The Sales Profession in 5 Years This week, I was interviewed by a prominent analyst firm in their effort to predict what the world of sales will look like in 5-10 years. Here’s my attempt to summarize the perspective I shared. At its core, I believe the sales...

Sales Travel Challenges, A Troll, And The Realization of Modern Comforts I got lit up by a troll…and in hindsight, maybe he was right.  I’m right in the middle of a travel binge, flying to a city, speaking, flying to the next, doing it again…six times in less than...

Do We Need Salespeople?  “Salesmen are an economic waste in industry, and, therefore, as such, should be eliminated.” - Herbert Hoover, 1923 While serving as the United States Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover believed that salespeople were an unnecessary expense....

Are You Selling the Butter...Or the Revolutionary Advancement? Imagine a convention filled with exhibits. There are two exhibits near one another: One displays an invention that will completely revolutionize communication for generations. The other is a life-sized...

Is Rachael Ray a recipe thief? The answer has a lot of overlap to sales philosophy and theory…oh, and that answer is "no - she's not"  Three weeks ago, my wife was leafing through a cookbook published by the chef Rachael Ray. She landed on a page that had a recipe for...

The First B2B Cold Calls Do you remember making your first telephone “cold call”? You probably just did it, right? Very little forethought, other than the fact that it was part of your job. My first selling job required a certain number be made each day, selling...

The Notes of John Patterson to The Sales Team - May of 1893 Can you imagine… It’s the Spring of 1893. You’re working for the NCR Corporation (National Cash Register) in a sales role - and your ultimate boss, the CEO, is John Patterson. John Henry Patterson - the...

From Trusted - to Derided. Where the Sales Profession Went Wrong We went from this in 1911: “True salesmanship is the science of service” - Arthur Sheldon To, in 1927: “The minute you are approached by a salesman, you tend to pull back in your shell and curl up like...

“Bradford, you’re fired!” - by William W. Woodbridge In the January, 1918 edition of Business Philosopher Magazine, this story by William W. Woodbridge was printed. It's a story of getting right with yourself. I fell in love with it, and wanted to share it with you....