Developing a business development strategy? I’ve had a close-up view of how many different companies approach “biz dev” — and witnessed wildly different approaches. When I worked at a marketing agency, everyone played a role in business development and could bring in a new client. For many of the SaaS clients I support now, sales…
From what I can see, a sales career is fast-paced, relationship-driven, and even competitive at times. All of these qualities can make for an exciting job, but you have to take the right steps to get into sales before you can land your dream role. To learn more about what it takes to start and…
My interest in the world of finance started during my tween years. My entrepreneurial family would tune into the closing stock report every weekday. Terms like fiscal quarters, dividends, and year-over-year growth were tossed around the dinner table in response to the news. Years later, I became a business reporter. Now, my life is structured…
Understanding a prospect’s circumstances, preferences, and pain points enables you to craft a more thoughtfully tailored value proposition and dial in on a more personal appeal. That makes sound research pretty mission-critical, going into a sales engagement. In many cases, your ability to cater to a prospect only goes as far as your initial research…
The best salespeople listen way more than they talk.They understand that active listening in sales is a transformative skill. They tune into verbal cues and create meaningful connections that lead to the intended outcome. My personal experience in sales taught me how to tap into the power of understanding to build trust. Too often, salespeople…
Have you ever heard the phrase, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat”? It’s an old (and kind of gruesome) folksy saying that means there are always multiple solutions to a problem — and when it comes to sales, relationship selling is just one way to meet your goals. Sure, selling might be…
Whether you recognized it as a direct sale or not, you’ve almost certainly encountered people who engage in the practice. Maybe it was a door-to-door knife salesperson, a family member selling cosmetics, or Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite at your door, offering model ships to help hawk plastic dinnerware. In any case, direct sales is…
I’d love to know how many features, products, and even entire companies have been built around an idea that later proved to be unfeasible. Something many of these ventures no doubt have in common is that they failed to accurately assess sales potential early and then reassess it as time went on. Here’s a story…
I’ve run a freelance business for the better part of the last decade, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the business world is always in motion. Every year, trends evolve, technologies emerge, and customer expectations shift, all shaping how we work, innovate, and connect with customers. I’ve had to adapt constantly —…
Say I want to quickly estimate the amount of cash my business will have on hand at the end of next year. I have a picture of how my sales figures are expected to grow and my balance sheet nearby. How would I go about doing that? A popular, efficient way to forecast sales is…