Unless you are selling a commodity item, please do your homework!  There are a lot of us blogging about this topic, writing books, doing public speaking, and giving webinars via sales school. There’s no other way to provide relevance and value to customers or differentiate yourself from the rest of the sales folks who are blah-blah-ing their way through a sales call (if they are even lucky enough to get an appointment).

By doing your homework, you will:

1.)    Understand the size and dynamics of the market places in which your customers “live.” If you “get” their context, you’ll understand how they make decisions. Make a pivot away from status quo sales thinking. Think like your customers first, then develop their business. [Read more...]