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Explore over 350 articles that will help you grow your client relationships and improve your personal effectiveness.
Strong vs. Weak Questions: Examples for Business Development
Not all questions are created equal. I recently wrote two short ebooks, distributed through my publisher John Wiley & Sons, which go into very specific detail about thoughtful questions you can use at every stage of the sales and client development process (Power Questions to Win the Sale and Power Questions to Build Clients for Life). Here are my reflections about "strong" and "weak" questions that you can use in your business development efforts.
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Strong–and Weak–Questions to Win the Sale
By Andrew Sobel Advice abounds on "asking good questions" during the sales process. I believe much of it is confusing or even misleading. Here are some examples of what I mean by misleading advice about asking questions: Some Misconceptions "Inquiry-based sales is dead" Really? What they mean is that a sales approach that relies entirely […]
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How to Become More Empathetic
How empathetic are you? Empathy is a fundamental quality of great trusted advisors, and it’s worth engaging in a moment of self-reflection to see if and how you can improve your empathy. Here are nine ways you can improve your empathy. In this post, I share the first five:
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How Useful Is Your Account Planning?
Does your organization have a client account planning process? If so, let me ask you some questions about it:
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How to Broaden Your Client Relationships
How do you broaden your client’s perception of your capabilities? This is a complex problem. Clients tend to pigeonhole their providers and put them in little boxes. Often, they are not even familiar with all of what you can offer. .
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How to build Peer Relationships with Your Clients (Part 3)
To become a client’s trusted advisor, you must be viewed as a peer. In my last two posts I talked about the importance of demonstrating professional acumen and C-Suite behaviors. In this post I explain the importance of values alignment for a senior executive who is bringing someone into their inner circle.
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How to Build Peer Relationships with Your Clients (Part 2)
To become a client’s trusted advisor, you must be viewed as a peer. In my last post I talked about the importance of demonstrating Professional Acumen. In this post I set out the "c-suite" behaviors you need to exemplify if you want to be accepted as a peer by senior executives.
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Outstanding sales call preparation
How often do you jump into a car or taxi and show up at a prospect’s office ready to ask questions and pitch your solutions—but without really having prepared? Many senior executives I’ve interviewed have told me this happens all the time. And, they usually add, they aren’t impressed with someone who walks in knowing very little about their business and their issues.
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