Posts by Adam Boyd
Missing Your Market? It’s Not Always About Sales Skills. Sometimes It’s About “Fit”
Sometimes, it’s just about “fit.” It’s not how sharp you are, or how well you can sell. It’s not about your prospecting chops, or how you present. It can just be that you miss the mark…with the market. Or as Johnny Cochrane famously said… What does this mean? That maybe you have a great offer…but…
Read MoreNetworking Like a Pro: 6 Must-Take Actions for Referral Success
Some businesses run on referrals. It’s usually because: A. Actually a lower cost of sale to have people refer business to you than search for those deals one by one; B. The service is purchased based on trust (consulting, law, etc…); C. Someone’s afraid to prospect. Let’s skip category C for now, and focus on…
Read MoreGrowth – Whose Job Is It, Anyway?
A client (professional services firm) aims to grow by 40% next year. And it’s doable. The plan is actually simple. A certain level of retention on existing clients/customers, with some predicted growth there, and that takes care of 70% of the growth. The rest will come from new clients/logos. But there’s a problem. And it’s…
Read MoreIn Sales, Sometimes You’re The Problem
In the middle of a 0-10 football season in high school, one of our coaches said, “Everyone says you suck. Just don’t suck.” To which one of our players responded, “Thanks for the inspiration, Lombardi.” After the laughs wore off, there was some truth to what our coach said: sometimes, having success doesn’t mean being…
Read MoreWant to Raise Prices? Here’s One Way.
(This isn’t a chest-beating fantasy about how much you can charge if only you’re tough enough and gutsy enough. That’s not reality. Some industries won’t stand for it. Some prospects have too many options they prefer. I do believe, often, you can charge MORE than others and win. But rarely can you charge 65% more…
Read MoreWinning Business BEFORE The Meeting
When I started business school, I remember the teachers lining up and saying, one by one, “I teach you how to make it,” “I teach you how to count it,” and finally, “I teach you how to sell it.” Every business has these functions, whether the person running the business or the firm wants to…
Read MoreWhy Your Consults (or Discovery Calls) Go Sideways
To Help You Win… One of the questions I get most often is, “Why aren’t I closing these opportunities?” To be honest, it’s ACTUALLY phrased like this: Lawyer: “These leads just don’t have any money.” Consultant/Service Provider: “I don’t know what’s going on. Business is slow.” CEO: “Deals keep pushing, so I’m guessing next quarter…
Read MoreConversion is About Math, and That’s About Competing
To Help You Win… My client is a DUI/DWI attorney in Illinois. And last year, when we started working together, she was grinding to grow her firm. She’d been building it for 7 years, on her own. She was doing it all. Filing. Drafting. Meeting with clients. Going to court. Working with the ad agencies…
Read MoreGetting Home
Or, How to Find The Real Issues If you’re a regular reader, you know I love the game of football. I coached it, I played it, and I still follow my Vols even after a decade of incompetent leadership. And sometimes, it provides a helpful metaphor for sales. Today, we’re talking about “getting home.” But…
Read More5 Questions Costing You Money
If you aren’t asking them Roughly 10 years ago, a consultant shared with me the questions he asks his clients every year. Not 6 months after they sign up. And not just at the renewal of a contract. Every year. Since then, I’ve asked them of clients (though not as often as I should’ve). When…
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