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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
Competence Without Confidence Is Meaningless!
We invest billions in developing the competencies of our sellers. We have endless sales training, product training. We have tools giving them the data and information they need to have meaningful conversations with customers. We have conversational intelligence tools, providing “coaching” to improve their ability to talk to customers. We provide role plays and other tools to help them practice these skills in a “safe” environment. We do everything we can to develop the competencies of our people in engaging with customers. And then they get “punched in the face.” * We try to engage the customer. They haven’t read […]
Situational Awareness…..
The other evening, I just wanted to relax, do something mind numbing. I went to Netflix and one of the old Jason Bourne movies was recommended. I’m a spy/action adventure addict. I love watching these movies, as preposterous as the story line might be. I’ve always loved watching Matt Damon in these movies. He is constantly on “high alert.” His head seems to be on a 360% swivel, taking in everything going on around him, developing strategies for dealing with anything that might arise. Even if he is in deep conversation, he somehow seems to be hyper conscious of what’s […]
In What World Is This Considered Great Prospecting?!??!!!
I know, I know. I shouldn’t get so wound up about the stupidity I see in LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media. I’ve tried not to get wound up. I scan my feeds about 3 times a day, and even that my be a waste of time. I’ve had to pause scanning my feeds, and start closing my eyes, doing deep breathing and meditation during those periods. Otherwise I I’d be ripping what little hair I have out or smashing my computer display. I’m trying, though sometimes fail, just to ignore the “expert” advice guru’s are offering about using ChatGPT […]
We Miss The Point In Asking About “The Future Of Selling!”
Every week, I am asked to participate in a number of interviews/webcast/discussions about the “Future of Selling.” My feed is filled with prognostications about the future of selling–and a surprising number of “gurus” with death wishes proclaiming selling is dead. There are phenomenal changes–new technologies, shifts in global economies, social changes that have a profound impact on sellers. So there are huge changes happening that impact our futures and that of our profession. But asking the question, “What’s The Future Of Selling,” is the wrong question to start with. We can’t begin to predict the future of selling until we […]
Are We Dreaming Big Enough?
One of the things that has always attracted me to selling is it forces you to dream big! I started my selling career as a very introverted theoretical physicist. But I encountered some executives who helped me understand selling and got me dreaming big about what I could achieve. At first, my dreams were about getting a customer to pay attention to me, then to win a deal, make quota, make money. Quickly my dreams moved to winning the biggest deals, chasing very tough opportunities figuring out how to win them. As I moved into management, I had dreams with […]
Our Customers Are Changing Faster Than We Are!
There seems to be an arrogance or conceit in so many of the conversations I see about the future of selling. My feeds are filled with new technologies, new selling models, new engagement strategies, new organizational structures. We have a fascination with exploring the latest, greatest tricks we can leverage. What we fail to recognize in all these conversations is our customers are quietly changing how they buy faster than we are changing how we sell. As a result, sellers are playing a losing game of catch up. Reflect back on how buying has changed over the decades. There used […]