In 1869, Russell Conwell, an American Baptist minister, was traveling in the Middle East, and his Arab guide shared a story: A man wanted to become rich so badly that he sold all his property and traveled the world in search of diamonds, only to find none. Alas, the new owner of the land discovered […]
Author Archives: Dan Smaida
02
Jan
Jan
Whether you offer advice to B2B or retail clients, you’re conducting part, most, or all of your business online right now. And whether you’re selling 3D printers, widgets, or financial advice, you’re going to be online in 2021 for at least part of your business. How will online meetings change in the next year? This […]
26
Dec
Dec
If you sell for a living, you’re in the business of offering advice. This article from Dan Smaida reminds us of the limits of professional advising, and the keys to delivering advice clients actually value.
What is the most important factor in offering advice? In this article from our sister company, the AdvisoryEDGE Forum, we share the most important factor in offering advice. Hint: It’s not whether you are correct or not! If you’re finding too many failed proposals and languishing quotes in your system, you may be looking at […]
17
Aug
Aug
Great sales training relies on strong fundamentals. Here’s a refresher!
30
Apr
Apr
Onboarding new sellers is an underrated factor in sales success. In fact, your speed in onboarding is one of the TOP ways you can impact your number this year (assuming you will hire a salesperson this year). What is Onboarding? We tend to think of onboarding in the traditional sense – making sure sellers are […]
18
Feb
Feb
The last presidential election in the United States brought created an awareness of “echo chambers.” What is the sales version of the echo chamber? Where is the echo chamber most harmful to sales leaders? And most importantly,what can you do about it? How can you avoid the echo chamber? An echo chamber is essentially a […]
03
Feb
Feb
I recently traveled to a client’s 2019 sales meeting to conduct a workshop with sales leadership. I love sales meetings because they’re wonderful opportunities to build sales culture. At the conference registration desk, the client thoughtfully provided me with a “swag bag” they were handing out to all meeting attendees. Nestled in the bottom of the […]
21
Sep
Sep
In my second job after college, I worked as a salesperson for a small professional services company. One day, our best salesperson (not me, unfortunately) told us he was leaving. I didn’t understand it – Brad was killing it, and under our commission-heavy comp plan, he was making stratospheric money. When I asked him why, […]