Blog #89 Hey Mr. B2B Sales Person, Are Your Voicemail Messages Being Returned?By First ApproachAugust 21, 20170 comments#firstapproach #blog89 Ever leave a voicemail that wasn’t returned? Okay, I know, silly question. There are numerous ways to approach this question, but for the context of this post it will be through the lens of the B2B sales professional, the person who most depends on being able to connect and ...Read more...
Blog#88 – Sales Team Not Prospecting, Whose Fault Is That?By First ApproachJuly 28, 20170 comments#firstapproach #blog88 My business, First Approach , is all about the business of B2B sales, and more specifically prospecting within the B2B world. My experience over more years than I care to count has afforded me an intimate vantage point over sales people and those who manage them. I’ve seen good ...Read more...
Blog #87 Finding Prospects with a Need Today; why it’s a Waste of Time and the Well You KnowsBy First ApproachMay 9, 20170 comments#firstapproach #blogpost87 Any professional sales person that’s been in the game for even a short while understands the necessity of finding new clients with a need. It’s of little matter what you’re selling; be it a complex technology solution or envelopes to stuff. The quest to find new ...Read more...
Blog #86 How to Drive Real Results Around Net New Logo BusinessBy First ApproachFebruary 15, 20170 commentsWhat you’re about to read may well make me a little unpopular with some sales people. The subject, “How to drive real results around net new logo business”, as opposed to only realizing sales from existing or renewal business confounds just about every sales manager ...Read more...
Blog #85 If Marketing Says It’s So, It Must Be So…By First ApproachJanuary 11, 20170 commentsMost any B2B sales professional looking at the above cartoon will end up with a wry grin on their face; let me explain. While there has always been somewhat of a schism between sales and marketing; there, I said it, now it’s out there, the eight hundred pound gorilla, the ...Read more...
Blog #84 Financial Results: Why They Don’t Matter All That MuchBy First ApproachOctober 28, 20160 comments#blog So here you are, the end of another quarter, another year or another whatever. Perhaps you’re the CEO, the CFO or the Chief Sales Officer, or maybe you’re the sales rep and your period end is looming; your financial results about to be submitted and scrutinized. This is ...Read more...
Grit: The Power of Passion and PerseveranceBy First ApproachJune 20, 20160 comments#blog Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Why never giving up is a worthwhile goal Jun 4th 2016 | From the print edition Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. By Angela Duckworth.Scribner; 352 pages; . FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, a German philosopher, once stated ...Read more...
Blog #83 The Fastest Way to Make More Money; ServiceBy First ApproachMarch 9, 20160 commentsSomethings not right, right? Service, service is a cost centre, service is an overhead. How in the world can focusing on a cost center, let alone advocating investing more heavily in “overhead” make more money, let me explain. Some days ago, I received a receipt from iTunes ...Read more...
Blog #82 Synchronous vs. Asynchronous , Texting and Twitter; The Death of Communication.By First ApproachDecember 23, 20150 comments#blog For those who follow this blog, you will likely note some similarities to what you’re about to read with what you have read in prior posts. There was “Blog #60 – Ear to Ear, It Was Only a Matter of Time”, and there was “Blog #70 – A message from ...Read more...
Think Technology and Web Shopping is Replacing The in Person Meeting? Please See Below.By First ApproachDecember 14, 20150 comments#blog On the road again FOR well over a century, people have predicted that technology will make business travel obsolete. In 1889 Jules Verne imagined that the “phonotelephote”, or “the transmission of images by means of sensitive mirrors connected by wires,” would ...Read more...
Blog #81 Why Slowing Down Will Get You There FasterBy First ApproachDecember 4, 20150 comments#blog We live in a fast paced world, no doubt about it. And if your vocation is that of a B2B sales professional, then you’re no stranger to the ebb and flow of targets, budgets, and expectations around performance. As for myself, I have the luxury of working in somewhat of a vacuum ...Read more...
Blog #80 You’re About to Lose Your Best ClientBy First ApproachOctober 7, 20150 comments#blog I find it somewhat bizarre that I find myself writing, once again, on what is a totally predictable reality; that if you’re in sales, you’re about to lose your best client. The other morning, I had a conversation with a potential new client. The guy on the other end of ...Read more...
Blog #79 – Walking the Walk vs. Talking the Talk; Why Sales Managers Struggle With Boundaries.By First ApproachSeptember 16, 20150 comments#blog I was talking with a client the other day that over the years has also become a good friend. I know he’ll be reading this, and I know he’ll recognize himself as the subject of the following. Don’t worry; he’ll be fine with it. The discussion was about an opportunity ...Read more...
Blog #78 Are You a Leader or a Follower?By First ApproachAugust 19, 20150 comments#blog Dr, Travis Bradberry If you’re a leader or a follower, then this is a must read. While I don’t usually post material other than my own, I am making this exception because I believe the following article written By Travis Bradberry, coauthor of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, ...Read more...
Blog #77 “Press 7 to Delete” : The Decline of Voice MailBy First ApproachJune 12, 20150 comments#blog Although I have posted on this subject before, a subject that those who follow me will tell you that I’ve been ranting and raving about for years, the following article by Shane Dingman of the The Globe & Mail recently makes for facinating reading. Feel free to comment ...Read more...
Blog #76 The Anatomy of Disdain – Why Prospects Loath Cold CallsBy First ApproachMay 13, 20150 comments#blog dis·dain disˈdān/ noun the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s consideration or respect; contempt. “Her upper lip curled in disdain” The above dictionary definition says it all. If you are a sales person in the business to business space, ...Read more...