Building a business around Florida hurricane season

A Tampa Bay entrepreneur on leaving corporate life to build a modern hurricane protection business rooted in Florida’s climate and craftsmanship.

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Flooded residential street in Florida alongside Storm Shielder branding, illustrating hurricane season risks and home protection needs.
How Dr. Irfan Ali built empathy into Tampa health care

A Tampa physician’s journey from trauma to leadership shows how empathy can reshape health care.

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Dr. Irfan Ali in his Tampa office, reflecting on empathy, leadership and patient-centered health care
Back to School: Reviewing your sales team’s skill set

By now, I’m guessing that your kids are in their classrooms (“Yay!”), the older ones have returned to campus and the digits on your credit cards are ground down to the nub after the back-to-school sales.  For students, it’s back to an environment of new experiences, new ideas and continuous learning, and development. But, as business

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Jim Marshall
Great questions … (and when to ask them)

In working with thousands of sales professionals in hundreds of organizations through the years, our message to each of them has been simple, “You’re a consultant, so behave like one.” That means asking the right questions—then asking more questions—until you fully understand your buyer’s needs in achieving their desired outcome. A recently published Sandler white

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Jim Marshall
Where did the time go?

New Year’s Day … Martin Luther King Jr. Day … Valentine’s Day … Super Bowl … President’s Day … St. Patrick’s Day … Passover … Easter … Kentucky Derby … Mother’s Day … Indy 500 … Memorial Day … Father’s Day (tick, tick, tick …).  If you’re like some of us, you’re wondering where has

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Jim Marshall
Habits of salespeople who thrive during times of economic uncertainty

Are we in the midst of – or are about to enter – a period of economic uncertainty? Who knows? But some high-achieving salespeople don’t just survive hard times – they create new “personal best” performance levels during potential down cycles in their business. How do they do it?  In a new white paper, the

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Jim Marshall
How Rick Brandt scaled a family business into a global brand

How Rick Brandt used acquisitions and a Tampa headquarters to scale a family ag business into a global company.

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Rick Brandt stands in a Tampa office overlooking the skyline, reflecting on Brandt’s growth from a family business into a global company.
5 metrics to include in your goal-setting playbook for the new year

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

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Jim Marshall
How to finish the year strong

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

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Jim Marshall
The importance of pre-qualification

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,

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Jim Marshall
It’s time for CEOs to rethink the role of human resources

By Christine Hairelson, vice president, employee experience at Accusoft/OnTask COVID was a massive stress test, and gut check, for every organization regardless of size, scope or industry. All departments were faced with unprecedented scenarios that tested organizational processes, teams, culture and technology. Unfortunately, many of us quickly found we needed to evolve and evolve fast.

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Timeless selling principles (and how to apply them)

If you’ve been keeping up with this column, you may have noticed a theme: the fact that it’s never a bad idea to “get back to the basics” and constantly hone your skills in an ever-demanding business development environment. For many professional sellers, the concepts, and ideas, to which they regularly adhere have been refined

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Jim Marshall