Blog
People Hate Being Sold. So Don’t Sell Them
People hate being sold. Of course, people want things. If they are in the business of buying and using PCBs for example, they need to buy them. But they want to feel they are in control. They want to “decide” on their own, (or so they think) without someone chattering in their ear about how great their particular boards are. […]
How Dedicated Are You?
Watching the Olympics over the past few days, I can’t help but be impressed with the amount of passion and dedication that these athletes have for their sport. Their background bios are filled with stories of speed swimmers’ parents driving them to pools at 3:30 in the morning; of gymnasts leaving home at the age twelve to pursue their dreams; […]
Listen!
The salesperson has been working on getting that live meeting for weeks. Finally, she gets in front of the customer. By now the customer is one of two things: they are either enchanted and curious, or they are sick and tired of hearing from her and intend to end the barrage once and for all and get rid of this […]
At Least Try To Be Found!
The other day a rep I did not know called me to get some advice about a new product line. He left only his name, no phone number and yet he asked me to call him back! Fortunately, I have caller ID. Maybe he just assumed that everyone has caller ID. But he called my office phone not my mobile […]
What A Time We Live In!
As I sat in the back seat of my UBER the other day looking at the smartphone the driver was using to find my destination, I could not help but wonder at all of the changes that have occurred in the world during the past 45 years. I remember hosting a group of people to watch the 6th game of […]
A Hunting We Will Go!
The Ideal Customer Profile Okay let’s start off with that old Willie Sutton saw: When asked why he robbed banks, the famous or infamous bank robber responded, “Because that’s where the money is.” Which reminds me of some of the sales people we know who are out prospecting for new customers and orders while having no idea what they are […]
The Rep / Principal Relationship Part Four: The Productive Partnership
For the past three weeks we have been discussing the rep-principal relationship and how it needs to be improved, for the future. We listed what the reps want from this relationship and what the principals want from the relationship and just by comparing those two lists we can see that there are some wide gaps between. Which leads me back […]
Reps vs Principals Week Three: What The Reps Want
Turn around is fair play: last week we discussed what the principals want from the rep-principal relationship, now we are going to discuss what the reps want. As we mentioned last week, these are wish lists only, some of the things both these entities want are not fair or even practical, but it symbolizes the chasm between their agendas, which […]
Reps Part Two: What The Principals Want
Last week in the first column of this four part series we discussed how the rep/principal relationship is no longer as productive as it once was. We discussed the disconnect between what the reps want out of the relationship and what the reps want from it. And we discussed how this relationship has to not only be examined and re-examined […]
The Sales Rep Dilemma: There Has To Be A Better Way
Overall, the sales rep-principal relationship is not working the way it used to. In fact, it is archaic to the point of being unworkable. Let’s look at this issue from both sides and examine why it just doesn’t work. From the Reps point of view here the challenges of being a rep in 2021: Reps are wary of principals especially […]
