sales people

Thanksgiving is time to praise Harvey Mackay

by John Ribbler on November 20, 2009 · 7 comments

No one who has sold 10 million books is an unsung hero, but Harvey Mackay goes largely unnoticed today. I always think about Harvey Mackay a month or two before Thanksgiving but never get around to following his advice, which demands discipline and courage. That may be why the latest generation of sales professionals prefers [...]

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Sales and marketing got to live together

by John Ribbler on October 20, 2009 · 1 comment

In my last post, Sales vs Marketing is a Diversity Issue, I wrote that the perpetual disunity between sales and marketing departments has the same underlying dynamics as conflicts between employees of different races, genders, national origins, and religions. This view comes from my work with R. Roosevelt Thomas, founder of the American Institute for [...]

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Sales tips from Frank Sinatra and Steve Stills

by John Ribbler on September 17, 2009 · 1 comment

“If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with,” Steve Stills Decades ago, I knew a lady who told me about a date she had with Frank Sinatra during a period when both of them were single.  The evening, arranged by mutual friends, featured a polite dinner in a crowded [...]

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Your story is more important than your strategy

by John Ribbler on May 18, 2009 · 2 comments

Companies should care more about the stories they tell than the strategies they engineer, if they are serious about building and sustaining relationships with their customers. People connect with companies, products and services when their stories intertwine. “Carlos awoke. He had many things to do but felt a terrible pain in his head. His wife [...]

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Sales vs Marketing – 1st Installment

by John Ribbler on February 15, 2009 · 0 comments

Around 85% of all business leads generated by advertising and marketing do not receive a response.   Why?  Like the current economic meltdown, blame can be shared throughout the company. Marketing departments generate leads whether or not sales managers have an interest or the means to follow up. Sales people are comfortable addressing business that is [...]

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