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 #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...
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...