Employee or Entrepreneurship?

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As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’m currently commuting between LA and KC for a software client of mine. I’m performing some sales coaching for their inside sales team. 45% of their yearly sales revenue happens between September 1 and December 31.

I was offered the Director of Sales position in July and politely turned it down since I didn’t want to uproot my wife and 2 kids and move to California. But I don’t mind being onsite through the fall.

I’ve co-owned or owned my own company since August 2006 and love it. Read more

Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales: Is There Really A Difference?

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September is nearing an end. October is coming around the corner.

The last quarter for most companies starts soon. For many companies, it’s their busiest time of the year.

One of my software clients gets 45% of their entire business between September and December.

Times have changed in sales. Traditional sales has been typically done face to face.

With the Internet and telephone, companies spend thousands and millions of dollars with each other and rarely meet in person. Read more

I lost a sale. He lost his job.

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I had been engaged with a Sales VP of a target company. There was pain, need, etc.

We spoke on Tuesday  and he needed approval from his Divisional VP to move forward and requested a proposal.

I emailed the proposal on Wednesday and the Sales VP and I agreed to review it today for questions or clarifications before he submitted it to his boss. He accepted my meeting invite for 10:30 am and I thought it had a 75% chance of moving forward.

30 minutes before our time slot, he declined the meeting. Yikes! So I emailed him to see if we simply needed to move the meeting around. No answer. Read more

Great Time Management Tool for Sales Prospecting

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Happy Fall everyone!

It’s supposed to cool down here in KC starting tomorrow and I can’t wait.

I love fall, football, and the MLB playoff race. I’ve been a Kansas City Royal fan my whole life. They haven’t had a winning record since 2003.

This year, they finally had a winning record AND won a wildcard spot and made the playoffs. We shall see.

The next 4 months of the year typically are the most busiest for most companies out there.

One of my clients, a software company near Los Angeles, CA, gets 45% of their yearly revenue in the last 4 months of the year. Read more