Jerry Stapleton

Many managers like to point out to their salespeople the difference between motion and activity as a way of keeping them focused on meaningful work.

You've got a customer. In fact, it's a very profitable, long-standing customer that pays its bills and is just generally great to work with.

Some time ago, I offered up in these pages a few guidelines to follow when attempting to gain access to executives. The gist of that piece was that you'll have more luck if you think about executive access in terms of "confirming alignment" more than "making the decision."

I've often pointed to the handful of dirty little secrets that exist within most sales teams.

Well, sales leaders have a few secrets of their own.

Ever have a sales situation where you've come to realize, usually quite late in the game, that you're going to lose? And to make matters worse, it appears the customer is about to buy from someone he or she will later regret buying from? Frustrating, isn't it?

Dale had just come out of a four-day sales training program his company had sponsored for its top performers. This was heady stuff. He'd learned how to apply Sun Tzu's "Art of War" – about ancient Chinese warfare – to modern day competitive engagement in selling.

This column has always been about shedding traditional ways of selling. More specifically, I have encouraged salespeople to reinvent themselves by adopting what I call a "business resource mindset."

A few decades ago the nascent computer age produced a few new acronyms for our lexicon. "GIGO" was among the more popular: garbage in, garbage out!

Construction has begun recently on additional portions of the New Berlin City Center development. "Things are picking up out there very fast," said Steven...

Many busy people think of sleep as a luxury that can be cut back without much consequence. Research, however, refutes the notion that it...

Starting June 1, Wisconsin entrepreneurs seeking seed money for their young companies will be able submit a two-page executive summary on the Wisconsin Angel...

Company address: W233 N2080 Ridgeview Parkway Waukesha, WI 53188 Company Web site: www.ruekert-mielke.com Industry: Consulting engineering Number of employees: 131 ...