Okay, I still link to Seth even though I have to assume everyone who reads b2blog would read Seth. But, remember, I write this blog to/for myself. And this one, called I’m Too Busy, certainly resonates with me.
“But marketers, it seems, have a long list of things they do … that is technically marketing [...]

I’ve got a product-line that’s in the process of a major revision. Despite my interest in GTD (Getting things done), I had a mental list of things I had to do on my end. Update price list, post specifications, send emails to the sales reps, etc. Not a big deal.
Then the boss asks for a [...]

This time someone else saves me effort in whining about poor sales techniques. WebProNews caught my attention with Sales Mistakes to avoid Jack Yoest Speaks Out:
“I sat through a conference call/web based sales pitch by Brand X … The presenters made a number of mistakes. I stopped counting at 7.”
Here are the seven, although [...]

Dogbert: “I like to con people. And I like to insult people. If you combine con & insult, you get consult!”
I won’t go into the details (it wasn’t my project tho), but we’ve been con-sulted, perpetuating the belief that consultants are evil. Said hired gun committed the following crimes:

Significantly over budget
Did work out of the [...]

Don’t like the four choices PowerPoint gives you for printouts (slides, handouts, notes, outline)?
I wanted a handout format, but with my notes typed in (not blank lines like the standard format). Here’s how to do it:
Take a look under the “send to” menu and send to Word. Of course, how obvious! Then you [...]

Maybe its a sign of the economy, but I continue to get innundated with people selling promotional items like pens and embroidered shirts. The business’s low overhead must be attactive.
What these folks seem to not realize is that EVERYONE is selling the same stuff. Yet they all come in without a prepared sales pitch. They [...]

Marketing Eye Fashion Tip: When old styles come back, they often have different names and look a little different so they appear new. They usually come back for a reason, better than before.
And what fashion is coming back? Best Practices, now called ‘Guided Selling”, as this recent article Pointing to Profits (destinationCRM.com) defines as “any [...]

Marketing Eye Hip Tip: Throw away those trendy and vaporous podcasts and listen to Motivation on the Run. Its a pod you won’t want to ‘cast’ away. (Read in a Carson Kressley style for effect.)
In case you haven’t gotten the hint in the past, I really think you would enjoy listening to Larry Hendrick’s weekly [...]

More good stuff from Mike Smock about salespeople. He breaks them into three distinct styles:

Entertainers tend to be outgoing, gregarious, friendly folks who are likable sorts and fun to be around.
Collaborators tend to be nurturing, creative folks who dislike conflict, look for common ground and strive for win-win relationships.
Competitors like to win. Selling is [...]

When I deal with salespeople calling on me, I try to be very non-committal and pretend to be just a good listener (which I am). Positive answers are easy to give out…platitudes really. The salesman plays along real well because he wants a positive first meeting. We talk about ‘future needs’ so that we don’t [...]