Where are the sales classes in business school?

By on February 16th, 2009 in Sales Strategy
3 comments

I didn’t go to business school. I decided to start my own company right after college – just jumping in and figuring it out as I went along. I’m not sure that I would recommend this model to most people. I think I was too naive to know the risks that were ahead of me – but I think it was the right move for me. What’s is interesting is that as I started and grew my company I didn’t struggle with the concepts of valuation, or financing, or competition, or management or marketing, or any of these topics. What was the hardest thing to learn to do?

Where are the sales classes in business school? full post

(476 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

The value of a rolodex

By on February 3rd, 2009 in Sales Management, Sales Strategy
12 comments

I find it amusing that the word “rolodex” is still in the lexicon.  I don’t know of any professional salesperson that I work with that still uses one of these devices.  Yet, they still sell these things!  Who is buying them?  Are there salespeople who store their most valuable information source on handwritten cards on their desk?

With Outlook, salesforce.com, pipelinedeals, highrise, or any of the other fantastic digital products that exist in managing and keeping on top of contacts, would anybody really still use a physical rolodex?  Rolodex has never released, to my knowledge, a successful digital product.

The value of a rolodex full post

(795 words, 1 image, estimated 3:11 mins reading time)

Sales Lessons from my 2-year old: Persistance

By on January 30th, 2009 in Sales Strategy
9 comments

Think about a typical conversation with a two year old:

Tina: “Daddy, can I have some candy?”
Daddy: “not now”
Tina: “Daddy, can I have a cookie?”
Daddy: “Its two hours until dinner, not now”
Tina: “PLEASE!”
Daddy: “I said no”
Tina: “Can I have an apple?”
Daddy: “Oh, alright. Fine – have an apple.”

While some may read this conversation and determine that I am a pushover, I want you to read into the persistence of the two year old. Not once, did Tina think that she wouldn’t eventually get something to eat – she just needed to figure out the right words, the right win-win solution so that she could get what she wanted. And – she did!

Sales Lessons from my 2-year old: Persistance full post

(316 words, estimated 1:16 mins reading time)

Revealing Price Too Early In An Enterprise Sale

By on January 25th, 2009 in Sales Strategy
1 comment

Recently, I negotiated and closed an account on behalf of one of my clients.  The deal had the potential to be very large, yet the ultimate deal came through at a significantly lower cost than I originally proposed.

Revealing Price Too Early In An Enterprise Sale full post

(998 words, estimated 4:0 mins reading time)

Strive to pay higher taxes in 2009

By on January 6th, 2009 in Sales Strategy
No comments yet

With all this talk about tax breaks and tax credits going on, I want it on record that I want to pay MORE taxes in 2009 than I did in 2008.

I don’t want to pay more taxes because I’m super patriotic (although I am).  I’m want to do it for one reason… because I want to make a sick amount of money.  One of my first posts at QuotaCrush was on this topic:  Why I’m happy about my Tax Bill I’m not going to comment on relative tax rates or what constitutes rich or not.  I’m not commenting on what should get a tax credit or not.  What I’m saying is that as a salesperson, if you are paying a high tax bill, it is probably because you sold a lot of stuff and got rewarded for it.

Strive to pay higher taxes in 2009 full post

(185 words, estimated 44 secs reading time)

Easy to Buy = Easier to Sell

By on January 5th, 2009 in Sales Management, Sales Strategy, Start-ups
5 comments

This morning I went to buy a cup of coffee.  This coffee shop charged $1.95 for a cup of coffee – after tax it was $2.11 per cup.  I watched as the line built up and built up while the cashiers made change for each person that tried to buy a simple cup of coffee.  I even saw people walking away because the line was getting too long.  I wondered why this shop didn’t change the price just to make the act of buying a cup of coffee that much easier.  There is a LOT of margin in a $2 cup of coffee – and by simply lowing the price (even a penny) they could have made buying the coffee that much easier and I would argue, made more money in the long run.

Easy to Buy = Easier to Sell full post

(611 words, estimated 2:27 mins reading time)

Pay on profit or revenue

By on January 2nd, 2009 in Compensation, Sales Management
No comments yet

Its been too long since I’ve blogged.  Lots of good things going on with QuotaCrush, plus the holidays have kept me away, but I have several topics on which I want to write about and I am goign to be more diligent with sitting down to write. 

In the mean-time, an interesting question has come up recently with two different clients about what should be the basis for commission on which I thought I would write a mini-post.  Should you pay based on the amount of profit that the sales produces – or should you pay based on the amount of revenue that the project produces.

Pay on profit or revenue full post

(686 words, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

Who to hire for my start-up? Gray hair or jeans

By on December 18th, 2008 in Compensation, Sales Management, Sales Strategy, Start-ups
7 comments

In speaking to so many start-up entrepreneurs, I get the same question over and over again:  what type of sales person should I be hiring?

This is a very interesting dilemma for start-up companies as they begin to build their sales plan, and as they try their best to get to profitability.  You have a serious choice.  Do you hire someone who is experienced in sales or do you hire a junior, super-energetic salesperson.

Who to hire for my start-up? Gray hair or jeans full post

(860 words, estimated 3:26 mins reading time)

Start with the right sales relationship

By on December 17th, 2008 in Random Thought, Sales Management, Sales Strategy
7 comments

In the past two days, I’ve gotten a call from two of the banks that I do business with.  The first one, Chase, holds my home equity line, and I got a call from a woman who wanted to talk to me about my line.  The second bank is TD Bank and they hold my personal checking account and also my QuotaCrush business account.

What was interesting is that both banks were calling me with essentially the same exact pitch.  Both women that called me wanted to call to establish a “relationship” with me.  They wanted to let me know that they would be my “personal banker” and that I could call them with any questions and concerns and they would help me out.

Start with the right sales relationship full post

(947 words, estimated 3:47 mins reading time)

My Christmas Tie Mistake

By on December 10th, 2008 in Sales Management, Sales Strategy
5 comments

Mickey Christmas TieThis morning I had a sales meeting, and before I went I sent out a tweet that said “business casual sales meetings means I get to wear my really cool Christmas ties almost never… I think I’m going to wear them anyway…”

So… I go to my meeting, and the very first thing the man says to me is, “Interesting tie choice. I’m curious as to why you would wear that.  I think perhaps you didn’t think about whether wearing a Christmas tie would bother me.”  I was caught quite off-guard and for a moment thought perhaps he was following me on twitter and was making a joke about my morning comment – but alas he wasn’t.  He was truly upset at my tie choice.

My Christmas Tie Mistake full post

(466 words, 1 image, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

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