to noon at the Productive Strategies offices in Northfield, Illinois. In a business-to-business environment, referrals can lead to 80% of all new business. But building solid referrals does take time–and a proven process. Don’t be left

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We believe that consultative selling can be defined as creating value during the sales process–that creating value before the sale gives you the right to close because you’ve earned it. The question for every salesperson then is, how do you create value? We find that probably 75 percent of salespeople and other business developers don’t know the answer to that question. They may think

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Our age is one of disruptive change, not only in politics but also in business. Now, more than ever, getting sales and marketing to work together, and mean it, offers opportunity to reshape the time-honored mathematics of collaboration. Not only can 1 + 1 = 3, but also 4, 5, 6, 7, and more–in fact, a lot more. So, what’s

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The unequivocal answer is “probably.“ But it’s an awfully strong probably that’s backed up in research and in practice. In our consultative sales training course and in our coaching, we’ve always advocated taking notes during discovery with prospects or customers. No breakthrough there. Taking notes just seems to be commonsense, right? If only because notes will help you to remember what

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Mourn no more. Reports of the death of e-mail have been greatly exaggerated. When it makes sense for one of our clients, we’ll suggest a nurture marketing program, often involving an e-mail newsletter or, more often, a column by-lined by the client. When we do, the client’s response is almost always a variation of “E-mail? I thought that didn’t work anymore.” Followed

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Yes, you can write a book. And, no, I don’t mean the one on your nightstand, the one you think you’re reading as you doze off and turn out the light. I mean a book that you write–sharing your wisdom, explaining how you got where you are, demonstrating your expertise, telling all those entertaining and enlightening “war stories” that make your points

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Make no mistake: Traditional negotiation tactics and strategies are still on the table. But attitudes and perspectives have changed, and changes in negotiating behavior have followed. The “new” negotiation is more consultative in nature. It’s communication designed to persuade, not pummel; to cooperate, not compete. Used to be, for example, that resisting compromise tooth and nail was a hallmark of strong

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