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Making A Difference – Thoughts, Observations and Opinions
This is Dave Brock’s Blog.
It offers my views on a variety of business, sales, marketing, and leadership topic. My goal is to make a difference for you, the reader, in both your professional and personal lives.
Latest Posts
On Micromanaging And Collaborative Reviews
I was working with a team of frustrated sales people. They had a past sales manager that micromanaged them terribly. The manager would get involved in too many deals. He would constantly dictate next steps. His deal reviews became opportunities where the team updated him on what was happening, so he could dictate the next steps. The entire focus of the manager’s micromanagement was on him and his ability to achieve his goals. They had nothing to do with what the customer was trying to achieve. They had nothing to do the realities they faced in working with customers, with […]
“Do Or Not Do, There Is No Try”
I’m dating myself with this quote from that master philosopher, Yoda. This goes back to the first Star Wars movie in 1977 (Of course, I was in kindergarden at the time 😉 I’m stunned by the number of sales people that don’t understand the principle. Everyday, I encounter sales people who are very busy. They are working very hard to get what they get. The problem is, what they are getting is far short of their target and goals. I ask them, “What are you doing to close the gap to your goal?” The response, usually, “I’m doing everything I […]
Outsourcing Coaching….
It started as an intriguing call. The VP of Sales called to ask for my help, “I need you to coach my people.” I started asking my normal questions, “What’s going on with them, what are the areas they need the most help in, how is this impacting their performance, what behaviors to you want to see, why is this important to them, why is it important to you…….” I went on, “Are there specific skills you are looking to develop? Is there a specific program or initiative in which you’d like to focus?” The VP of Sales stopped me. […]
The Future Of Sales Is Virtual…..
It seems the pandemic has created a new future for selling. Apparently, it’s virtual. According to so many, we’ve discovered that we can accomplish so much more through Zoom, Teams, Skype or any number of video conferencing platforms. While there will be a need for face to face, it will be the smallest part of the customer engagement process. While these virtual technologies are powerful and will get more powerful, I don’t know that we can define the future of selling as virtual–or that it’s reasonable to define the future of anything in terms of a technology. It’s clear that […]
The Continuing Education Of A Privileged White Male
As are so many, I’m astounded, horrified, ashamed, saddened, and angered by the events of the past weeks. Several weeks ago, I felt compelled to write, to express my outrage. I shared the initial article with a number of friends, many black, some women, several different nationalities/religions. Fortunately, a few friends called me. They said it was “OK.” One was so honest to say, “Dave, nothing is wrong, I’m glad you are taking a position, but it’s not your best work.” Everyone said, “Dave, you need to educate yourself.” I discovered how little I knew. Intellectually, I could understand the […]
Where’s The Puck Going?
“I skate to where the puck is going to be…” It’s a quote attributed to Wayne Gretsky about what differentiated his style of play from other hockey players. It’s old, after all, Gretsky retired in 1999. It’s tired, the metaphor has been applied to so many things–I’ve used it in different contexts in many past posts. But it’s still useful. Particularly, as we look at organizational and go to customer strategies in the middle of the pandemic and the worst global economic downturn most of us have experienced. It’s interesting to see the various mindsets and approaches around what to […]