The ABCs Of How People Buy Part I

Helps align salespeople completely with how prospects think out a decision to buy.

When the prospects way of thinking out a buying decision guides every step of what a salesperson does, the salesperson is always in the right place at the right time with the right tools. It appears that even the most advanced evidence based sales training available today still do not fully align salespeople so they always follow the way prospects think out a decision to buy. Even the best trained salespeople could further increase their sales by following a Roadmap of how prospects think out a decision to buy. What I discovered about selling in 1976 so I could pay my mortgage In 1976, I accepted my first position ... Read More

The ABCs Of How People Buy Part II

Explore how prospects arrive at the three major conclusions they make going from no interest to wanting to buy.

The ABC’s Of How People Buy defines three buying milestones a prospective customer will make as they move from not interested to wanting to buy. It is the customer’s buying process, not the salesperson’s selling process. This provides an easy to remember guidance system that keeps sales people focused on what is happening inside of their prospects. It gives salespeople specific goals to achieve that are based on the next conclusion the customer needs to make in thinking out their decision to buy. Everyone uses the ABC’s to make a decision to buy. You can find this thinking process in everything you’ve ever bought. Each ... Read More

Strategy Follows Structure, Structure Supports Strategy

Strategy and structure are married to each other. If you change one you have to change the other.

For too long, structure has been viewed as something separate from strategy. Revising structures are often seen as ways to improve efficiency, promote teamwork, create synergy or reduce cost. Yes, restructuring can do all that and more. What has been less obvious is that structure and strategy are dependent on each other. You can create the most efficient, team oriented, synergistic structure possible and still end up in the same place you are or worse. The Connection between Strategy and Structure Structure is not simply an organization chart. Structure is all the people, positions, procedures, processes, culture, technology and related elements that comprise the organization. It defines how all ... Read More

It’s all about thinking

Every result can be traced back to a decision that was based on a thought.

Many years ago I had a most interesting discussion with a mathematician. I asked him how he managed to remember all those formulas and equations or look them up so fast. He laughed. He said if you truly understood the principles of mathematics, you never have to remember anything. If you need a formula or equation, you just figure out what it should be. He called that deriving an equation. The same is true in business. So many business people get caught up with solutions offered in bestselling books. Or they think someone with many years of experience in their industry will have all the answers. It seems some people ... Read More

We Need People Who Can Lead Regardless Of Their Title

Everyone needs to lead some of the time and those with the titles need to lead all of the time

The success of any organization be it a business, non-profit, educational institution or government, depends on its people. All the fancy strategies, creations and technology mean absolutely nothing without people to make it happen. In fact, people have to develop those strategies and make decisions about using them. People have to create the products and services offered. People have to decide the quality and service standards of the organization. People have to design and maintain the technology. That’s on top of the people who make the products, deliver the service and provide all the administrative support. People are the organization. That’s why it’s all about people who can lead. People ... Read More

Customer Value…The Ultimate Path To The Best Strategies, Products & Services

What customers will buy at a profitable price is the one thing that can consistently help companies make the best choices about strategies, products and services.

Why do strategies that are successful for some firms turn into abysmal failures for others? Why don’t some of the success principles espoused in countless books actually work all the time? Why does the opposite of these success practices yield good results sometimes? It turns out that the renowned success stories bounced around books and speeches like they were the Holy Grail turn out to only be true for a specific product or service offered to a specific market at a certain moment in time. They cannot be generalized into universal success practices. If they can’t then what can? All strategies such as improving quality, enhancing service, ... Read More