Partners in EXCELLENCE - Making a Difference
Blog
Making A Difference – Thoughts, Observations and Opinions
This is Dave Brock’s Blog.
It offers my views on a variety of business, sales, marketing, and leadership topic. My goal is to make a difference for you, the reader, in both your professional and personal lives.
Latest Posts
Rumors Of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
I’m a sales professional. I’m disturbed by the persistent rumors–or, perhaps, wishful thinking about my death. I’m still alive and thriving! My customers recognize that I create great value for them. My customers view me as a critical partner in their success. My customers recognize that I understand their business, their customers, their markets. My customers expect me to challenge them with new ideas, opportunities, and ways to grow their business. My customers are anxious to talk to me, often initiating the conversations because they value my views. They don’t buy every idea I have, but they want to hear […]
Imagine, We’re Paid To Be Curious!!
There’s something unique about what we do as sales people. We’re paid to be curious!! Not many other jobs have “curiosity” as the central part of their job description. Perhaps research scientists, some market analyst/researcher, think tank people, and consultants; but other than that there aren’t a lot of jobs that pay for curiosity. And the types of things we get paid to be curious about is pretty awesome. We talk to people about their goals, dreams, and aspirations for their businesses and for themselves. We get the opportunity to talk to them about their successes and how to achieve […]
Never Give Up!
Yesterday, I got a one liner email from a friend and colleague. It simply said, “David — I am a proud papa…Take a look at Maddy’s interview! Hope all is well, Jeff” Maddy Stanley is Jeff and Karen’s daughter. I think I first met her when she was about 5 years old. It’s been a number of years since I’ve seen her, she’s now 19, graduating from High School and about to go to college. Maddy was born with a neurological disability call Schizencephaly. It’s very rare, but similar to Cerebral Palsy. She’s overcome a huge amount, and is totally […]
“Sales Is The Tip Of The Arrow In Executing Corporate Strategy”
The other evening I was in one of those reflective moods. I started thinking about the integration and alignment of sales with the other functions of the organization. Not just sales and marketing alignment, but alignment with the corporate business strategy, product management, customer service, finance, and so forth. I started thinking about things I’ve said in the past as well as lots of pundits, writers, speakers, and others. I’ve often use the metaphor of an Arrowhead or Speartip to represent sales, saying things like: “Sales is the tip of the arrow in representing the company to customers” “Sales is […]
Teaching “Old Dogs New Tricks”
We’ve all heard the phrase, “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks.” It could be rephrased, “You can’t teach ‘old’ business people new tricks.” If this really were true, then every business is condemned to failure. No organization can sustain itself and grow, unless they are committed to learn, change, execute, make mistakes, learn…. No organization can sustain growth or leadership, unless they can leave a past that no longer works behind. If you’re a millennial, or even Gen Z, don’t get too comfortable. If you work in a relatively young company, this applies to you, as well. This has […]
The Customer’s Responsibility Is To Solve Their Problem
I just saw a tweet from Andy Paul caught my eye, “The buying cycle has six steps, but in reality prospects have only one task to accomplish: buying the right product or service. #sales” Andy’s a super smart guy, we are usually absolutely aligned in our point of view, but in this case, I couldn’t disagree more. The customer’s sole responsibility is to achieve their business objectives and goals, whether it’s keeping their operations running smoothly or changing to improve what they are currently doing. Buying the right product or service may be an aspect of the changes that need […]