I've been in the world of sales and marketing for decades!
-I love the daily and weekly challenges.
-I live in the science of the intertwined formal processes and the math.
-I know what it takes to get into the groove on a Friday to make 30 calls and send out more emails/texts
Being successful in sales is not a job. It's simply a career doing what you love to do with a constant eye on the clock and the scoreboard!
One of my methods for getting my head into the groove for both a long day of sales calls or for any of the 10-20 speeches I give each year is to listen to the Rolling Stones! For a speech, as I'm driving to the event, I'm listening to...and badly singing..."Sympathy", "Start Me Up" or "Gimme Shelter". For a day of sales calls like today, it's more likely to be "Wild Horses".
And then there's Mick and Keith, both 82, and Ronnie at 79, just releasing "Foreign Tongues", their 27th American studio album, released two weeks ago and right now #1 on Billboard's Top albums. My personal favorite being "Rough and Twisted".
I had the opportunity last week while doing one of my wicked long commutes into Boston to listen to a one-hour Sirius Radio interview with Mick on the new album. Just extraordinary!
-On top of everything: the metrics, the money, the daily and weekly charts, the influencers, the fans!
-A pure love of what he does which is all about the music, its nuances and the actual creation.
-Never a word about his age or being tired. Actually, just the opposite with their plans for a tour!
So, this morning as you get psyched up for an exciting day of sales calls, this is that magic time when you're on stage! This is all about you! Your presence! Your look! Your voice! Your playlist...which in sales-speak is all about your value propositions directed specifically to your audience.
As Mick said during that Sirius interview: "you gotta get them dancing".
You know the music having done a full refresh of every piece of data you need. Grab one more cup of Dunkin' and have a great day selling, but before you do, "What's your pump-up song this morning?"
Jack is a Managing Partner of Derby Management, a strategy consulting firm, and founder of the Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts University, where he has taught for 20 years. Every semester is significantly updated, with heavy emphasis in 2026 on AI in Marketing & Sales. At Derby Management, Jack and his team architect and build business strategies focused on sales and marketing processes, tools, and technology platforms.
www.derbymanagement.com | Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts