It’s not always easy for sales teams to claw their way into the conference room (or onto the Zoom call as the case may be these days).  Once you’re there, you get one shot at that all-important first impression, so you’ve got to make it count.   Just as critical as knowing what to do…

My ideal vacation involves sun, sand, and surf.  Every time.  Can’t get enough of it.  Relaxation personified.   As much as I’ll try to put work out of my mind, though, sometimes it creeps in like a ghost crab near an unzipped cooler.  That’s not always a bad thing.  Sometimes your best thinking comes when…

I’m a big fan of B2B partnership marketing.  Strategic alliances can open so many doors that otherwise wouldn’t be available for reaching corporate and consumer audiences.   Sports sponsorships are especially popular.  These deals make up approximately 70% of the $65B+ sponsorship industry.  Depending on your business and objectives, they can be a great option…

Note:  In honor of our nation’s birthday, and given how in tough times it can be helpful to remember what it is that unites us, this piece breaks the 4-minute rule.      The list of How-To sales books is long and distinguished.  Most of them are highly salesperson-oriented.  They’ll of course go into understanding…

As established in Part 1 and Part 2, high-altitude mountaineering and B2B business development aren’t the strange bedfellows they might seem like at first glance.  Scaling the world’s tallest peaks offers considerable insight into preparing for and then executing a successful sales pitch with quality prospects.   End of story, right?  Not even close.  …

In Part 1 of this three-part series, we introduced the idea of mountain climbing as a metaphor for moving hot leads toward the sale.  Thorough preparation in its various forms is the first step for both.  Now you’re ready to start the real journey.  Base camp’s a long way from the summit, but the right…

For any athlete, at some point you have to listen to your body when it tells you to dial things down a notch.  I don’t sit still very well, so for me this became a transition from team sports to extreme sports.   Mountain climbing is now officially my sport (activity?) of choice.  This is,…

Churn.  Turnover.  Attrition.  Words no business leader wants to hear preceded by “customer.”  Yet, many do all too often.  Depending on their sector, B2Bs can lose a quarter or more of their clients on an annual basis.   That’s expensive in more ways than one.  But, I’m less concerned with postmortem math than I am…

A common role for an agency of record representing blue-chip brands is serving as first line of defense for various types of B2B pitches.  I sat through hundreds of these over the years:  sports properties, entertainment promoters, celebrities and influencers, non-profits, tech developers, and the list goes on.  Even if we ultimately gave our client…

We all know that there’s as much offline, behind-the-scenes work during a B2B negotiation as there is formal discussion.  In order to reach that point, though, sales teams need to make a good first impression.  This applies even in situations when you have a referral or a direct connection.  After all, not everyone on the…