by Tom Reilly The bottom line is: tough times or tough markets exist at all times, and they’re never fair so just accept it, and deal with it! Biggest mistakes salespeople make in tough times: They reduce face-to-face Salespeople believe what customers tell them and then allow this to influence their actions and meetings. They assume that if several are suffering that all are. They cut prices and lose focus on value; they take easy...

by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson Here’s a review of “The One Minute Manager” from my colleague up in Rocky, Don Butler. It’s a quick read that covers the basics of managing people. It tries to demonstrate that managing people does not have to be a time consuming part of our jobs if done right. The emphasis is on setting goals and establishing clear expectations, praising people by catching them doing something right and...

A colleague told me how he read this book in one sitting as he couldn’t put it down. I bought the audio version and enjoyed it for a couple of reasons, not least the common sense framework explained for understanding the dynamics in dysfunctional teams that typically results in paralysis, apathy, and destructive conflict that I have seen too many times. In an interesting, perhaps even riveting parable, Lencioni provides a model for moving...

We are using this book to educate ourselves and our clients about building a community around ourselves as coaches and equally importantly, building community around our client’s businesses. The central point is that, today, everyone has an opportunity to start a movement – to bring together a tribe of like minded people and do amazing things.  And yet too many people ignore the opportunity to lead because they are “Sheep-walking”...

Sales made Simple? In one of the many great books by ActionCOACH founder Brad Sugars in his “Instant” series, Brad is again helping Charlie, his mechanic and in the process leads you through some real world examples of how these simple yet powerful techniques can help lift your sales no matter what business you are in. A few are outlined below but if you are struggling with your sales conversions this is one book that should be at the...

by Jeffrey Gitomer “Our regularly scheduled program will not been seen tonight because you have bills to pay, and it wouldn’t kill you to work a few nights a week!” I was going to follow up, BUT… Fear stopped me. I’ll do it later When I’ve finished… Are all Excuses!!! You can either make excuses or money, you can’t do both!! Call reluctance is a mental disease, based on fear but really it’s just crap! Tips to remedy...

Over a century ago, Russell Conwell was famous for his traveling lecture in which he encouraged listeners to find the “acres of diamonds” in their own backyards. He was born in Massachusetts in 1843 and during the Civil War served as a captain in the Union army. He studied law, but became a Baptist minister and a popular public speaker. “Acres of Diamonds” was his most famous talk which he delivered over 6000 times! Making him one...