Blog

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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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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Whether an internship lasts six weeks in the summer or an entire semester, spending time in corporate America as a college student can be incredibly valuable. Not only is it a learning experience for the student, but a good intern also creates value for the host company. The relationship between manager and intern is key to making the experience worthwhile

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Last year, a remarkable organization called Feed My Starving Children engaged 900,000 volunteers to “pack” 229 million highly nutritious meals designed to save the lives of severely malnourished children ( www.fmsc.org). A tall order, to be sure. But you can help in a fun, hands-on way and network as you’ve never networked before. You’re invited to join us on Tuesday, August

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US companies with sales of $1 billion or more want to make 44 percent more of their products in the US over five years, or nearly half of all their products, reports Fortune(November 17). But when they look to US manufacturers to produce those products, they can get an unpleasant surprise: They can’t find anybody to do the work or, sometimes, anybody who

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