We are all familiar with common sales terms like “cold call,” “closing” and “overcoming objections.” These terms are engrained in the common sales vernacular. But think of the implications of these mechanistic terms. SellingPower.com has a most interesting article titled Watch Your Language! Here’s the hook: Who taught you to talk like you do? When it comes to your sales language; chances are good it was your sales manager€“your first one. For generations now we have been talking about selling from the viewpoint of the Industrial Era. We have seen businesses as machines and accordingly we have “re-engineered” them, “systematized” them, and more. Our premise has been that businesses are… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Selling CEO
CareerJournal.com’s Company Leaders Are Spending More Quality Time With Customers covers a timely topic in today’s market – CEO’s directly involved in the selling process. We have seen this change in our mid-sized customers for the past few years. This article provides a good example – the CEO for Intel getting involved in a large deal with Apple: He heard grumblings that this change wasn’t possible — at least not anytime soon — but Mr. Otellini pushed ahead. “Instead of saying no, we can’t, let’s say yes and figure out how,” he recalls telling his senior team members. He won them over and soon had a new packaging design to… Read More
Continue ReadingA Lack Of Ethics
First off, I didn’t know government workers were ever fired. Then I read this CareerJournal.com story At the Pentagon, Employees Fill ‘Encyclopedia of Ethical Failure’. The gist of the story is that this Pentagon lawyer keeps a website of ethical violations that occur within the government sector. Some humorous examples: -Take the case of the Customs and Border Protection officer who landed a government helicopter on his daughter’s grade-school playground… -Two Veterans Affairs bureaucrats were charged with overbilling the government and receiving kickbacks from a supplier. “The product?” Mr. Epstein dryly notes: “Red tape.” It was more than 100,000 rolls of a special type used to prevent tampering with prescription-drug orders.… Read More
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