“We meet all the time, but we never seem to make progress. Why do I have to keep covering old ground with my team?” I’ve heard versions of this comment many times from business owners. If you feel the same, you’re not alone – more than 25 million meetings take place in the United States each week, with some estimates as high as 55 million per week. It’s easy to…

Poached. It’s great for your eggs, but not so great for your customer base. If you’re a business owner or salesperson, you’ve probably been poached – by the salesperson who disregards territory lines to cultivate your prospects or the competitor who actively pursues your customers. The business reality is that almost everyone is someone’s provider or customer, and the business networks of competitors and customers often overlap. Poaching is usually…

At a recent business networking meeting, a colleague introduced Jess to the CEO of a company that has been on her prospect wish list. Jess and the CEO had a brief conversation about the company. As they exchanged business cards, Jess asked the CEO if he would be interested in continuing their talk, and suggested that she would contact him in the coming week. That was two weeks ago. The…

From ancient cities to cutting-edge companies, gatekeepers have controlled access, permissions and message flow for centuries. If you’re developing sales for your company, working successfully with gatekeepers isn’t just good to know – it’s a competitive necessity.  Here are three tips for shifting your attitude about gatekeepers and how to approach them.    Bypassing the Gatekeeper Should you bypass a gatekeeper? A more important question is, are you cold-calling? The…