For some time, I have noticed more and more people are demanding (or requesting) more and more for us to do.  Take this survey, give me 5 stars, tell me how you liked the experience you just had, sign up for this newsletter.  I cannot even simply look for a recipe without being bombarded with asks, advertisements that I have to so carefully navigate, or OH NO...I  accidentally clicked on it..more ads coming my way! These [...]

Back when I started selling high-end product to designers (in the mid-80's), I was taught to sell by throwing more and more stuff out there.  The more I threw, the better chance they will buy. The reoccurring theme was "YOU NEVER KNOW" or "WHAT IF?"  And I was considered a top performer doing this. This is the exact method I was constantly encouraged to do: Call on as many people as you can, show them as [...]

Setting goals is the first step to making the invisible into the visible...Tony Robbins. A familiar problem salespeople are faced with is achieving sales goals which seem, many times, insurmountable. (Believe me, I have been there!) So salespeople just "start their engines" to try to meet that elusive Goal at the end of the year, many times falling short. How disappointing and defeating that is. Worse yet, companies you work with may not even set sales [...]

What does the future hold for product companies or showrooms that want to sell to interior designers? Would you be surprised if I predicted that the future could be pretty bad for some of these companies?  But for others, there is still every chance that the future could be bright? We have witnessed that, first hand, in the last 18 months.  Donghia, Dessin Fournir, Robert Allen/Duralee, J. Robert Scott.  Who is next and what do we [...]

Showrooms that sell to interior designers can have the stability they need by breaking from the old thinking way. In the past, I have written mainly for salespeople in the interior design industry. I thought I would change it up a bit by writing about another passion, the showroom where many salespeople I train work. And the owners/managers who are responsible for the profitability of the business. Over a 25 year career, I worked with four [...]