I knew Darrel Sharp as someone to say hello to at the Black Bear Yacht Club. I even recalled somebody mentioning that his company, GoTeam, had recently become a much hotter player in its industry. But he’s a golfer while my passions are sailing and tennis, so we don’t run into each other a lot....

Needless to say, Ron Jensen impressed me with his first phone call, when it turned out that he knew more about Amstand than I did. At least, he knew more about the underlying problem that explains why I got this job: the little matter of our lagging organic growth rate, which my CEO, bless his heart...

When we introduced the Action Selling ® system at GoTeam two years ago, a lot of attention was placed on the concept of “orchestrating your resources,” especially in a complex selling situation. So far, I think our orchestration in the Amstand deal deserves an A....

Everyone who has spent much time in a sales role has heard plenty of stalls and plenty of objections. Every sales training course you’re likely to encounter offers advice about how to overcome them. The trouble is, almost all of that advice is wrong....

In my 37 years as a salesperson, sales executive and sales trainer, I have known thousands of wonderful salespeople. But in all that time I have met only a handful whom I would consider naturally excellent at sales strategy. I can literally count them on one hand....

On August 1, 2007, the heavily trafficked I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed and fell into the Mississippi River. When the initial shock of the tragedy wore off, the Minnesota Department of Transportation hurried to replace the bridge. The contract to construct a new one went out to bid....

Christine placed her notes on the podium and looked out past the stage lights at the sea of faces in the hotel ballroom. Partner Dental sales reps from all over North America gazed back at her expectantly. She adjusted the microphone and took a breath. Here goes, she thought....

Scott leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. "Funny you should mention him," he said. "As of yesterday afternoon, Dr. Wright is a participating member in our Partner Plus program - and very glad to be one, I might add."...

“Let me see if I understand your strategy,” she said. “You have identified a customer need, which is to cut consumable costs. The customer is now trying to do that by viewing products as commodities and shopping for the lowest price on each individual item. This forces you to discount those it...

Scott and Christine walked up the hallway to grab some coffee from the pot near the receptionist’s desk. When they returned to Christine's office, he said, "Do you have time to walk me through my next call on Dr. Wright? I'd like to tell you I understand Action Selling ® well enough to know ex...