Preface: Ron Guilbault has been a thoughtful sounding board for all sorts of ideas on selling. It’s become a fascinating process. I get a note from Ron. It’s about something he’s observed in his work, it may be something I’ve written that has generated more ideas. We’ll go through a few email exchanges, often jumping on calls to dive into the issues more deeply. One of the ideas that struck me in his story is, “When I recommend solutions that solve problems, it’s exciting and rewarding. At times I’ve been asked for help in areas outside of what I was […]

Preface: Tom Pisello is a great friend and colleague. He’s probably one of the best thinkers on Value Based Selling. He, also, has another important mission, it’s his Growth Through Grief initiative. It’s an important resource for those who have lost loved ones. One of the lines in this story is so consistent with what we read in other stories: “What truly fuels my passion for sales is the opportunity to solve complex problems for my customers. I relish the challenge of diving deep into their needs.” Enjoy! I transitioned into the world of selling from a technical background, initially […]

I’ve been getting a variety of people telling their stories on, “Why I Am So Interested In Selling.”  They are fascinating and compelling.  I have dozens and will continue publishing them over the coming weeks.  But I decided to do an experiment, I asked ChatGPT to put herself in the role of a seller, answering the question (I actually created several scenarios–a seller, a high performing seller, a manager.  The answers weren’t too different). The response from ChatGPT was pretty much what I expected.  What was fascinating was the sharp contrast with the dozens of responses from outstanding sales practitioners […]

Preface: Trust me, Charles Green is the master in all things Trust related. He’s written an number of books trust in selling, the most famous is The Trusted Advisor. Charlie has been a friend and mentor of years. He is probably one of the deepest thinkers on connecting in meaningful ways about trust. But I also know something about Charlie that very few people know. He loves responding to the worst possible prospecting emails possible. He responds to Nigerian princes with great questions about their offers, and suggestions about how they might find more money to send without the things […]

Preface: I first met Keith Bossey about 15 years ago. We’d been following each other in social media. He read that I was planning to be in Manhattan for meetings and suggested dinner at one of our favorite Steakhouses. We’ve continued our dialogs around the state of selling. In some of his past jobs, Keith has worked for some of the largest research firms, sharing shocking data around engagement, attrition, etc. Today he has his own consulting practice, helping orgs drive higher levels of performance. One of his statements particularly strikes me: “Lots of folks have a negative view of […]