The Deal Whisperers

I remember the first time I got a phone call from a salesperson asking to speak with “the lady of the house.” (Remember those days? When y...

One of the most important attributes a person needs to be successful in business is the ability to make a decision. One of the most im...

Derek Jeter can’t say no. At least, not the right way. During the ceremony at Yankee Stadium to retire his jersey number (2), Jeter’s ...

Imagine a company spending millions of dollars to research, develop and produce a valuable and well-respected product, then spending milli...

Last Friday night, my friend and his wife and decided to go out to dinner. He came downstairs in jeans and a t-shirt with plans to get...

I never expected a professional basketball player to be the inspiration for a lesson in client service. In business there’s an old ada...

Warren Beatty was in a quandary. At the Academy Awards ceremony last Sunday night Beatty, the Oscar-winning actor/director/producer, w...

Too often, sales people don’t know when to stop selling. There is an old adage for this (as there often is for practical advice): “If yo...

Sometimes the salesperson gets sold. It happens slowly, beginning with a “great meeting” with a senior executive at the client. This...

Years ago I heard a story about my grandfather, Henry Dieffenbach, and how he handled a dispute between my aunts, Helen and Eleanor. H...

My friend, Mike, called me several months ago for some advice. He was working on a potential $200 million outsourcing deal with a large ma...

“We decided to go with another vendor.” Ouch! Those dreaded words. To a sales executive they are like a punch in the gut. After all th...

The legendary comic actor W.C. Fields famously said, “Never work with children or animals.” But not because he didn’t like them; because t...

A young sales professional once said to me, “You could probably sell ice to Alaskans.” I said, “That might be true, but it could be ...

This past week I had the opportunity to hear a presentation by Charlie Houchin, who won a gold medal in the 4x200 meter freestyle relay wi...

A rabbi on YouTube got me thinking how client relationships are like lobsters. Renowned psychiatrist Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski posted ...

“This is what the client is demanding. They have been saying this for months. I know we don’t usually do it this way, but if we say ‘yes’ ...

“If you don’t walk into the client’s building every day, excited about the opportunity to help solve their problems and make them successf...

Several times in my career I have been asked to help resolve a particularly difficult situation because the team said they needed “a tough...

The other day I met with a young man named Tom who is graduating from college next May. He is interested in a sales career in the technolo...

A colleague once asked me how much negotiation contingency I have in my deals. I asked, “What is negotiation contingency?” “It’s t...

I was looking at a pack of firecrackers a few weeks ago and noticed the very clear and simple instructions on the back: Light Fuse. Move A...

Recently I was buying a car and I was reminded of the story of the million-dollar coffee cup. I first heard about the cup over 20 years ...