I worked as a sales development representative (SDR) at IBM for the first five years of my sales career. I learned then (and appreciated even more as an account executive) that SDRs are often the unsung heroes of high-performance sales teams. I still appreciate the critical role that SDRs play in gathering account intelligence and…
Throughout my career, my sales experience has been rooted in B2B SaaS. I understood, in theory, the differences between B2B vs. B2C sales, but I didn’t truly grasp the reality until I had the chance to sell directly to a customer for the first time. Suddenly, I was in an entirely different arena. Gone were…
If you haven’t heard the news, I’m here to deliver it: social selling on LinkedIn, my dear reader, is all the rage. Try picturing this: you connect with a prospect on a Thursday, have a discovery chat locked in by Tuesday, demo by Friday, and then boom — you’ve got a deal closed before the…
In simple terms, “sales” refers to all activities involved in selling a product or service to a consumer or business — but it means so much more in practice. I know from my experience running my own photography business that a lot of effort goes into successfully closing a deal — from sourcing prospects, to…
Nobody bats 1.000. We all make mistakes in every facet of life, and sales is no exception. Some sales screw-ups are borderline inevitable, but others are pretty avoidable. Still, even though those hitches and hiccups are common and dodgeable, they still fly under the radar enough to trip plenty of sales professionals up. It can…
Not all sales shortcuts are created equal. Some, like scheduling follow-up emails or creating a repeatable framework for researching prospects, streamline your day without harming the quality of your work. Others save you time but damage your results — meaning you’ll ultimately be less productive for using them. As the expression goes, “If you don’t…
Being a managing partner isn’t just about having a leadership title — it means balancing ownership, strategy, and daily operations in a way that directly shapes the success of a business. And in partnerships and LLCs, where leadership structures differ from traditional corporate models, this role is even more critical. While writing this blog post,…
Choosing the right small business idea can feel overwhelming when you’re exploring different business ideas. I know because I’ve been there. My first business as a salsa dance class instructor taught me a tough lesson: passion alone isn’t enough. Without a sustainable small business model, I struggled to keep up with expenses and attract potential…
Welcome to Breaking the Blueprint — a blog series that dives into the unique business challenges and opportunities of underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs. Learn how they’ve grown or scaled their businesses, explored entrepreneurial ventures within their companies, or created side hustles, and how their stories can inspire and inform your own success. You…
As a small business owner, I’ve learned firsthand just how important it is to understand buyer motives. After all, if I know what motivates my customers, I can tailor my sales pitch to match their unique interests and inclinations. Of course, it’s impossible to read people’s minds — but by learning to recognize some of…