One of the Holy Icons of marketing is the concept of customer focus. It’s almost always used to signify a good thing, and something that is self-evident – that doesn’t require a lot of explanation. Of course, in reality things are a little more shades-of-grey. Here, then, is a guide for distinguishing between Five Levels […]
In April 2007, the New Yorker published an article by John Calapinto called The Interpreter. It describes Dan Everett, a linguistic researcher who lived for many years with a remote Amazonian tribe in Brazil, the Parahã. The Parahã consider their language to be vastly superior to all others, and show no interest in learning other languages. In […]
Several decades ago, when “leadership” became a Big Thing, it was heavily personality-based. It posited Leadership as something done by Leaders, who had learned the art of how to Lead. As a consultant friend of mine, Renee Wingo, put it, “It’s a subject whose proponents can’t figure out whether it’s a noun, a verb, or […]
Trust in business has declined in recent years. One reason why can be demonstrated with a bit of math. Assume two streams of income, with a net present value calculation for each. (I’ll use a 10% discount rate to simplify). Income stream A has a big payment in year 2 and then pays slightly more per year […]
Your progress update meeting with the client is scheduled for an hour, starting at 11AM. You’re hopeful it might extend to a lunch invitation. 11AM comes and goes, and the client is still in a meeting. Word comes from the client’s AA that the meeting has to move to 2PM. At 1:30, it gets kicked […]
A long time ago, in a land far away (known as “Texas”), I once had a consulting client. They operated a chain of convenience stores, and we had been brought in to address a serious case of high store manager turnover. Turnover was running about 150%, which meant the average store manager lasted only about […]
I always have trouble answering a question I’m often asked: What company does a great job on trust? Because the answer is some combination of, “it depends on the definition of trust,” and “hardly any.” Let me unpack that. Trustworthiness and the Corporation Mitt Romney’s metaphysics notwithstanding, corporations are not people, apart from a few […]
If you’re a lawyer, accountant, management consultant, VAR, systems engineer, financial advisor, CRM expert, architect, IT services consultant or even an HR consultant – odds are that you’re ineffective at selling. That’s the bad news. The good news is – it isn’t hard to get better. If you do, you’ll compete far more effectively against […]
Should you take the risk of mentioning price early on in a sales call? Should you be candid about your less-than-perfect qualifications for a job? When you notice the client looking a little distracted, should you take the risk of commenting on it? In such situations I often hear, “That’s too risky, you can’t do that […]
In my last post, I asked the question: If financial services are such a low-trust industry (on average), then why isn’t someone pursuing the obvious differentiation strategy of forming a high-trust organization? The Reasons Why I offered five possible reasons, and commenters added two more. They were: Wait – some companies really are high-trust. The nature of the […]
You’ve graduated from Question Obsession 101. You’ve learned not to pepper clients with endless questions or craft that perfect “Keystone Arch Question” expecting miracles. You’re focusing on relationships, creating insights, and empowering clients. But have you fallen into the next trap? The Answer Trap. Many consultants who overcome question obsession swing to the opposite extreme, […]
Question Obsession: The Silent Sales KillerMay 6, 2025 - 5:00 pmHave you counted how many questions you ask in your typical client meeting? Do you find yourself carefully crafting the “perfect” question sequence before every sales call? Are your meeting notes filled with question frameworks rather than real insights? If so, you may be suffering from Question Obsession—a condition that’s quietly sabotaging your client relationships […]