Blog #75 Why You Have To Fail To SucceedBy First ApproachApril 29, 20150 comments#blog “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan, widely ...Read more...
Blog #74 “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be”. Wayne GretzkyBy First ApproachApril 15, 20150 comments#blog Ahhhhh… The Great One, the great Wayne Gretzky. He still holds the record as the leading point-scorer in NHL history, with more assists than any other player has points! He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season – a feat he accomplished four times. ...Read more...
Blog #73 Becoming a Better Sales Leader and The Late Great Tom LandryBy First ApproachApril 1, 20150 comments#blog While I tend to steer a wide berth around using sports related metaphors, I must acquiesce this once, as I believe the above quote from the much revered past coach of the Dallas Cowboy’s, Tom Landry, is so profound. If you want to become a truly great leader of sales people, ...Read more...
Blog #72 You Think All Sales People Are Motivated By Money? Think Again.By First ApproachMarch 18, 20150 comments#blog According to the Harvard Business Review, U.S. companies spend over $800 billion on sales compensation each year, which is three times more than they spend on advertising. Interesting, isn’t it? In fact, sales and compensation of sales people are often one of the top expenditures ...Read more...
Blog #71 Are People Dragging Themselves to Your Sales Meetings?By First ApproachMarch 4, 20150 comments#blog It’s Monday morning. You’re either a B2B sales professional, or you’re a B2B sales manager. No matter, because it’s Monday morning, and time for the weekly sales meeting! Yippee. Hurrah! Ask almost any sales professional and they’ll tell you how much ...Read more...
Blog #70 A message from Alexander Graham Bell; Thank you Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Larry Page, and all the others that have made this possible.By First ApproachFebruary 18, 20150 comments#blog Ohhhh, how happy he would be were he here to witness it. Yes, Alexander Graham Bell, after years and years of technological advancements, all of which promising the dream of more and better ways to communicate, Mr. Bell, the inventor of the telephone, is the hands down winner. Seem ...Read more...
Blog #69 Achieving Success In B2B Sales, The Cold Hard TruthBy First ApproachFebruary 4, 20150 comments#blog Not so attractive, is it? I couldn’t help but be fascinated by just how perfect this picture is as a metaphor. Think about it. No one would argue with the seemingly effortless grace with which ballet dancers portray something that is both beautiful, and pleasant to watch. If ...Read more...
Blog #68 Sales Blitzes and Contests, Why They Don’t WorkBy First ApproachJanuary 21, 20150 comments#blog It’s only natural for sales leadership to look for ways to inspire sales people to rise to the cause. There’s never any shortage of “causes” it seems. It can be a month end, year end, too much inventory, or a new product launch, to name just some of the examples ...Read more...
Blog #67 A Desk is a Dangerous Place From Which to View the WorldBy First ApproachJanuary 7, 20150 comments#blog There is a wonderful quote in the John le Carré novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.” While the context of Mr. le Carre’s novel surrounded espionage, it offers wonderful perspective to the world of B2B ...Read more...
Blog #66 Just Starting A Career in Sales? Why You Should Stay Away From the “C Suite”By First ApproachDecember 4, 20140 comments#blog Are you young? Are you just starting out in sales? Then you likely have been, or will be exposed to a vast variety of sales philosophies, strategies, and tactics. As you’ll discover, there will be no shortage of experts or gurus, all of whom are either successful or not, but ...Read more...
Blog #65 .. Peaches, Calendars, and Deadlines, They’re all RelatedBy First ApproachNovember 19, 20140 comments#blog You like peaches? I like peaches. Most people like peaches and most people would agree they are best when fresh. Not canned or stewed, but fresh peaches just off the tree and on to your table. Peaches are seasonal but more importantly, they are perishable. I’m not exactly ...Read more...
Blog #64 Business Speak – Cliché and Over Used, Stop!By First ApproachNovember 3, 20140 comments#blog As I write this blog, I am reaching out to you to offer value, no, make that added value, within a paradigm that is strategic, and at the end of the day, provides leading edge deliverables that will leverage core competencies while delivering an award winning product offering that ...Read more...
Blog #63 Understanding the Right Approach to Connecting on LinkedIn. It Isn’t FacebookBy First ApproachOctober 22, 20140 comments#blog As a continuation of posts intended to help you, the B2B sales professional understands the correct way to use LinkedIn, this edition will focus on LinkedIn connections, or how you need to approach populating your connection base on LinkedIn. Of all the things misunderstood of what ...Read more...
Blog #62 Are You Commitment Phobic? The Accountability PartnerBy First ApproachOctober 8, 20140 comments#blog No, I don’t mean what you think I mean but rather, are you truly committed to being successful. Let me explain. Many of us belong to a fitness or health club, and many of us strive to get there to exercise based on a schedule or commitment we’ve made to ourselves, or others. ...Read more...
Blog #61 LinkedIn, It’s Not What You ThinkBy First ApproachSeptember 24, 20140 comments#blog #linkedin Blog #61 LinkedIn, It’s Not What You Think 2001 A salesperson makes a cold call and asks for a meeting. 2012 On LinkedIn, Adam, a sales person discovers a prospect at a major international company whom he wishes to secure a meeting with. Adam and ...Read more...
Blog #60 Ear to Ear, It Was Only a Matter of TimeBy First ApproachSeptember 9, 20140 comments#blog Blog #60 Ear to Ear, It Was Only a Matter of Time I posted a blog entitled “Technology Burnout. If People Don’t Read or Listen to Your Messages, What’s the Point?”. You can still find it if you like at www.firstapproach.biz under the “blog” ...Read more...