Dave Tear

(originally posted September, 2015. Re-posted because it’s good) It’s here! Football season. Finally! Three weeks ago the NCAA opened & two weeks ago, the NFL. A great time of year, for sure. My favorite is the NCAA. ESPN’s College GameDay, Saturday afternoon games, Top 25 showdowns, tailgate parties, the UofM/MSU rivalry & consequential “trash-talking” — […]

Labor Day has been around since the late 1800’s. It honors the American Labor Movement. It’s a Federal Holiday. It’s a day off work (for many people). Yep, it’s a day off work. That’s great (& well deserved) for some sales professionals. Some. Some sales professionals work their butts off. Some manage their time very well.

Remember when the Blockbuster video stores stood apart from all others because they greeted every single person that entered their stores, every single time? How about Domino’s Pizza? They started the “You’ll have it in 30 minutes or less or it’s free policy”. Who can forget FedEx’s “When it absolutely has to be there overnight”

It’s 8/8 so let’s review 8 ways to improve your time management. It doesn’t matter what company you work for — self-employed, small company or large corporate environment. If you don’t have the soft skills that make you able to handle a very large work load you will be replaced by someone who does.  

If you have been in sales for longer than a week you have been told, ”You have to uncover their budget.” Your director or manager has asked, “How much money are they willing to spend?” “What’s the budget?” “What’s their target price?” “How much money do they have?”  Been there? Of course, you have. The

Yogi Berra is known for wacky sayings & quotes that make you say, huh? He had a lot of them. His best? Hands down has to be, Baseball is 90% mental, & the other half is physical. What’s so great about that quote? It applies to EVERYTHING! It applies to every sport from baseball to

Ok, so the title might sound silly. It certainly won’t make sense until you’ve read the entire blog – so, looks like we’ve got you hooked. Let’s set the stage: Tommy the Salesperson has a giant bowl filled with every flavor of Rolaids ever invented. He’s in a large room filled with 200 people (ages

Referral. The very word gives people an upset stomach. The thought of putting myself out there & the chance that something could go wrong… “Nope… I can’t think of anyone.” You’ve all been there. On both sides: As the consumer: A salesperson asks you for a referral, “Do you know anyone that I should talk

If you think it doesn’t matter where you sit on sales appointments, you’re wrong. If you think your customer is always “in charge” & will tell you where to sit, you’re also wrong. Where you sit matters… & you do have a say. Please note: This is written & intended for selling in North America.

  As sales leaders & salespeople, how do you feel on the 4th or 5th time that you call a prospect to let her know that you are “just following up”? Be serious. Raise your hand if you feel like a stalker. Keep your hand up if you feel a little bit more of your