Colleen’s Blog

In every sales territory and in every organization, there's a hidden danger—one that has the potential to be lethal if left unchecked. It emerges only when "the unexpected" occurs. That's usually something big and potentially destabilizing. It could take the form of a sudden severe weather event, a change in management, a shift in organizational priorities in your client's company, or even a downturn in one or more sectors of the economy.

Helicoptering behaviour: it isn't just limited to parenting. It's a real problem in the workplace today. And it's especially damaging in sales organizations.

Years ago, I was at a large gathering of CEOs: all sharp thinkers who want to see their companies grow. While I'd been invited to address their forum to talk about the sales process, what many of them really wanted to ask me about afterwards was where they fit in that process. Specifically: do CEOs need to get involved in selling, and if so, when?

No one in sales has an unobstructed 360-degree view of their relationship with their customers. Nobody. Not even top performers.

The days of the "ideal buyer" have gone the way of the dinosaurs. So has the routine sales pitch.

There isn't a buzzword out there today that's more dated than the notion of you being in "partnership" with your client. The fact that it's still used so irritatingly often in business today should give you serious pause.

"Why aren't we just doing what our biggest competitor is doing?"

"How can I sell more?" I hear that question a lot from salespeople everywhere. More often than not, it's framed around a false assumption: the belief that you need to get more to sell more.