Posts by Mike Crandall, Sandler Custom Growth Solutions

It takes a lot of work to get to the point that you’re sitting down to meet with a potential client or even scheduling that meeting in the first place. Discovering the prospect, networking towards them, getting an introduction – all these things take a lot of time and effort.

But if we’re not careful, we can blow the sale and waste all that work before we’ve even had a chance to explain what we’re selling.

Not many of us use actual rolodexes any more. Most of us went digital several years ago. All those contacts who used to be represented by paper cards now have their home in our e-mail and on our cell phones.

I think we may have lost something in the transition. I’m not anti-technology. It just that when a contact is just a name on a screen it becomes harder to appreciate the value of that relationship.

If you’re a business owner or salesperson, you probably spend a lot of time going to networking events, hoping you’ll find the right connections. For most events…

You probably know someone who seems to always see the world negatively. They’re a “glass half-empty” type of person.

Instead of responding to “Hi, How are you?” with “Good, and you?” they’re more likely to say “Well…” and then launch into describing everything bad that’s happened today.

Before founding the Oklahoma Professional Sales Association (OKPSA), I thought a lot about what I wanted the organization to be. More importantly, I also worked hard to find out what I didn’t want it to be.