Independent reps had better have a firm sense of who and what they are — not to mention a view of where they want to go — before planning substantial growth for themselves and their agencies.

Not too long ago, the usual scenario for a start-up rep firm and/or for that matter established ones, whether it is one-person or a firm with multiple sales personnel, was to gravitate towards an industry familiar to them as a result of having worked in or with that industry in some fashion. And, most often, the initial principals were almost always domestic companies.

Today, however, most reps have been exposed to an opportunity to represent a foreign principal and many have undertaken this representation. The differences between repping a domestic principal and a foreign principal can be dramatic and often … Read the rest

We ended the article in the April issue of Agency Sales magazine with the question, “How do we activate the energy field and create the alignment within any company or organization that will serve customers in a very different way?”

Let’s start with the answer so that as you read, the explanation will not be perceived as judgmental, incriminating or confrontational to the typical Industrial Age mindset.

The answer: “Stop the war and wage peace.”

The shift from the mechanistic Industrial Age business model to the biological Human Potential business model requires a bifurcated change in focus within the organization.… Read the rest

Time gets lost. People kill time. Time flies. It gets wasted. 

Time weighs heavy on our hands. 

We spend time. Time passes. It drags on or it hurries by. 

Those behind bars are said to be doing time. 

Sometimes, we have no time left; we’re out of time.

According to the great American inventor, Thomas Edison, “Time is really the only capital any human being has, and the one thing he can’t afford to waste.”

The perception of not having enough time for the things we must do or, just as importantly, the things we want to do, is a … Read the rest

Jane Schulte is really quite remarkable.

She’s an entrepreneur who runs two successful businesses. She grew her company, PRISM Title, from eight to 60 employees in only 18 months. She has published four books, two of which are award winning. She speaks to a variety of audiences about business success. She has been featured in Jeffrey Gitomer’s “Sales Caffeine” newsletter and many other media outlets. On top of all this, she’s an accomplished artist whose works have been commissioned.

That’s certainly an impressive bio.  But do you want to know what’s most remarkable about Jane Schulte?

She doesn’t work evenings … Read the rest

There are many stories out there already which any manager will share when complaining about their employees. There is the one with the salesman who scans Twitter for hours. And then there is the employee who harasses a co‑worker several cubicles down from him by hijacking her Facebook account and posting harassing comments. And, of course, there is the ubiquitous case of the worker that slams the employer on LinkedIn and is fired, thus exacting a morale-busting toll on the employee, the workplace, and the organization.

All marketers are liars. And since we’re all marketers of one thing or another, we’re all liars. To give proper credit, Seth Godin, the provocative business pundit, started it with his book, All Marketers Are Liars. And, as the syllogism makes incredibly clear, he was 100 percent on the mark.

There’s no better way to improve the quality of information you receive from a potential customer than by asking short questions. We all can recall far too many times when we’ve sat across the table from a customer we’re trying to help — and we know we can help, if they would just provide us information about their needs and goals.