Ask the Experts

The first month of the year is a classic time for business owners, and sales professionals, to identify and focus on their most important personal, and professional, goals. We’ve noticed, though, that the goal-setting behavior of an organization’s leaders during the month of January tends to have the biggest bottom-line impact on the year, as

The holiday season is already upon us and you might be wondering: “Where did 2022 go?” Maybe you and your company had a great year, blowing through your billing projections and setting revenue records. Or you might be asking yourself: “What went wrong and how do I prevent it from happening again?” But, before you

If you’re in sales, sales management or business development, here’s a reality check for you: Are you counting on closing a deal or projecting income from an opportunity that isn’t fully qualified? Whenever we ask sales professionals this powerful question, we often hear an awkward silence in response. Sometimes that silence is because the person,

Depending on what year it is, and what source you’re looking at, it is reported that more than 3 billion emails are exchanged each day.  Because subject lines are like book titles, and we know the old “don’t judge a book by its cover” expression, emails are judged and, therefore, opened based on who sends

Picture this: Someone says something that did not sit well with others on the team. Somebody is consistently tardy. Someone eats stinky food in the breakroom. Someone took a client from you who was clearly identified as a target who was engaged in your customer management system/database. These are all challenging, disappointing and tempting to

For many organizations, and industries, the last quarter of the year is often considered the most important. It’s when budgets are met (or not), initiatives are decided upon and planning begins in earnest for the new year. Smart sellers know Q4 is when they can blow past their revenue goals, no matter how daunting they

By Joanne Sullivan, director of community relations for USF Health Do you know someone who seems to know everybody in the community? Political office holders, high profile community and business leaders, it seems no one is beyond their reach? These connectors have a knack for building relationships that stand the test of time. They keep

Does it bother you when prospects treat your specialized products, and services like a commodity? Are you tired of having to discount deals to win competitive situations? Salespeople generally don’t like talking about these things because it really hurts their pride—and deep down, it even makes them question the purpose of their existence, professionally speaking.  For

Now that more traditional networking is happening again, some of you—OK, some of us—have been out of practice when it comes to effectively networking. Because connections are key to our community of sharing in life, and business, it is important we get back in the groove as quickly, and confidently, as possible. Since there’s no

Well, here we are … The year is already halfway “in the books” and, if you’re like most business owners and sales professionals, you likely fall into one of three categories: • You’re having a great year so far and you, and your team, are really making it happen. • You’re not where you’d like

Previously, we’ve explored various key performance indicators and their respective value as tools for effectively managing your business and increasing profits. Today, we’ll review those KPIs and leave you with some next steps for using them. In the initial article for this series, we began with the importance of having a strategic plan. It’s important

You get them—business emails, some you want, some you don’t, some you subscribe to and some that are spamming you. And you write them—business emails, some that people want and some they don’t want. What’s the secret to making yours most welcomed and read? Have empathy and care in how you craft your emails. Yes,