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The Sales Cooke's Blog

Commentary on the Stresses in our World

by David Cooke (Aug 26, 2010)

There are a lot of people in this world who are under a tremendous amount of stress.  Everyday I have at least one conversation with someone who is unemployed, suffering from job insecurity, in financial distress, or fearful about the failures or struggles in their business.

It is not enough to simply say, "you are not alone."

Four Metrics to Productive Activity

by David Cooke (Aug 20, 2010)

When it comes to sales, the ultimate yardstick is results. In today’s environment, I hear a lot of chatter about people being busy. People talk about all their proposal, meeting, phone call, and email activities and say very little about sales results or new customers. They mainly say little about their results because they are busier than ever not closing deals. There is a big difference between activity and results. Are you busy on the right things?

Eleven Steps to Effective Relationships Through Networking

by David Cooke (Aug 13, 2010)

The problem with behaviors at networking events, is that there is too much selling going on.  Instead of simply looking to meet interesting people, there is this annoying sales pressure around building shallow connections that will lead to customers fast.  You have heard this time and again, that just does not work in today’s environment.

Three Ways to Avoid the Price Trap

by David Cooke (Aug 5, 2010)

"Everything today comes down to price." I get this a great deal.  When I first interview new clients and their sales teams, one of the first things they want me to clearly understand is that price is very important to their clients.  No kidding.

You Are Never too Busy to Be Polite to Voice Mailers

by David Cooke (Jul 29, 2010)

Everyone is busy, everyone is simply doing their job and you are certainly no more important or special than me.  Quit being rude, arrogant, or disrespectful when it comes to phone etiquette.  Whew!  I am glad I got that off my chest.

Making Money Through Social Media

by David Cooke (Jul 9, 2010)

Whenever I make a presentation on social media, the inevitable question is "how can I make money through my social media activities?"  Unless you are directly selling an on-line product in an e-commerce model, the direct and honest answer is "you can't."

Social media is a tool and a resource that provides you an opportunity to:

Building Great Business Relationships in Ten Easy Steps

by David Cooke (Jun 29, 2010)

The only type of productive business relationship is a mutually beneficial one.  If it is not mutually beneficial, then the relationship cannot and will not work over time.  People eventually drop out of relationships when they discover there is no value for them to maintain it.  Here is your big challenge: You cannot go into a business relationship expecting that you will obtain, receive, or be accorded instant gratification.  Great business relationships evolve over time and require you to c

Prospecting: The 15 Big Questions to Ask First

by David Cooke (Jun 15, 2010)

Prospecting is not simply going out and connecting with people with the hopes that some of these meetings will result in customer opportunities.  Prospecting is a carefully planned out strategy and process.  It is a systematic and targeted effort.  This effort is based on your clearly defined vision of your customer and your value as it relates to those customers.

What Are You Building? (An important question with a valuable lesson)

by David Cooke (Jun 9, 2010)

Just about everyone reading this post either owns their own business or is certainly thinking about it.  When I look back at starting my business in 2002, it happened as much by accident as anything.  One day I went into the owner's office for a meeting to talk about improving our relationship; next thing you know, I am out the door. (There is more to that story--not important here.) At that moment, I made the commitment that I would not work for anyone again.  And, I have stayed true to my commitment.

Is Effective Relationship Development a Noun or a Verb?

by David Cooke (Jun 1, 2010)

"Networking is a verb.  Your network is a noun." ~ Lori Silverman, Say "No" to Networking

A Book Report

by David Cooke (May 29, 2010)

Last year I released my first book, Cooked Up Sales.  I didn't go through too much fanfare in releasing it, as it was simply a book I wrote.  Yes, it was a book focused on my passion around effective relationship building, solution oriented selling behaviors. Whether it sold a lot of copies was not the yardstick I was measuring the success of the book by.   I simply knew it was a very concise informative book.  And, I was pleased with the feedback I received from those who read it.

Here it is one year later and I am wondering out loud

Believe It or Not, You Are in Control!

by David Cooke (May 18, 2010)
“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” ~Brian Tracy

In a previous blog, I referenced the quote, "there are only two things you can control in your life, your attitude and your effort." Taking control over the things tha

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