The 3 Sales Books You Need Most
We recently hired a Sales and Marketing professional so I asked myself, "What are the 3 sales books that influenced me the most in the last year or two?"
So here it is, the three books (well actually it is 5) that will form the core of our initial Sales training program.
The 3 Sales Books You Need Most
The Go-Giver
The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John […]
The Complexity of Simplicity
Sometimes simple is simple. Sometimes making things appear simple is complex.
Things should be as simple for your clients as possible. They already have enough challenges without your products and services adding to them.
Our Example
We recently built a complex web-based tool for a customer. We designed one of the features to be super powerful.
But that required 12 plus different buttons to control that power. We were going to have to […]
5 Questions to Avoid The Cost of NOT Thinking
I recently came across two distinct examples of corporate wastage that could have been prevented fairly easily.
Two companies leaving money on the table and not even adding any extra value by doing so.
Actually they are eroding perceived value AND wasting money. Two cardinal sins of business.
The thing is, the solutions are obvious.
Nesting Eggs
I opened up a big bubble wrap envelope today. Inside were four more bubble wrap envelopes.
Inside each bubble wrap envelope was a cardboard […]
Start with Value
There are a number of times in business where you are
tempted to jump to a solution without really considering your customers first.
This is a big mistake.
Setting Your Price
Recently we were trying to figure out where to position
ourselves for pricing of some of our products and services.
The obvious first step is to look at what your direct and
indirect competitors are doing and use that as a baseline. You can then pick
the low, mid or high point and go from there. They must know what they are
doing, right?
Wrong.
[…]
“Hire People Smarter Than You” Is Dumb
There is a common piece of wisdom that is basically, “If you really want to grow your business you need to hire people who are smarter than you”.
While well intentioned this advice is potentially the worst
advice you could apply to your business.
It limits the discussion to intelligence and narrows your
thinking.
Why Smart?
What if you are really, really smart? Who would you hire
then?
And if you are not all that smart you can safely hire anyone.
Do really smart people outperform less smart […]
“You” Are The Limit on Business Growth
As a founder, your business will grow only as much as you can handle.
Grow more than that and your business will either shrink back to the size you can handle (if you are lucky) or implode (if you run out of money).
There are two ways to continue to grow the business:
- Accept that you must change and then grow your own abilities; or
- Step aside and let someone else grow the business.
Neither are easy.
It was true for […]
Pursuing “Happiness” is Overrated
As people move out of survival and safety mode and up the Maslov pyramid, they generally start pursuing "happiness" as a goal.
I'll be happy when….
But is our obsession with happiness causing us to be unhappy? Is it even the right goal? Do happy business owners and employees perform better in the market?
Happiness Is Overrated
Happiness as a destination is the wrong way to look at it.
If we never know unhappiness we would never do anything different or change.
Try […]
Welcoming Big Changes in Your Business
Many businesses are reacting to change when they absolutely have to. They are not anticipating changes and moving ahead of their competitors.
Tactical thinking rather than strategic.
This will continue to be true.
In Crossing the Chasm (Geoffrey Moore) the curve for adopting new technology (and ideas) is a bell curve. The Innovators and Early Adopters are a small group. Even the entire group of the Early Majority only brings the adoption rate up to 50%.
This is great news for strategic thinking business owners because disruption can let you jump ahead of your competitors.
A Trip to the Dentist
I needed a root canal […]
The Myth of Life Sucking Managers Versus Inspiring Leaders
I’ve noticed a trend lately in
many articles and posts online to cast management as a bit of a negative beast
from the past and leadership as the enlightened path to the future.
“Don’t be a manager… be a
leader.”
Compliance versus commitment.
There was a similar trend for
people in sales a while back as the profession was cast with a negative spin; “call
yourself anything but a salesperson”.
But is this really justified or
even necessary? Is it actually harmful?
I believe we […]
The Easy Path or the Hard Road
In business and life we are often faced with choices: the seemingly easy path and the hard road.
The Easy Path
There are times when the easy path is the right choice. No need to complicate life for things that don't really matter.
A lot the time though, the easy path only seems easier and often is only easier over the short-term.
Yet, most people will take the easy path anyways. Brush things under the rug. Don't deal with problems. Put things off.
The easy path is easier right now. That is all that matters.
After-all, maybe the consequences will never materialize.
[…]