When I was a very young child, I loved going to the zoo. I wanted to see the animals in real life. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the animals in the zoo seemed bored, depressed, and … Read More
life
Our own beliefs are the biggest sales obstacle
Sales is hard for anyone, but especially when you start your own professional services business, your own beliefs are often the biggest obstacle to sales. I started with some strange, self-limited beliefs about sales. Over time, I realized that I … Read More
The professional services sales trap
Professional services people can be great at sales (and marketing), but we often struggle. Why is that? I think it has to do with the “professional services sales trap”, which actually sets your own expertise against you. In the last … Read More
Shhh… here’s a secret
Every great company is built on a secret. At least that’s what Peter Thiel writes in his book Zero to One: Notes on Startups or How to Build the Future. So here’s the secret at the heart of what I do … Read More
Things I’ve Learned This Decade
Being angry or mean (to others of yourself) rarely makes things better. But anger and other emotions are telling us something– listen and then decide what to do. When other people are angry or mean to you, it often has … Read More
Real and imaginary barriers
Running a business is hard. There are so many barriers to success. Sales, financing, delivery, marketing, recruiting, just balancing everything, knowing what to focus on next, etc. Yet we often make it harder on ourselves by creating imaginary barriers in … Read More
“Help”, Don’t “Sell”
Yesterday I met with a very smart, conscientious guy who takes great pride in helping his clients. He said, “I know I have to get better at sales, but I hate it!” So I recalled my journey. “Selling” is not … Read More
Create a Weekly Calendar
If you feel really busy, but by the end of the week you haven’t done the main thing you set out to do on Monday, you may need a weekly calendar. I have to admit, I only started doing this … Read More