There’s a dangerous myth floating around in business today: that the keyboard is mightier than the phone. That if you blast enough cold emails, send enough LinkedIn connection requests, and fire off enough proposals by PDF, customers will eventually roll over and buy from you. Let me set the record straight: cold emails don’t close […]
Stop Whining About the Market — Outwork It
Every time the market hiccups, every time the industry cycle dips, I hear the same tired chorus: “The market is down. Customers aren’t buying. What can we do? We just have to wait it out.” Nonsense. The market doesn’t owe you a thing. Never has, never will. If you think that by showing up, opening […]
20 Lessons in 20 Years — A Career in Common Sense
By Dan Beaulieu, for the 1000th edition of “It’s Only Common Sense” The Long Game of Weekly Truth-Telling One thousand columns. 20 years. The first edition of It’s Only Common Sense was published on September 5, 2005- Twenty years ago the first 10 columns were monthly. But then on July 31st, 2006, the column went […]
Why Failure is an Opportunity for Growth
It’s only common sense that failure, as painful as it may be, is one of the best teachers in life. Whether you’re running a business, managing a team, or navigating your personal journey, failure offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn, grow, and emerge stronger. If you’re not failing now and then, you’re likely not trying […]
Stop Chasing New Customers and Start Keeping the Ones You’ve Got
Come on, I get it! Customer retention is not glamorous. It doesn’t have a flashy ad campaign. It’s not going viral on social media. And nobody’s handing out “Best in Retention” awards at trade shows. But if you’re running a real business — not a popularity contest — then customer retention is where your real […]
The Team, The Team, The Team
Sales as a Team Sport If you’ve ever played on a sports team, you know that it’s not just about scoring goals or making big plays—it’s about everyone working together toward a common goal. Sales is no different. Too often, sales is seen as an individual activity, with each salesperson striving to hit their personal […]
Bringing Home The Orphans
How to Win Back Lost Customers In business, losing customers is inevitable. But while it’s tempting to focus solely on acquiring new customers, there’s significant value in bringing lost ones back into the fold. I call it bringing home the orphans. Winning back lost customers isn’t just about patching up old relationships; it’s about understanding […]
Know when to Fold Em!
The Importance of Knowing When to Walk Away In business, the ability to know when to walk away is just as critical as knowing when to say yes. It might feel counterintuitive, especially when every deal seems like an opportunity, but not every deal is the right one. In fact, the most successful professionals are […]
Customer Service is Sales in Disguise
When we think about sales, we often picture meetings, pitches, and negotiations. Customer service? That’s something entirely different, right? Wrong. In reality, customer service is one of the most powerful sales tools a business can deploy. Every interaction with a customer—whether they’re calling to ask a question, lodge a complaint, or simply inquire about your […]
Watch The Clock
One of the most valuable assets a salesperson has is time. It’s a finite resource, and how you manage it can be the difference between barely meeting quotas and crushing them consistently. Time management isn’t about being busy; it’s about being effective. It’s about prioritizing tasks that drive results while cutting out or delegating the […]