My husband Chris wrote an article recently that paints a picture of a salesperson as the curator of the customer’s purchase experience. As a professional buyer who has worked with hundreds of suppliers—from the largest to the fastest growing—having a person I trust, who can help me navigate both their organization and mine, is absolutelyCONTINUE READING
I’ve worked for some great leaders throughout my career. However, there is one person who stands out as the best boss I’ve ever had. It was during a formative time in my professional selling career. His name is Shawn Donovan. Why? Well, no matter how much his leaders turned up the heat, it never rolled down hill toCONTINUE READING
How a subtle shift in mindset can transform your business relationships. I met my husband Chris years after we both graduated from college and I love hearing his stories from those days. During dinner conversations he often reminisces about playing basketball and running track at La Salle University. He lights up when he talks aboutCONTINUE READING
A simple shift in mindset will make all the difference! My wife’s father Andrei arrived from Russia last week. After a 9-hour flight, he dropped his bag at the hotel in New York, then headed for our home in Princeton, NJ. He had one night free before kicking off a 10-city tour throughout North AmericaCONTINUE READING
I didn’t realize how much baggage sales professionals carried around until my first professional role after college. I remember one of my first days in the field with US Healthcare. I was feeling pretty good, wearing a dark gray pinstriped suit that my mom bought me for $89 at Today’s Man. I walked into anCONTINUE READING
The Conference Board recently did a study of more than 1400 B2B organizations and found that on average, those companies completed 60% of their purchasing process—researching solutions, ranking options, setting requirements, benchmarking pricing and so on—before having a conversation with a supplier. I read several reports from numerous sources over the past few months thatCONTINUE READING
I brought chocolate-chip cookies into the office on Monday. A few minutes after handing them to my assistant, she sent a note to the entire Procurement Department letting everyone know there were cookies for the taking. The email read, “Donna’s husband baked cookies.” I am not sure if people were more hungry or more curious,CONTINUE READING
Trust is the most essential currency in business. When we have trust, things get done. Trust is often created and strengthened over time. Unfortunately, time is not our friend. How can we accelerate the trust-building process? Here’s an approach that might help build trust with clients and prospects at the speed of business. Assume yourCONTINUE READING
Insights I Gained From a New Seller! by Chris Donato Over the past two weeks I’ve been checking in with our newly hired sales reps, doing year-end-review conversations. Today I spoke with JaLisa—we hired her straight from college. It’s not only JaLisa’s first sales role. It’s her first professional job altogether. Having 20+ years of professionalCONTINUE READING
If you’ve read some of my earlier posts or if you know me well, then you are aware that my wife Donna is a procurement executive for a large company. For anyone who may not be familiar with the role of procurement execs, they help the enterprise buy things. Having Donna as a sounding boardCONTINUE READING
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