I could tell right away that the guy was no pro. He was following a set of memorized prompts that he fumbled through and even repeated. Having caught me in a more patient mood, I listened to his messy pitch and left it at: I'll think about it. I looked up the company afterwards on … Continue reading On a devious door-to-door sales technique
Tag: sales
On helpfulness as a business development tactic
While I don’t do much business development, there’s one tenet that I know works, because I’ve seen it pay dividends again and again: Be helpful. Sounds easy enough, but this directive is harder to follow than it first seems, because knowing how to help someone is more an art than a science. So, let’s amend … Continue reading On helpfulness as a business development tactic
On struggling to consider sales goals
How should we think about sales? Our firm—and most professional services firms—consider sales as distinct from revenue. Sales. When our firm wins a new project, we negotiate a contract with the client. Usually, that contract includes a lump sum fee. Let's say the fee is $500,000. Once the contract is signed, we count this as … Continue reading On struggling to consider sales goals
On admitting I don’t understand architecture
Over the past few years, this has become a problem (or an opportunity, depending on how you look at it)—I don’t really understand architecture. As someone who isn’t an architect, that may not sound like a problem. However, as someone who sells architecture—or, more accurately, who sells the experience of working with architects—it's a pain … Continue reading On admitting I don’t understand architecture
Avoiding the rule of reciprocity in business situations
Back in 2019, my wife's company made an unpopular decision: they eliminated vendors outings. As the lead media planner for several large clients, who represent have advertising budgets in the millions of dollars, my wife is a prime target for advertising industry vendors, who sell everything from traditional ad space to pools of credit card … Continue reading Avoiding the rule of reciprocity in business situations
Taylor Coe 