The Competitive Advantage

October 8, 2019

Setting 2020 Sales Goals? That Big Revenue Number is NOT Enough!

For those firms that take the time to set annual sales goals, they generally think in terms of a BHAG… a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal! That is, “What lofty revenue number can we achieve next year?” And that’s fine. Employees need that target to work toward. To inspire and drive them.

In fact, it was about this time, last year, that I wrote a blog post on how to set those annual sales goals. Click Here to read it.

But those big goals are not enough!

August 20, 2019

Want to host a GREAT sales meeting? Follow this blueprint.

Recently, I had the pleasure – and privilege – of being hired by Merrill Dubrow, President & CEO of M/A/R/C Research, to be a guest presenter at his national sales meeting in Dallas. The other guest presenter was Ryan Barry with Zappi, so I was in pretty good company.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been part of such a well-organized, educational and enjoyable sales meeting. And while I wasn’t there for the entire event, what I did see provides a solid model for how to structure and host an effective sales meeting.

July 16, 2019

How to Maximize Your Time as a Seller-Doer

Does your firm subscribe to the seller-doer model for business development? That is, are there leaders and managers in your firm who, in addition to their primary roles, are also tasked with responsibility for revenue growth? If you answered ‘yes,’ then your firm is like the vast majority of others… the seller-doer model is, by far, the most popular sales structure in the MR industry among small and mid-sized firms.

Popular, yes. But also, incredibly challenging because…

June 11, 2019

All Clients Are Important, But Large Clients Matter More.

We like to think that all clients are important… and they are. Our goal is to do good work for all clients and deliver a high level of service to each of them… and we strive for that every day.

But the fact is… your large clients are more important than your small clients!

April 30, 2019

Losing clients? Here’s what to do when that happens…

Admit it… you’re losing clients occasionally. Not a happy topic, but it happens to all of us. The question is ‘why?’

On the surface, there are any number of reasons:

• You screwed up a project… it hurts, but sometimes it happens.
• You pi**ed-off a key client contact… not intentionally, but communications can go awry.
• There was a massive change in the client’s business… e.g. they restructured the division you were working with, they were acquired or maybe they even closed their doors for good.
• One of your competitors showed up with a “shiny new penny”… a new methodology or a new technology that had a ‘wow’ factor.
• A new ‘leader’ was hired at the client, bringing his/her own favorite vendors along.
• The project ended. Not all client work can be recurring or happen on a frequent basis.

Every one of those reasons is real and legitimate, but none are the most common.