The Competitive Advantage

October 29, 2024

Ditch Your Capabilities Presentation!

OK, this one is likely to stir up some response, but I’m feeling a little ‘contrarian’ today… so here goes: I think market research agencies should stop delivering capabilities presentations as part of their sales process. And here’s why…

October 8, 2024

Fish Where the Fish Are… How Sales is Like My Favorite Hobby

For those of you who know me, you know that one of my hobbies/passions is fishing. There’s nothing quite like standing in a cool stream, water flowing around your legs (washing away your stress) with a nice smallmouth bass on the end of the line. My happy place!

As I was standing in the Harpeth River recently – yes, that’s why I named our firm as I did – it dawned on me that sales is a lot like fishing. Let me explain…

September 3, 2024

Get Out From Behind Your Desk… In Person Selling is More Effective

Last summer, I posted several times on LinkedIn about a road trip I took – partially to do a little fishing and partially to visit some clients in person. The response I received was nothing short of astounding! Visiting clients in person? You would have thought I was the caveman that discovered fire!

Why is that? Have we become so dependent on technologies like Zoom that the idea of actually sitting down in person with a client has become foreign to us? Are we so reliant on technology that we’ve lost our interpersonal skills?

June 25, 2024

“You’re failing in sales because of the front door.”

My wife and I spent a week at the beach last month and made friends with a couple sitting under the umbrella next to us. We got to know Bill and Nina over a few days and found out that Nina was a former pharmaceutical sales manager… so she and I really hit it off.

During one of our ‘sales discussions,’ she told me about a former sales rep that reported to her who had all of the tools, skills, and personality to be wildly successful… but wasn’t. And as Nina told this rep, “You’re failing because of the front door.”