July 4, 1776.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Before we forget the importance of the 4th...

Kicked off by the celebration of the 4th, we're now pushing deep into the summer, and I'd like to ask you to take 30 minutes out of this upcoming weekend, to reflect on what it must have taken people like Jefferson, Hancock, Adams, Franklin and 52 others to sign a document that placed them literally in the cross hairs of a superior force of a heavily armed and highly financed government.  

This was a true revolution in all of its risks, its fears and total unknowns. This type of action goes far beyond the signing of a petition at Market Basket to rehire its CEO. This was a real revolution, with all of the intensity and depth of that word.

• Would you have signed the Declaration of Independence?  
• Would you have been one of the leaders in the crowds of the protestors?
• Would you have risked everything, taken up a gun and stood in the front line?

Very big questions in a very different time, and yet the theoretical answers to these very personal questions provide us with some level of insight into our own personas, our own level of risk-taking, our personal level of a desire to change, and our satisfaction...or disatisfaction...with the status quo of our jobs and our work environment. 

Having brought the 2nd Quarter to a (successful, I hope) close, you owe it to yourself to step back, take the long view over the next two years of your business, of your team, and of yourself as you ask the question of whether you're ready to be a proactive change agent (translation: a Sales Leader) in the sales and marketing revolution that's going on all around you.

Although there's no way that the digital revolution of Inbound Marketing and Social Selling can be compared to the seriousness and the impact of the political revolution of 1776, the underlying opportunity to create fundamental long-lasting change in our work as sales and marketing professionals is comparable. In Sales & Marketing today, this is a time of fundamental change, and you either need to get fully onboard or be left behind...forever.

The Time is Now...

• "Relationship Selling", by itself, has been dead for 10+ years.
• "Solution Selling" is both tiring and tired and, in a word, it's "oversold"
• 79% of B2B decision makers state they would never have a second meeting with most sales reps.
• 59% of those same reps identified that they had " a very positive meeting" with the decision makers
• 50%-70% of the B2B buying decision is made by management before anyone ever meets with a sales rep
• "Providing Value & Customer Success" is the new rally cry of today's Sales revolution 

Today's revolution in the world of professional Sales is obviously much quieter than in any political revolution, but it does take individual salespeople and sales managers to take a position as a leader and stand up, commit to and require...

• Full adoption of formal and dynamic sales processes
• Complete game plans and playbooks for every quarter 
• Detailed Key Account plans using the 80/20 Rule
• Total fluency in and complete use of their CRM platform
• Quarterly skills training sessions with certification 

This is a revolution that is happening all around us, and the sooner that all of us become leaders in this battle against complacency, and against " always done it this way", the sooner that we will increase our own sales productivity, not by 5% or 10%, but by 25% and 35%.

Change is good; revolutionary change is better.  

Have specific sales questions that you want to bounce off me or any of our other coaches, just email me, and we'll set up a time to talk. 

Head Coach