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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
Do You Suffer From “Selling Bad Breath”
“Selling Bad Breath” repulses the people we are trying to reach. Somehow when we open our mouths or send an email or do an outreach, all it accomplishes is driving our prospects and customers away. No amount of “mouthwash” disguises selling bad breath. Prospects and customers can always sniff it out, regardless how we try to cover it up. What is Selling Bad Breath? (Hold your noses as you read…..) All these are selfish and self centered. It is all about them and has little to do with the customer. Then there are those that are thinly disguised as being […]
You Have Solutions, But Do I Have The Problem?
I had a fascinating conversation with an outstanding sales person today. We were talking about his prospecting challenges. Like all of us, he was struggling to get the engagement he wanted. Let’s call him “Stephen.” We talked about some of his strategies. He was very focused on the customers and people he was prospecting. He leveraged trade shows to meet people, then followed up with prospecting notes. He researched others, understanding their roles and what their companies did, creating personalized emails. He tried to connect what he learned they were doing with his prospecting efforts. Stephen read a typical prospecting […]
“My Obsession To Provide Customer Value,” Christian Mauer
Introduction: Several weeks ago, I wrote, “Sellers, Are You Really Interested In Selling?” My good friend, Christian Mauer, challenged me, “Dave, why are you so interested in selling?” It was a great question and he caused me to reflect, I wrote, “Why I Am Obsessed With Selling.” At the same time, I challenged Christian and others to answer the same question. Christian has provided a fascinating perspective. The commonality between the two of us is the obsession around helping customers solve complex problems and create great value. This is such a fascinating narrative, please take the time to read it. […]
Looking For Answers In All The Wrong Places…
AI is changing the world (“Wow, what an astute observation, Dave.”). The capabilities of the tools are evolving very quickly, our capabilities in using these tools are evolving much less quickly. One of the biggest mistakes I see sellers and marketers making is depending on AI for answers. “AI does not answer questions…..”* Some of you are saying, “Dave, you are crazy, I go to ChatGPT, Gemini, Bard everyday and pose questions. And it provides tremendous insight.” Let me dive into this. AI shares information and knowledge in ways that have been unimaginable. It reduces what may have taken hours […]
Rediscovering “Discovery”
“Discovery” has been an important part of the sales process ever since I started selling (Yes, that was back when we had first chipped a wheel out of stone.) In all our training, we’ve gotten playbooks, done role plays, and learned how to conduct discovery and what questions we should be asking the customer. Implicit in our thinking about the discovery process is that our customers know the answers, our job was to get ask questions to get those answers. We’ve been taught the all sorts of techniques for asking those questions and drilling down into those answers. SPIN is, […]
Are We Doing Things “To,” “For,” Or “With” Others?
Sometimes a simple change in a single word changes our mindset and those who we work with. To me, one of the most important areas in applying this concept is with the words “To,” “For,” or “With.” With our own people, when we look at enablement, tools, coaching, programs, the choice of which of these words produces a profound difference in the outcomes we are trying to create. When we are looking to maximize performance, the approach—to, for or with–is critical. For example, are Performance Management, Enablement, Technology/Tools or Coaching something we do to our people, for them, or with […]