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Why You Should Sketch Every Time
Because sketching is part of the Discovery process, each blog answers one common open-ended question. And as always, I’m including actions for both salespeople and sales managers so you can integrate sketching — and support sketching — into your daily activity.
Today we’re focusing on two practical questions:
How Does Sketching Happen?
Sketching happens most effectively when it’s an initiating action by the salesperson.
When you ask, “What can you tell me about the room as it is now?” you op…
The Tool That Deepens Trust Fast
There’s a difference between talking about a space… and truly understanding it.
This month, we’re focusing on Sketching to Support the Sale. This is the first in a series of four conversations about sketching. Because sketching lives inside the Discovery process, I’m going to answer these through common open-ended questions — and I’ll include actions for both salespeople and sales managers so you can integrate this tool into your daily activity.
Today, we begin with two simple questions:
What…
Whose Objection Is It, Really?
This is the second article in the series on Selling Intangibles.
As sales managers, we need to know what the sales associates’ objections are to selling intangibles.
In many cases, the objections the salesperson has to the intangible may be greater than the customer’s objection—or it may be that the salesperson simply agrees with the customer.
We know that salespeople need to believe in the intangible as a valuable tool to the sale. But when they don’t have success using that tool, they often…
Your 2026 Sales Plan, Simplified
This is the final installment in the goal-setting series, and it brings together a simple, math-based process designed to help you manage both your sales and your income throughout the year.
Nothing here is complicated—but it does require intention.
Let’s summarize what you’ve built.
1. Create a Written Sales Goal for the Year
You’ve already done the hard thinking. Now it’s about clarity and commitment.
- Create a written sales goal for the year
- Calculate it using your commission percentag…
What It Really Takes to Hit Your Sales Goal
This is the third installment in the goal setting theme. In the first two installments, we calculated the minimum written number (basement) and then added to that for the actual goal number.
These numbers might seem high at first glance—especially if they are beyond your current level of performance.
Goals are achieved by actions taken, rather than reactions to a specific number.
The activity level required to achieve your goal needs to be in alignment with the goal. For instance, the activit…
Turning needs into numbers
This is the second note on setting realistic and reasonable goals, starting with covering your basic needs each month. Now that you have your basement expenses (missed last week? Find more info HERE) established, let’s look at what you need to write in sales to accommodate that number.
For this example, I’m going to assume you are paid on written sales.
If your “nut”—what you need to bring home—is $5,000 (your net income), add 25% to that number to calculate your gross income before taxes. Tha…
Before 2026 Begins—Read This
The final posting of the series — and of the year.
I hope 2025 was a good one for you, with lessons learned and successes celebrated. Remember, not all wins are monetary.
As you proactively create the new year, consider what matters most to you that you want to bring into your life or expand beyond where things currently are.
Also ask yourself: what do you want to reduce?
Screen time, waistline, debt…
Make those part of your intentions and your plan for 2026.
If you can dream it and plan for it, you…
BEing Proactive: Your 2026 Goal-Setting Guide
This is the fourth post in our December series on Being Proactive — please catch up on the earlier installments if you missed them. Each one builds on the last.
In the spirit of being proactive — and in the spirit of the holidays — let’s take a look at setting goals for the new year, and a simple process to do that well.
Start by evaluating this year.
This is the fourth post on Being Proactive… please catch up on the previous posts you may have missed.
In the spirit of being proactive — and es…
BE Proactive: Create the Sales You Want
This is the third installment in our series on Being Proactive. If you missed the previous two, I encourage you to go back and read them — they set the foundation for everything we’ll talk about today.
If you are a salesperson in a showroom (retail or trade), or if you manage one, it’s likely that you rely heavily on incoming opportunities — traffic — for new business. That’s understandable.
It’s also understandable that you may consider your greatest competitors to be other showrooms offering…
Where Are You Waiting Instead of Creating?
This is the second installment in our December series on Being Proactive. In the first newsletter, we defined proactive as taking responsibility for one’s own life — and all the elements that come with it.
Now, let’s go a little deeper into what it looks like in practice.
We often hear being proactive used interchangeably with taking initiative, which is accurate — even if it’s not the full definition.
Consider the many ways initiative shows up:
- Creating instead of waiting
- Going after what …
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