Dave Tear

Most of you will remember the Alan Iverson rant (May 7, 2002) after the Celtics bounced the 76ers from the 1st round of the playoffs. He said the word “practice” 24 ½ times in a 2 minute span. It made Press Conference History. To a hockey guy that was one of the funniest moments ever […]

It’s here! Football season. Last week the NCAA opened & this weekend, the NFL. A great time of year indeed. My favorite is NCAA. ESPN’s College Game Day, Saturday afternoon games, Top 25 showdowns, tailgate parties, the UM/MSU rivalry & consequential “trash-talking” – it’s all fantastic! Is there anything better than highlight films from the

One of the most common characteristics of successful salespeople = impatience. Show me a patient salesperson & I’ll show you a salesperson with skinny kids! Most want to rush, get as much done as possible & move on to the next deal. Their mantra is more, more, more. Pretty normal. The great ones are decisive,

At golf league the other night one of the guys in my foursome (& no… don’t worry, he won’t be reading this blog) would not stop talking. He went on & on & on about guess what? You got it… every single golf shot he took. For the entire round. He helped to make 2

If someone told you your job was to call or email people who you don’t know… that didn’t want to talk to you … about something they didn’t want to buy … how quickly would you sign up? Nobody would be dumb enough to sign up for that. It’s ridiculous. I’d rather poke my eyes

When you think of the word “pander” what do you think of? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary says it’s to do or provide what someone wants or demands even though it is not proper, good, or reasonable. I think of the overly-nice salesperson. That constantly up-beat guy, ridiculously positive & over-the-top with his willingness to accommodate. The gal

One of my favorite things to do on our annual 4th of July holiday vacation is to walk the beach in the morning (Greenbush, MI on Lake Huron – about 45 minutes south of Alpena). I put the earbuds in, select my favorite playlist & start to solve all the world’s problems. This weekend it

One of the most important things I have to do (as a sales trainer/coach) is to determine what motivates my clients. Sometimes that’s easy to do – other times, not so much. The question is an easy one to ask: “Why are you in sales?” The hard part (for some salespeople) is the answer. I have

The hockey community (& other sports communities) have a phrase: “Act like you’ve been there!” This is intended for the rookies. It’s an attitude that serves these rookies well – if they live up to it. Easier said than done for many. How often do you see a rookie in any sport make on-the-field (or off-the-field) mistakes?

A previous blog mentioned that colleges & universities are finally getting around to offering Sales & Selling as a major. I said it before, ‘bout time. It will be great to have grads coming out of school with the intellectual capacity to understand what happens in sales. True, they will know about sales. Yes, will