Author Archives: Dan Smaida

When Customer-Centric Selling Isn’t Enough

Customer Selling

Dan Smaida – Wednesday, November 23, 2016 It’s been real popular over the years for sellers to define themselves as “customer-centric.” A search for the term on Amazon yields 3,042 book results! There’s everything from customer-centric selling to marketing to service culture…and I think it’s wrong. What’s wrong with all the focus on customer-centricity? Being […]

Why Old-School Closing Still Rules

Closing the Deal

Dan Smaida – Wednesday, October 29, 2016 In a previous post I suggested that millennial sellers aren’t closing as much as they could be because they’re over-relying on text and email. Comments on this post flew in all directions, but not many disputed the fact that more than ever, we’re using screens to do what […]

Why Your Millennial Sellers Aren’t Prospecting

Dan Smaida – October 1, 2016 Have you noticed any of these phenomena when reviewing the pipelines of your millennial sellers? Not enough opportunities Not enough early-stage opportunities Companies who should be in the pipeline aren’t Now, the easy (and lazy) conclusion is that millennials are entitled, don’t know how to work, etc. But I […]

7 Ways Elevate Your Dialogue from Requirements to Needs

Dan Smaida – Wednesday, September 29, 2016 Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a client’s Enterprise Sales team on strategies for responding to RFPs (Requests for Proposals).  Although they’re different, RFP sales and Committee sales are fundamentally similar – they’re both complex sales. In procurement-driven RFP sales, the “official” needs expressed by the […]

Why Your Baby-Boomer Sellers Aren’t Closing

Dan Smaida – September 22, 2016 Have you ever run into these phenomena when reviewing the pipelines of your veteran sellers? – Deals seem to drag on and on as the customer goes through “the process.” – All of the opportunities seem to follow the same path. – Companies that should be in the pipeline aren’t in the […]